Begging for treats, suggestions welcome

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Sharon.Mackay

Sharon.Mackay

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi all piggy slaves and beautiful piggies.
When i was taming a very timid Jasper i found the only food he liked were the naughty sugary sweets my friend bought him. I didnt mind at first as it was just in the short term. But now he climbs on his shelf right where i sit and begs. He chatters and chews the bars, looks at me with his puppy eyes till he gets a sweet. I try and say no and ignore him but we all know how difficult it is to do that! I have tried offering him veg instead but he takes it and throws it down in a dramatic way (its actually very funny) I dont want to give him sweets anymore, i know they arent good, but i dont want him to stop coming over to see me! Dexy is starting to copy now too, aghhhhh! Do any of you peeps have any suggestions of healthy treats that Jasper might not turn his nose at :{
 
Have you tried fenugreek crunchies .... better than sugary treats and go down a storm with my lot. Maybe weaning him off the bad stuff is the way to go?
 
Perhaps you can get a mix with dried plants/herbs instead? That is what I give mine. They love it!
 
I swear by the Zooplus hay etc. and always order extra treats for the piggies rolleyes. This morning, my usual huge bale of meadow hay arrived and I'd ordered some dried wheat ears (walked off after a nibble), dried parsley stalks and a bag of dried grass for them - love finding treats to try.
Does he not give in to corn on the cob or parsley etc. ?
Failing that, you will have to hand him over to me :)
 
Guinea pig slave said:
I swear by the Zooplus hay etc. and always order extra treats for the piggies rolleyes. This morning, my usual huge bale of meadow hay arrived and I'd ordered some dried wheat ears (walked off after a nibble), dried parsley stalks and a bag of dried grass for them - love finding treats to try.
Does he not give in to corn on the cob or parsley etc. ?
Failing that, you will have to hand him over to me :)
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Hee hee nice try! :)):)):)) That made me chuckle.
I havent been well enough to go out yet and buy stuff, but i will. (locks doors and windows) :x
 
Sharon.Mackay said:
Hee hee nice try! :)):)):)) That made me chuckle.
I havent been well enough to go out yet and buy stuff, but i will. (locks doors and windows) :x
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:( ah well, a girl can only try. I am sooo in love with Himi's and Jasper is stunning. I have a PEW sow who I call my half Himi...well, she has one little chocolate coloured ear and a little pinky/brown ear so that's good enough for me x) They never seem to come into rescues and it has to be a girl :(
 
When we got Jasper we never realised how popular himis were. We chose him from the rescue because Becky said no one wanted him, because he had red eyes. We thought he was beautiful so chose him, but we would have anyhow because i felt sorry for him :( He is such a sweet little guy. It was obviously meant to be!
 
Sharon.Mackay said:
When we got Jasper we never realised how popular himis were. We chose him from the rescue because Becky said no one wanted him, because he had red eyes. We thought he was beautiful so chose him, but we would have anyhow because i felt sorry for him :( He is such a sweet little guy. It was obviously meant to be!
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Aw, you're very lucky to have found each other. I have literally scoured every rescue the length of the country for one with no luck - we always had Siamese cats and a Himi bunny as kids so think my love for them stems from that ?/
 
We were very lucky then. He came from a lady who bred Himi's, then decided she couldnt manage so gave them to a rescue! I'm not sure what happened to his brothers and sisters :(
 
Sharon.Mackay said:
We were very lucky then. He came from a lady who bred Himi's, then decided she couldnt manage so gave them to a rescue! I'm not sure what happened to his brothers and sisters :(
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There is a woman in Lytham who breeds them, she offered me two ex breeding stock as they're too old and kept losing litters :(
What a situation to put me in but my OH is adamant it's wrong to take them, they're 12 and 16 months old. I lost quite a bit of sleep over that :{
 
It depends how you look at it i suppose. I mean if she is giving them away anyhow, better a good home than not knowing where they will go. I do agree about not buying from breeders but i think there are grey areas. Difficult one :{
Get her to give them to a local rescue, then pounce!
 
Sharon.Mackay said:
It depends how you look at it i suppose. I mean if she is giving them away anyhow, better a good home than not knowing where they will go. I do agree about not buying from breeders but i think there are grey areas. Difficult one :{
Get her to give them to a local rescue, then pounce!
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I asked her to send me pics, they're purebred but she was a bit evasive. I asked lots of questions about them, one had a small hairless spot on her back with a sore and promised she'd get her to vet. OH knew I was p'd off as we'd have gladly paid to get her seen to and treated but he said she should keep her animals in tip top condition not palm them off to people who will take 'burdens' off her hands. I still think about them and worry where they will end up as you say when we have a beautiful home waiting here with more love than they can handle :0
 
Oh Jasper you cheeky boy! You better not be teaching my Dottie and Mabel your cheeky ways :))

As Wiebke said, the girls love fresh herbs as treats! Like coriander and parsley! I was going to suggest Aunty Sallys too but it seems she has closed for a bit :(
http://www.auntysallys.co.uk/
 
Try to replace the sugary snacks with dried fruit and/or vetgables, and from there on down it to low sugar stuff?

Sugar isn't all that good for guinea pigs, in fact studies show that they progress sugars rather badly.
 
Corriander & Melon Skin

Corriancer & melon skin win in our house !
 
How guilty would you feel if your boy needed dental work or ended up with health problems because of the sugary treats?

Don't buy them, don't have them in the house, then you can't give into temptation to feed them. ;)

As owners we are responsible for our animals health, it's up to us to provide them with a healthy diet. It will be hard at the start, but he will soon learn to enjoy veggies and herbs as his treats rather than sugary things which only do him damage.

HTH
 
Hi Sharon

I'm not sure I understood your post. When you say sweets, do you mean sweets for people or a type of guinea pig treat?

Also, had a snoop on your profile and saw you have ME - my sister does too (she's been ill for around 6 years now), so I know how awful it can be and just wanted to wish you a speedy recovery. x
 
Hey guys please dont lecture me about sweets, i did say it was a bag from a friend and it was the ONLY thing that worked to get a very timid boy to engage with me. Hence the post, i want to switch now. I DO know sugary treats arent good, i love my boys and want them to live a long and healthy life.
Thanks for the suggestions peeps, i will have to try these things. Thanks :)
Hey little pig, thanks very much x>> I have just been diagnosed, it is devastating and so misunderstood. I hope to get enough strength back soon so i can work. In the meantime i have my boys to keep me busy! Has your sister improved any at all over the last 6 years?
 
Hi Sharon
She was terribly ill at first (so weak it was scary) and yes, progress has been made, but it is slow progress. She has also had some set backs - when we thought she was getting better but then went downhill again. But everyone is different. I work colleague's wife was ill for 4 years and then woke up one morning and was completely fine and has been ever since (over a year ago now). I agree that is so frustrating how misunderstood the illness is and how easily some people dismiss it. Ignore these people! There are lots of good online support groups if you ever need to get in touch with people who understand. Just make sure you are gentle with yourself and don't push your strength/energy levels too much. There are also lots of studies of things that could possibly help - one was to do with eating chocolate (!). I'll try to find the webpage for you, but there is also a lot of nonsense out there about ME, so don't believe everything you read!
 
Thanks for that, i appreciate your kind words :) I have a good family and husband, i have ditched friends who didnt understand or were too tiring! I'm glad your sister has made some improvement, i am determined to get better. My specialist is really good too. Now i LIKE the idea of eating chocolate :))
 
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