oxbow pellets

loopyloo97

loopyloo97

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hello
i have changed to oxbow pellets to get the amount of calcium down for my 2 boars. They were on Excel before, I have gradually mixed in both foods but 3 or 4 weeks later & they will not eat the Oxbow! The most expensive food known to Mankind (!) and mine just leave it! Any advice? Thank you
 
Keep trying is the only thing I can say. My girls were on excel but I wanted to move them to harringtons (same as the boys). They refused to eat them at first but eventually did. Then again if they don’t eat them it’s not such a big deal - pellets only make up 5% of their diet.
 
I give more veggies than pellets and keep pellets only as occasional meal.
Mine also has Oxbow pellets, which they love to eat.
 
I cannot offer much advice here.
My piglets eat their pellets super quickly and then wheek for more once they have finished. :doh:
Have you tried mixing in some veggies with the pellets to encourage them to eat?
I believe that some piggy owners don't feed pellets at all (maybe as an occasional treat). :)
 
TL: DR (at bottom)
Hi,
I'm pretty new as a guinea pig owner, I have three abyssinians girls and they are about 4-6 months old. Not really sure tbh. I started off giving them oxbow young guinea pig pellets, and once a day I would mix a small scoop of Rosewoods natural salad blend in with it, as well as lots of Timothy oat hay, and fruit and veggies. I started noticing I was throwing away alot of the pellets vs them eating them, and unless I put the salad blend in the pellets they won't touch them. I tried not giving them the salad blend at all and now they are flat out refusing to eat the pellets. And also weeking constantly until they get the salad blend, and I mean really loud and even when I'm petting them, they seem to be searching for it. I was going to switch to a different type but was unsure of which way to go. I'm not all too sure but I think it has something to do with the alfalfa hay in the pellets, do to the fact that I have given them alfalfa hay and they hardly touched it, where as the oat hay is always being munched on. Any advise on what kind of pellets I should get? Also if one veggie is better than another, I've only given them a few different ones but ones they seems to really enjoy is romaine lettuce, apples and sweet potatoes. All suggestions are greatly appreciated.
TL: DR- I need assistance with pellet choice cus my guinea pigs aren't eating the oxbow young guinea pig food.
 
Please refer to this guide: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Guinea pigs four months of age or younger should receive:
1 tablespoon of young guinea pig or alfalfa-based pellets per piggy per day
1-2 tablespoons of timothy based adult pellets
If you suspect that they are closer to six months of age, then your piglets only need one tablespoon of pellets per piggy each day.
Too many pellets can lead to unhealthy weight gain.
Please refer to this guide for hay choices: A Comprehensive Hay Guide for Guinea Pigs (incl. providers in several countries)
I believe that oat hay is most commonly mixed in with other varieties of hay. I am unsure, though. I will tag @Wiebke @Siikibam and @VickiA to confirm.
Hay should consist of about 80% of your guinea pig's diet.
What exactly do you mean by Timothy Oat Hay? Timothy and Oat, to my knowledge, are two different kinds of hay. Do you mean mixed together?
You can feed sweet potato safely, but please do not feed daily. Fruits should be limited to once a week or so (as an occasional treat).
Here are some (but not all) of the veggies I give my guinea pigs:
Twice a week:
Parsley or kale
Carrot
Everyday:
Romaine lettuce
Red leaf lettuce
Cilantro
Fennel (when available)
Red bell pepper
3-4 times weekly
Cucumber (1-2 small slices each)
Once a week:
An orange slice each or a small slice of tomato
I can also recommend:
When you give your piglets veggies, shake the pellet container to create a positive/happy association with the noise.
 
I forgot to add...
:wel:to the forum!
We would love to see pictures of your piglets! :luv:
I hope that the advice helped! :)
 
SunMoonStar33 said:
TL: DR (at bottom)
Hi,
I'm pretty new as a guinea pig owner, I have three abyssinians girls and they are about 4-6 months old. Not really sure tbh. I started off giving them oxbow young guinea pig pellets, and once a day I would mix a small scoop of Rosewoods natural salad blend in with it, as well as lots of Timothy oat hay, and fruit and veggies. I started noticing I was throwing away alot of the pellets vs them eating them, and unless I put the salad blend in the pellets they won't touch them. I tried not giving them the salad blend at all and now they are flat out refusing to eat the pellets. And also weeking constantly until they get the salad blend, and I mean really loud and even when I'm petting them, they seem to be searching for it. I was going to switch to a different type but was unsure of which way to go. I'm not all too sure but I think it has something to do with the alfalfa hay in the pellets, do to the fact that I have given them alfalfa hay and they hardly touched it, where as the oat hay is always being munched on. Any advise on what kind of pellets I should get? Also if one veggie is better than another, I've only given them a few different ones but ones they seems to really enjoy is romaine lettuce, apples and sweet potatoes. All suggestions are greatly appreciated.
TL: DR- I need assistance with pellet choice cus my guinea pigs aren't eating the oxbow young guinea pig food.
Click to expand...
it’s always better to start tour own thread else it can be missed. In any case welcome.

What pellets were your girls on when you got them? Perhaps try putting them on those. If they were on the oxbow then you may just have to try a different brand. You can give them ‘adult’ pellets, it won’t do any harm. If they’re four months or older then one tablespoon each is enough.

If they’re not eating them you may have to try a different pellet. But make sure that you give them a varied diet. Veg that can be fed daily is cucumber, pepper, coriander (cilantro), lettuce (except iceberg), celery and green bean. You can then give them other veg that you may have to hand.

Fruits and carrots should be kept to an occasional treat, no need for weekly feeding - they’re high in sugar. Tomatoes should also be an occasional treat. Kale, spinach and parsley are high in calcium so should be fed only once a week, and preferably only one of them. Also filter the water if you’re in a hard water area. That contributes to the calcium in their diet.

It’s a lot to take in but hopefully once you have a routine going it should be easier. I’d report tour reply and have it moved to a thread of its own.

We’d love to see photos of your girls ☺️
 
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