New here, Please help baby guinea problem

[stormynights26]

Hello,
We have raised 4 Guinea pigs so but have adopted a baby piggie from the pet store and he won't eat veggies or fruits. We have tried every kind of fruit and veggie. We are scared he will die if he doesn't eat any. The pet store had a HUGE chunk of carrot in his cage that he had been eating on. We was told not to ever give them carrots when we first got piggies.
Please help me what do I do? Any advice on what to give this baby? It has been 3 weeks now.
Today I tried Apples and a couple small chunks of oranges. He will eat his pellets and hay. What can I give him for the vitamin C?
Thanks in advance Storm.

[Lady Chutterly]

Hi Storm! Hay and pellets are the most important part of their diet, so don't worry yourself too much! Check the label on the pellets and see if they are "C" fortified, and how old the pellets are. If not, there are pellet varieties (especially Oxbow) that have enough C that additional foods really aren't required at all! Just make sure he has pellets, water and hay available 24/7. You might also want to get a some alfalfa hay or alfalfa hay cubes since he's a baby.

Other than that, seeing another pig eating fruits and veggies might encourage him, or he might be encouraged seeing YOU eat them! But don't worry about it, okay?

If you are still concerned about vitamin C supplementation, you might want to crush an unflavored vitamin C pill and put it in with his pellets. It could be he just doesn't know that these foods are for eating yet! Sometimes very young ones will not understand foods they see for the first time.

[stormynights26]

Oh thank you so much for replying! I feel lots better now. My poor husband was worrying as well. This puts us both at ease. I am fixing to go check out the pellets and read the back. He has lots of hay so that is a good thing.

Storm

[Foggycreek]

So you just have the one pig right now? I recommend adopting (from a rescue or shelter) a buddy for him. He can learn to eat vegetables and greens from watching another guinea pig. Guinea pigs are very social creatures, and need companionship of their own kind.

Also, unless you received the guinea pig from the pet store for free, you didn't rescue him, but bought him. Occasionally the big pet stores (Petco and Petsmart) will get drop offs and they will attempt to "adopt" them out.

[VoodooJoint]

Originally Posted by Lady Chutterly

Hi Storm! Hay and pellets are the most important part of their diet,

Actually Hay and daily veggies are the most important parts of their diet. Pellets are the least important. An excess of pellets, after 8 months old, is actually suspected of causing bladder sludge which could lead to bladder and kidney stones. That is why once they are full grown each GP should only get about 1/8th of a cup of pellets a day. They should get about 1 cup each of veggies per day. Here is a great veggie list Everything you need to know about a cavy's diet!!! READ ME- Nutrition Charts & Info - Guinea Pig Cages Forum

Pet store bought GPs usually have never seen fresh veggies in their entire lives (how sad). In fact they usually never receive any kind of kindness either. Keep offering veggies. Put your face down near the GP, pick up the new veggie and munch on it in front of them so they get the idea they are yummy and not dangerous. As mentioned another GP could also show him the ropes. Make sure it is a same sex or neutered friend though. The world doesn't need more GPs since all the rescues are full to overflowing.

Originally Posted by Lady Chutterly

If you are still concerned about vitamin C supplementation, you might want to crush an unflavored vitamin C pill and put it in with his pellets.

Don't chose just any Vit C tablet. You need one with nothing other then vit C in it (rose hips added is fine) no added sugars, minerals, sweeteners or preservatives. You want to get 100mg pills and only give 1/4 of a pill (ground up) a day. Too much Vit C can cause pseudo scurvy and potentially kidney damage. Oxbow sells a great Vit C supplement. Guinea Lynx :: Diet

Next time you want to add a pet to your home please consider truly adopting instead of buying from a petstore. There are so many deserving animals, some listed on this website, that need a second chance in life. Let's not support petshops and their cruel practices. By not buying from them any longer we can take away some of their business and eventually get them to stop abusing animals.

[stormynights26]

Wow! I don't think I will be back to this forum. Good lord ya all need some lessons in manners. I DID rescue this animal THANK YOU! I asked the lady what happens to these piggies and she said they get put DOWN if no one buys them. So yes I consider this piggie rescued. And I don't think any of you live where I do. We do not have shelters here to just go and pick up a piggie and "rescue" them as you put it. We have simply one shelter that is for cats and dogs and guess what???????????????????????? You have to pay for them to "rescue" any of them so basically are you saying all the cats and dogs at the shelter are not rescued because you have to buy them also???

Trust me if there was a shelter here for piggies that needed rescued that would BE my first stop so PLEASE don't shove your ever so kind but rudely remarks down my throat. You can do what you like with this post delete it ban me all I did was ask for advice. By the way I do have other piggies and I have put the baby with them to interact with each other. And before your feathers are ruffled they are male and male so there is no breeding.

Thanks but no thanks anyways.

Lady Chutterly thank you so much for your advice and for not being as rude as the others.

Also we do not have petco or petsmart here just a little store that tries to get homes for piggies that are brought to them you pay because that helps to pay for their food and crap while they are waiting for homes. Just like a cat and dog shelter.

[VoodooJoint]

How was I rude? I think you overreacted a bit but if my choice of words caused you to get upset then I apologize.

I do however stand by my advice and statements.

The advice I gave you is sound, proven and accurate. I hope you take it under advisement.

The fact is you cannot rescue an animal by buying it. Petstore animals are purposely bred to be sold. If you buy them, you support the industry responsible for their cruel treatment.

That little store you mention doesn't sound like a very nice place. They kill animals that aren't sold? If they don't have you fill out an adoption application then they aren't a rescue or shelter as the latter insists on knowing something about the people taking the animals. I guarantee that they are buying from BYBs to sell. They wouldn't be the first petstore to kill their animals once they weren't cute little salable babies any more.

Shelter animals are animals that came from neglectful or abusive situations were strays or dumped. It doesn't matter where they came from originally. The fact is that humans let them down and they need help. They are also the direct result of an overpopulated world. If you adopt and animal from a shelter or rescue then the petstores get no money from an animal sale and loss profits.

Rescues charge money to help keep people from getting an animal on an impulse and to help support their efforts and feed, care and provide vet care. Most rescues and shelters run in the red (negative profit). Most petstores run in the black (making a profit)

One situation (buying) perpetuates the problems, the other (adopting) helps alleviate the problem.

If you are have a hard time finding animals in your area to adopt them please feel free to give us your location and we will be happy to help. Believe me, if there are guinea pigs being sold there are guinea pigs in need of rescue.

[Foggycreek]

I re-read my post, and didn't see any rudeness either.

However, I have an idea--since you think this forum is rude, you may want to check out Guinea Lynx :: * * * * * instead, and ask your questions there.

[VoodooJoint]

You have a bit of the devil in you Foggy