Advice Please :-)

Status
Not open for further replies.
Debbie Hardman

Debbie Hardman

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Apr 14, 2014
Messages
44
Reaction score
16
Points
145
Location
lancashire. uk
Ok...new piggy settling in great...having daily cuddles and even just lets me pick him up...and he loves snuggling...but he doesnt seem to eat much guinea pig food...he has plenty of veggies twice a day...and adlib hay...but doesnt seem to eat much 'food'...also he seems to have taken to having mad half hour..running and best way to describe it is bucking...is that normal? More concerned about hard feed though. Thanks x
 
Hi, Is he eating hay and veggies but not nuggets is that what you mean, or is he not eating much at all..?

As for his mad half hour this sounds like Zoomies to us, which some of our piggies do, it's a mixture of running & popcorning.
 
Yeah he eats all the veggies in about thirty seconds flat lol.but doesnt seem to eat much of the nuggets. He seems to eat the hay and just got him some alfalfa as well..which he seems to munch on. X
 
Hay should make up to 80% of the daily food intake, veg about 10% and pellets (don't use muesli/dry mix) only 5%. So please don't panic; it could be that you are simply far too generous with the veg! Your boy is perfectly fine and as he is running an popcorning, a very energetic and happy little one at that!
The food amounts of a balanced diet:
- unlimited hay (timothy or meadow/orchard hay)
- ca. 50g/2 oz of mixed veg, including one high vitamin C veg or fresh herb daily, like a slice of sweet pepper of any colour, a floret or chunk of stem of broccoli or a sprig of coriander/cilantro, parsley, dill, mint or basil
- unlimited pellets until the first quick weekly growth rate is slowing down between 4-6 months old, then very gradually reduced to the half to handful that fully grown guinea pigs over 12-15 months need.

In the longer term, you may want to find him same sex company. Piggies are not wired to live on their own, and you will enjoy the vocal, lively interaction that is making piggies so unique even more! You will find that there is nothing as motivational as the "I want what you have" when it comes to guinea pigs! However, please do your research first before going out to buy another baby boy in order to avoid avoidable problems; you can find a lot of information on this forum.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-companionship.37654/
 
Thank you really appreciate the advice puts my mind at rest....he does seems to like his hay...and LOVES his veggies lol. He does seem like a little happy chappy. X
 
Debbie Hardman said:
Lisa...was told alfalfa is good for baby piggies under six months? X
Click to expand...

The actual extra amount needed is very small indeed! If you want to feed a handful of alfalfa/lucerne hay in addition to the unlimited timothy or meadow/orchard hay (which is not a grass, but a legume), I would recommend to limit the pellets you are feeding instead because most commercially available pellets contain a fair amount of alfalfa, so you can equally well cover the extra need of protein and calcium by letting the babies have unlimited pellets until the weekly growth rate is slowing down. Once the weekly growth rate is slowing down, you very gradually reduce the amount until you reach the half to handful of pellets that mature piggies need from about 12-15 months old.

Please weigh your piggies weekly to monitor their health. Daily, if they are not well. See a vet if the weight loss is over 50g/2oz, see a vet as an emergency if a piggy has lost 100g/ 3 oz in a very short time.
 
I just put mine in a little blanket then put them on the kitchen scales. Weight less weight of blanket. They were happy enough as they were wrapped up!
 
All of mine just sit in the scales while I weigh them. Here's a piccie of one of my foster boys being weighed last year.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top