Questions about my new guinea pig

In My Humble Opinion
1

I just got a new guinea pig and she is just the cutest thing every. However, in my research I have found suggestions that guinea pigs get fed a certain amount of fresh fruits and veggies to give them vitamins that they can’t produce themselves. I have tried to give her broccoli, lettuce, carrots, apples and oranges, and she hasn’t touched any of them. She does eat her normal guinea pig food, just not the fresh stuff. Any thoughts or suggestions on what I should try?

Also, I know that guinea pigs are supposed to chew to wear away their teeth. I got her pieces of wood to chew as well as a “Chew House”, a little tunnel made out of wood. I haven’t seen her chew either, and I see no indications on either that she chews while I am not around (ie tooth marks, etc.). Will instincts take over and she will start chewing when her teeth get to long or should I be looking for something else?

Any other general guinea pig advice would be appreciated as well :slight_smile:

2

Guinea pigs can’t produce vitamic C in their bodies (most animals can) and therefore are subject to scurvy. The chow you feed it should contain vitamin C, but check the ingredients list on the back of the box to make sure.

Keep feeding it vegetables and eventually it will learn to eat them.One thing the piggies do like is dandelion greens. They also like to eat fresh grass. Just make sure if you feed that stuff it hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. Wash it before feeding. If you can find alfalfa chunks at a local feed store the guinea pig should be happy with those also.

Guinea pigs also sometimes eat non-nutritive objects such as foil, wax paper, hair, clothing, feathers, and rubber bands. If you let your piggy out of the cage watch it closely and don’t let it eat stuff like this–that can lead to stomach problems. (And yes, guinea pigs literally eat this stuff, they don’t just chew it.)

3

Welcome to the wonderful world of piggies! KRC is correct–you need to keep introducing the veggies in small amounts and eventually your piggy will find one or two or three she likes. Mine are partial to kale and parsley. Kale is an excellent source of vitamin C. I feed carrots and apples only occasionally as they don’t have near the nutritive value as kale and parsley. Mine will also eat a quarter of an orange and romaine leaves. They turn up their noses at most everything else.

Be careful to never give iceberg lettuce, beans or pears. they will cause bloat, an often fatal condition. Feed good quality hay. I order mine from www.oxbowhay.com Young, growing g-pigs should get alfalfa, but mature pigs do better on timothy hay and pellets. I find the hay I get from oxbow is much fresher than anything I can buy off the shelf.

You didn’t ask, but I want to mention that you should never use pine or cedar shavings as litter. Use aspen or newpaper based litter. The oils in pine and cedar can cause respiratory problems.

If you haven’t already, find a good exotics vet so that you have a source of medical care if your guinea pig ever needs it. A good exotics vet is worth his or her weight in gold because guinea pigs have very particular medical needs and many antibiotics are toxic to them.

Your link didn’t work, but I imagine your piggy is super cute! here’s a picture of my girls:
http://fff.fathom.org/pages/Calliope/KalesAngels.jpg

4

Oh, and mine absolutely love to chew on cardboard boxes. I give them paper towel tubes and empty Kleenex boxes (Minus any plastic, of course) and this keeps their teeth well worn.

5

My guinea pigs loooove red bell peppers, which just happen to be loaded with vitamin C, so you might want to try those. Another vote, too, for dandelion greens.

6

Odd that the link didn’t work. It works from my end. hmmm…
Anyway, thanks for the food suggestions. I will definately give those a shot.

Oh, and Sophie looks a lot like Penelope. :slight_smile:

7

The link worked for me (cute!). But I think it’s a geocities quirk. Sometimes with Geocities you have to cut and paste the URL into the browser.

8

I have heard some people meention giving guinea pigs baths. This seems odd to me. Is it something that I should be doing or is it really just as quirky as it sounds. Although I would imagine that a wet guinea pig has got to be one of the cutest things on earth:D

9

I can’t remember a time we didn’t have guinea pigs. We’ve had a couple that took some time to warm up to greens–especially if we introduced them when the pigs were very young. You might want to give up for a week and then start slowly with some lettuce.

