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Post by newpiggymum on Oct 22, 2008 14:31:03 GMT
Hi, as you can tell by my name, I am a first time piggy mum.
I have a question about my piggy, Harry. I've had him about a week now, and I have noticed that he is not eating very much if any at all of his dry food. He was fed a mix, and I want to feed him pellets, and my vet advised that I should mix a little of the pellet in gradually so as not to upset his tummy.
I have a bag of his original food, and gave him that the first couple of days, but he only seemed to pick at it, and i've mixed a tiny bit of the pellet in, but he still doesn't seem to be eating very much. Only one morning has the bowl been nearly empty, and it looked like he picked out the bits he liked from his mix and the pellets, and left the stuff he must not like (i'm not putting a lot in the bowl either - about a handful).
Any ideas why he's not eating his dry food?
He's eating veggies happily, and hay, and he's had a checkup at the vets so has good teeth and in good health e.t.c. He's about 11 weeks old now.
Could he just still be settling in? Is he filling up on veggies/hay?
Should I stop feeding veggies till he eats all his dry food up? I don't want him to be missing out on anything in his diet!
Thanks!
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Post by PigPog on Oct 22, 2008 16:43:13 GMT
Hello!  My first estimate would be that he's eating his veg and his hay because both can be either dragged back to somewhere safe or hidden under while being eaten. He's in his new home, nervous and probably wary because he doesn't know you and your family very well yet. There are lots of strange smells and sounds for him to get used to. Dry mix is in a bowl, which means he has to go out of his comfort zone to get it. Perhaps if you put his bowl near to his hiding place he might start to use it more often. Secondly, your vet is quite right to recommend changing him over from mix to pellets slowly because guinea pigs can be terribly picky eaters and they need a gradual change in diet to make sure they can get on with the new diet. Keep doing what you're doing - the fact he's eating veg and hay is a very good sign, and he might be rebelling a bit because you're taking away the feed that he's used to and changing it for something he's never seen before. Also, move his bowl closer to his hidey hole for a while and see if that encourages him to be brave.  |
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Post by Hugs-Cavies (Doris) on Oct 22, 2008 16:44:48 GMT
You may also find that some piggies don't eat a huge amount of dry, whereas others eat bowlfuls.
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Post by eppingstrider on Oct 22, 2008 17:01:06 GMT
I'll echo that. There are days when neither of my piggies bowls have gone down much, and others where they have been practically licked clean.  I'll also echo that worry when you dont feel you can be doing it right because they dont seem to be doing what you think they should.  As long as they're eating something they're ok. I definitely didnt think I was doing things right when I first got mine....actually that feeling comes back every time something different happens.  Join the born worrier society!! |
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Post by Hugs-Cavies (Doris) on Oct 22, 2008 17:06:43 GMT
Most of ours lick the bowls clean every day, but there are a few (namely Huffle, Hedwig and Gabe) who only eat a few mouthfuls of dry a day, well generally they eat the grass out of it and leave the pellets  |
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Post by newpiggymum on Oct 22, 2008 18:05:55 GMT
thanks for your help! I have noticed he will pick up a carrot and take it back to his house, so that might be why, I'll move the bowl closer. I have noticed he has eaten some while i've been out this afternoon, so maybe he's feeling a bit braver! He is definitely enjoying lap time more, he stretched out a bit today ;D I think I am a bit worried when he's not doing what everyones else's piggies seem to do, but he seems to love veggies so he must be ok ;D thanks again! I will try and put some pictures up of him tomorrow so he can say hi to you all  |
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Post by PigPog on Oct 23, 2008 0:01:30 GMT
I think I am a bit worried when he's not doing what everyones else's piggies seem to do, but he seems to love veggies so he must be ok ;D He's doing completely normal things for a guinea pig who has just been taken to a strange new home. Most guinea pigs start out this way and become braver as they become used to their environment. In fact almost everyone here will tell you that they've had pigs who started off being wimpy and then turned into chilled out hairballs. ;D |
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Post by eppingstrider on Oct 23, 2008 7:18:59 GMT
Mine still take carrots back to their hideyholes even after nearly 18 months. They sit around and eat their fresh greens, though. I think they're just making sure they've got something for elevenses tucked away - or the midnight feast!
As PigPog said, they seem to be pretty normal - well as normal as mine at any rate!
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Post by PigPog on Oct 23, 2008 9:39:42 GMT
I have a four year old who drags anything you give him back to his lair to kill it.  |
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Post by snailspace on Oct 23, 2008 14:03:22 GMT
As always, Pigpog's comments are spot on! She has an uncanny knack of getting inside a pig's psyche. Perhaps in a previous life .... Just jokin Pigpog |
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Post by newpiggymum on Oct 23, 2008 14:40:58 GMT
 This morning I put his veggies in his cage, and he started rooting through them to find his 'victim' (cucumber) to take back to his 'lair' (hidey house)! and you'll never guess what happened ..... I was sat reading a book, and out pops this little pink nose, followed by Harry aka The Fluffmonster, and he plonked himself in his bowl and began to chow down on his food for about 10 minutes, he ate about half the food! Followed by a couple of very fast laps round his 'garden' then he sneaked a bit of pepper back to his hidey hole! He knew I was there because we'd just had a cuddle and a brush, and I was talking to him   a very happy piggy mum! p.s. does anyone else spend an obscene amount of time just watching their piggies? I find him fascinating, and he looked so cute rooting through his veggies this morning! I love being a piggy mum 
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Post by 1toni2007 on Oct 23, 2008 15:05:50 GMT
i would say that we probably all spend as much time as we can with our Piggy's, ;D i know that i spend every min i can and probably more than i should  but then they are brill little fellas |
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Post by meggiepiggy on Oct 23, 2008 16:33:42 GMT
Well there you go....... |
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Post by eppingstrider on Oct 23, 2008 18:04:36 GMT
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Post by Hugs-Cavies (Doris) on Oct 23, 2008 18:05:23 GMT
This morning I put his veggies in his cage, and he started rooting through them to find his 'victim' (cucumber) to take back to his 'lair' (hidey house)! and you'll never guess what happened ..... I was sat reading a book, and out pops this little pink nose, followed by Harry aka The Fluffmonster, and he plonked himself in his bowl and began to chow down on his food for about 10 minutes, he ate about half the food! Followed by a couple of very fast laps round his 'garden' then he sneaked a bit of pepper back to his hidey hole! He knew I was there because we'd just had a cuddle and a brush, and I was talking to him a very happy piggy mum! p.s. does anyone else spend an obscene amount of time just watching their piggies? I find him fascinating, and he looked so cute rooting through his veggies this morning! I love being a piggy mum I have to say thats quite uncanny, our original guinea pig, also called Harry, used to shake his cucumber to make sure it was dead before he ate it. His original companion, Lupin-Buckmore still does this to this day, he only started doing it after he was paired with Harry (Who is now known has Harry Snr, as we now have a Harry Jnr - if that makes sense  |
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