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ideas for wearing teeth down?

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kittyla

kittyla

Junior Guinea Pig
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Nibbles has recovered from all his health problems but his bottom teeth keep overgrowing & needing
trimming. He used to chew on everything, now he hardly ever does, & he's not much of a hay eater.
I've tried herbal chew blocks, twiggs, & dangly bells from pets at home - untouched! I bought a wicker
tube that got a good chewing for a day or 2 but is now untouched, can anyone suggest something I could try that might get him chewing again?
 
Wicker balls are good. Sounds like he has a short attention span can you try different hays Timothy and oat will be good for wearing teeth down. :)
 
Have you tried him on dried grass?.This is good for trimming the teeth down and the gps love it.Mine always have a bowlful available.There are several makes,Spillers Readigrass,which is the one I use as it is the cheapest and in my opinion just as good as the more expensive Burgess and Dodson and Horrell.
 
He has a wicker ball, (with a bell inside!) again he loved it at first, then got bored, praps I should take it
away for a week then give it back. I've tried brome hay, orchard grass, timothy hay & they always have
dried grass, his mate Squeeky Pete loves it all & is always munching (which explains his big podgy tummy) Nibbles eats some but not much. He does munch on fresh grass though, & now he's outside
alot perhaps that will be helpfull, but this wont help with his front teeth though, will it? He used to
regularly chew on his wooden house but doesnt anymore. What do your piggies chew on?
 
The best things have been mentioned...grass, dried grass and hay. Piggies get bored of the same old hay so try varying it. Mine get their meadow hay, timothy hay, oat hay and I sometimes add dried hedgerow herbs to their hay too, available from www.galensgarden.co.uk or pampered piggies :) Hay is course in its first cut (best for wearing down teeth) and finer in the second cut.

www.dustfreehay.co.uk does lovely meadow hay, English timothy and American timothy hays O0
 
I would have thought grass would help all his teeth. Does he tend to eat slower than his cage mate? I've started taking Poppet out and feeding her away from Skye because she was losing weight and I think its because she tends to eat slowly. By the time she has finished her first mouthful Skye has polished the rest off. I've noticed if she isn't rushed she will munch her way through a lot but if she feels she needs to eat quickly then she tends to just give up and not bother.
 
Ha ha, yes that sounds like my two! Squeeky Pete would scoff all the food if he could!
I often give Nibbles bits of food when Pets's not looking! I'll try giving more grass before the
other veg & see if that makes a difference.
 
It seems to be working well taking Poppet out to give her grass and veggies away from Skye. After she has had a fair bit, then I put her back with Skye, and give them both food. At least that way I know how much she has eaten. It seems to be working! :)

How's Nibbles doing now?

xx
 
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