If the weather is mild, ours love to go outside. We’ve tried leashes, which are a bit of a giggle. Mostly we put them in a wire enclosure, with water and some shade. They mow the grass down to about 1/2 inch. Then we move the enclosure. We pretend it’s helping dad with the yard work.

I hesitate to mention this…BUT…

If you have a white guinea pig, some non-toxic markers are a lot of fun to use to “decorate” your pet. The pigs thrive on any kind of attention, even being decorated. Blue stars and red stripes for the patriotic holidays are a big favorite.

10

I had two guinea pigs, Polpetta* and Priscilla, for about six years. (I was an adult. I got custody of them in a break-up.)

They both loved spinach, although I don’t know if you’re supposed to feed them that, what with the iron and all. Mine seemed fine.

The general rule with my piggies was that anything wet they wouldn’t eat, such as a bit of tomato or grape or orange. But I hear some piggies love those kinds of things. YPMV (your piggy may vary).

I miss my piggies. :frowning: Wheep wheep wheep!

  • Italian for “meatball,” because she looked like one when curled up.
11

When I was a kid we had one named Bob. We let him wander around the house and he engaged in weird stunts like hiding behind the refrigerator, only to be lured out with an offer of grass (the lawn kind.) We also let him wander in the yard. Us kids were supposed to watch him but sometimes we forgot; luckily he was never snatched by a stray dog or a hungry hawk. When we picked him up to take him indoors he always burbled and whistled as if he was telling us about his daily adventures.

Bob had to be washed from time to time. He had long hair and sometimes his poop would stick to the fur. He was very patient. He sat still when we put toy cowboy hats on his fuzzy head so that we could take a picture and label it “Cowboy Bob.” He was sometimes lonely, however–the pet rat ran away when he tried to greet her and when he affectionately nibbled the cat’s fur the cat swatted him.

We got him a mate and he fathered four babies. About a year and a half later he died, aged nearly 6 years. We buried him under the forsythia in the backyard; it was a place he loved to hang out in when he was alive. I’ve had a lot of pets but that little fluffball will always have a place in my heart.

12

I love my three silly gp girls more than I love most anything. They make me giggle every day with their antics.

You can find vitamin c powder or crystals at health food stores, add some to her water each day. Gps need about 20-50 mg of C a day. Once she starts liking her veggies (romaine lettuce is the best for her) you can cut back on the powdered C. My three girls all eventually decided they love romaine, and also those tiny grape tomatoes. Tomatoes are great for vitamin C.

Limit alfalfa; it is fattening and contains a bit too much calcium for gps. Most likely the feed you are giving her is made from alfalfa, so if you give her alfalfa hay too she might get bladder stones. Good timothy hay is the best. It’s good to see another oxbow fan! Their gp food is good for them, without all of the calcium.

Oh my, gp baths. Unless they have long hair and poo problems, they don’t really need them. Maybe once a year. I had to bathe two of mine once a week for six weeks in a stinky sulfur-lyme dip because of ringworm. It was just awful. They hate baths. And you always risk a cold.

Also, a good thing for them if they will eat it is corn silks. Supposedly these help with preventing stones and general urinary tract health. I get ears of corn from the store, cut off all of the exposed silk tops, and then pull the soft silks out, wash them well, and feed them to the girls. They love them, and look just like they are eating angel-hair pasta.

Fortunately, there are lots of good gp links, with great info. There is a great email list too, if it is back up and running. These good links are listed on my gp page 2, along with pictures of my darlings, past and present. I wrote a column about their care for a local newspaper, and it is there also.
http://home.hiwaay.net/~keiper/gpigs.htm

Cavy spirit is one of the best, http://www.cavyspirit.com/

Calliope, your pigs are darling!!! I noticed you live in TN, have you ever been to the gp rescue in Knoxville?

Have fun with your precious pig-wig!

13

I second the spinach. My pigs love spinach above and beyond any other fresh food.

14

I’ve not been, but I have e-mailed back and forth with them whenever I have been looking for g-pigs. They have directed me to local people that have contacted them wanting shelter for their g-pigs so I haven’t had to make the drive to Knoxville.

My latest, Poppy and Vinnie, were rescued from a teenage girl who decided she’d rather have Chinese Crested puppies.