Veggie Question

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PattiM

Post   » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:45 pm


Last week we got a new little piggy to keep our piggy company since his cagemate passed away.

The new piggy, Snickers, doesn't eat any veggies. I've tried hand feeding him, I've tried just leaving them in the cage, I've tried giving them to him whole, and I've tried chopping them up into little pieces. He won't touch them.

Our other piggies went crazy over veggies from the moment they first saw them, so I'm not sure what to do with this one.

Any ideas to get him used to the idea of eating them?

Snickers is still in quarantine. Do you think he'll pick up on what to do with them once he gets together with our other piggy and sees what he's supposed to do with them?

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Eenypup

Post   » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:47 pm


Snickers will most likely begin to eat his vegetables when his quarantine is over. Everest was the same way, he wouldn't eat them until he saw Dipper eating them. Then he decided he mustn't be left out!

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PattiM

Post   » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:56 pm


That's what I was hoping.

I got him from an animal shelter, and since he's probably about six months old already, I really thought he'd have been introduced to veggies by now. He seems to mostly eat pellets, and just *a bit* of hay. I think hay was a new food for him as he didn't eat much of it at first. It took a few days for him to get used to it - at least that's what it seemed to me.

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Halimeade

Post   » Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:20 pm


Both our piggies took about a week and a half to begin eating veggies in any appreciable amounts. Our little girl especially wasn't interested, wouldn't even sniff the lettuce, but now she begs just as hard as Cornelius does : )

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xPiggiesx

Post   » Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:22 pm


Wiggy, one of my adopted pigs, took about 3 weeks to begin eating his veggies, but I kept giving them to him until he started eating them.

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PattiM

Post   » Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:47 pm


Thank you. I guess I'll just keep trying. It's only been a week, so hopefully he'll figure it out soon.

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sus4rabbitsnpigs

Post   » Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:55 pm


Your other pig(s) will likely show him to eat veggies. You can give him vit C supplements til then to make sure he is getting vit c.

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PattiM

Post   » Thu Mar 27, 2008 8:26 pm


I've been sprinkling vitamin C on his pellets the past couple days. I hope he's ingesting it.

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rshevin

Post   » Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:41 pm


Patti, congrats on adopting!

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newwave_polly

Post   » Thu Mar 27, 2008 11:42 pm


My most recently-acquired pig, Rocket, wouldn't touch his veggies for about 3 months. His previous owner said he just didn't like them, so I think he stopped trying to feed veggies to Rocket altogether.

After I introduced Rocket to Dale (an avid veggie eater) and they had been sharing a cage for a couple of months, Rocket started to nibble on a few fruits and then veggies here and there. It really did take a couple months though. The first thing he started to eat was pommegranite seeds. I think they taste strong and sweet enough to get him interested. From there, cranberries, carrots, and now he'll eat absolutely any veggie or fruit I stick in front of him. He's also the first one to the dish when he thinks it might be time for breaky or dinner.

So, there's hope, but it may take awhile of offering. Maybe try something that all pigs like: parsley, fresh grass, dandilion leaves, apples... the tasty stuff. That might get him interested more quickly.

rpaws

Post   » Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:52 pm


It'll take time, trying again and again, though I warn you once Snickers gets the the hang of it, he may turn into a veggie monster.

When I first got my (permanent) foster girl she had never eaten any vegetables - or hay - only cruddy pellet food. When I tried giving her vegetables, you would have thought she was being fed poison. I tried rubbing it on her lips to get the taste. Nope. I tried being a 'guinea pig' and eating it in front of her. Nope. What finally worked was chopping granny smith apple into very small bits and mixing it with the guinea pig pellets. The apple flavor got onto the pellets. She decided she liked the apple flavor. I popped a small pellet-size piece of apple into her mouth. She would then start eating the pellets and apples.

I gradually added other vegetables and fruits. I think guinea pigs are like human kids. It can take 3-7 times for them to decide if they like something.

Now she knows when vegetables are coming in the evening (it gets dark and she hears my voice). There'll be a loud 'WHEEK WHEEK' from her telling me to get with it. Little stinker is making up for lost time.

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RavenShade
Thanks for the Memories

Post   » Fri Mar 28, 2008 4:29 pm


Steve wouldn't eat in front of me. Does your pig eat when you're not looking?

You might also try eating the veggies yourself as sort of an example.

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