My two fusspots are very veg (and other green food) picky!

Minnou

Minnou

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Of the things they could safely eat daily (cucumber, sweet bell pepper, coriander, certain types of lettuce) they'll only happily eat the cucumber; they'll barely touch the coriander and the lettuce, even if I only give them it once every 3-4 days, they still think bell pepper is the devil and refuse to go near it.

The things they love eating are:

Cucumber - Fine
Kale - Can't have that every day
Dandelions - Can't have them every day
Broccoli - Can't have them every day
Carrots - Can't have them every day

That's it. :/

They like so little, I've not enough to do food rotations to stop them getting bored. I've tried loads of things and they don't really touch any of it. I'm worried they're missing out on essential nutrients and vitamins and simply the enrichment.

I do give them fresh grass every day though, does that make up for it?
 
Baby pepper was what I used to get the goblins eating pepper (although they taste nothing like bell pepper, but the goblins will eat bell pepper again so there's that).

The goblins can't have most fresh foods because it keeps upsetting the belly of at least one of them (Cam, I believe) and "safe" foods for them are pepper, cucumber, herbs (coriander, parsley, mint, dill), mangetout/sugar snap peas, celery and baby corn. Most of that they can't have all the time, just the pepper, cucumber and coriander, and half the time they won't eat coriander either. They love lettuce, salad leaves, green beans, broccoli and kale but it's not worth my feeding them because they always need a couple of days solely on hay and pellets to get the poop output back to what it should be.

But, keep trying. If they've never seen these foods before they're more likely to be suspicious of the weird stuff, is it edible? Can we eat it? Is it safer to leave it alone? And then if they don't know, they won't know. Just don't necessarily buy things you wouldn't normally buy for yourselves and that way it's not a massive waste if they're not keen.
 
Lorcan said:
Baby pepper was what I used to get the goblins eating pepper (although they taste nothing like bell pepper, but the goblins will eat bell pepper again so there's that).

The goblins can't have most fresh foods because it keeps upsetting the belly of at least one of them (Cam, I believe) and "safe" foods for them are pepper, cucumber, herbs (coriander, parsley, mint, dill), mangetout/sugar snap peas, celery and baby corn. Most of that they can't have all the time, just the pepper, cucumber and coriander, and half the time they won't eat coriander either. They love lettuce, salad leaves, green beans, broccoli and kale but it's not worth my feeding them because they always need a couple of days solely on hay and pellets to get the poop output back to what it should be.

But, keep trying. If they've never seen these foods before they're more likely to be suspicious of the weird stuff, is it edible? Can we eat it? Is it safer to leave it alone? And then if they don't know, they won't know. Just don't necessarily buy things you wouldn't normally buy for yourselves and that way it's not a massive waste if they're not keen.
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Could mangetout/sugarsnaps/baby corn be offered every other day or is that too often? I don't mind eating those things myself so it wouldn't be a waste.

Does the effect on poop output affect only your guinea pigs or would this be ALL guinea pigs can't handle having that kind of veg very regularly?
 
have you tried all colours of bell peppers? sounds random but they might prefer a certain one

what lettuce's have you tried? romaine has always been a favourite around here

cherry tomatoes are a good option also
 
Mine prefer romaine too.
They get a leaf every day and practically inhale it.
Cucumber is also well liked.
As long as they have plenty of hay - that’s the most important part of the diet
 
Minnou said:
Could mangetout/sugarsnaps/baby corn be offered every other day or is that too often? I don't mind eating those things myself so it wouldn't be a waste.

Does the effect on poop output affect only your guinea pigs or would this be ALL guinea pigs can't handle having that kind of veg very regularly?
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I'd try for a couple of times a week, it's what I usually go for.

As for upset bellies and poop output, no, it both is and isn't just my pair. It can be any food and it can be any guinea pig, it's just for whatever reason that's what Cam (and possibly Bann) badly reacts to. It's a pity because they both love salad leaves, lettuce and green beans but they're much better off on the restricted diet. I've reintroduced celery and mangetout/sugarsnaps since I cut everything else out but it's slow and I don't want to wreck any progress I might make.
 
breakawayfromme said:
have you tried all colours of bell peppers? sounds random but they might prefer a certain one

what lettuce's have you tried? romaine has always been a favourite around here

cherry tomatoes are a good option also
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I've only tried red. I think it's the smell of them that puts them off more than the colour. I was eating an orange and Minerva seemed interested so I gave her half a segment and she nibbled a quarter and decided it wasn't that great. Gaia didn't like it much either. :xd:

I need to get romaine in as I wasn't paying attention last time and picked up a small round lettuce (not iceberg) by mistake.

Merab's Slave said:
Mine prefer romaine too.
They get a leaf every day and practically inhale it.
Cucumber is also well liked.
As long as they have plenty of hay - that’s the most important part of the diet
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They always have hay and they get grass every day too.
 
Lorcan said:
I'd try for a couple of times a week, it's what I usually go for.

As for upset bellies and poop output, no, it both is and isn't just my pair. It can be any food and it can be any guinea pig, it's just for whatever reason that's what Cam (and possibly Bann) badly reacts to. It's a pity because they both love salad leaves, lettuce and green beans but they're much better off on the restricted diet. I've reintroduced celery and mangetout/sugarsnaps since I cut everything else out but it's slow and I don't want to wreck any progress I might make.
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With the poop output, are they pooping less on these veggies, more? Or do they get diarrhea or soft poops that hold the same shape as a normal poop?

I don't notice any changes in my two's poops whatever they're given.
 
Minnou said:
With the poop output, are they pooping less on these veggies, more? Or do they get diarrhea or soft poops that hold the same shape as a normal poop?

I don't notice any changes in my two's poops whatever they're given.
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It's very wet. It's not misshapen, but it gets that way very easily if that makes sense. Cam's the first guinea pig I've had with this issue, but since they both need to share a diet they both get restricted foods.

Even now, I can see the poops beginning to get wetter again. Not enough for me to worry, but just enough to keep an eye on. Getting skinnies to the vet in this weather isn't fun (I don't drive) so I need to do as much as I can to keep everything working properly.
 
My 2 Rainbow Bridge piggies in the picture on the left took 10 months to eat pepper and then for a long time it was only green. Guinea pigs can be soooo fussy.
 
Minnou said:
I'll just wiggle a piece in front of them every other day for the next year or so and see if they change their minds. :xd:
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It was a bit like that :D Everything we ate for months contained pepper as I can't bear waste. I think I gave them a bit 3 or 4 times a week until they started eating it. Eventually they would eat any colour and it was one of their favourite veggies, as you are beginning to find out they are such strange little creatures. :nod::no:
 
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