Recently, Nibbles jumped off my lap and broke his 2 top teeth. They were broken above the gums, Hardly visible at all.
It required special care to get him eating again, as he is a very picky eater even when he’s perfectly healthy.
Right after the accident, His weight was 2 LB 2 OZ. It quickly went down, and I believe his lowest weight was 1 LB 5 OZ
He couldn’t eat hay, pellets, or any veggies more solid than lettuce ripped into tiny pieces.
How Nibbles reacted to my ideas:
I couldn’t get him to eat while in the cage, so I took him to the house in their small pet carrier with some of his favorite toys, and his old special “blankie” to keep him comfy. I tried watering his pellets down, This works for some pigs but not all. Watering the pellets down makes them easier to eat, but it also makes them get very stinky very fast, So keep in mind the bowl should be cleaned twice a day when feeding mush-pellets. Nibble would eat less than half of his pellets every day, so I tried something else. Grass! This was the first thing he would really eat since the jump, and he obviously loved the treat. After he had a nice nap, I got him into a little basket to see what else he could and couldn’t eat. I tried ripping up his lettuce, and he loved it. but he couldn’t eat pieces larger
than about 1 x 1/2 inches.
Then, I tried grating carrots, celery, and pepper. (his favorite foods) I must say that was one of the cutest things I’ve done with him, and it worked out perfectly. I would grate his normal breakfast and dinner, then put a small pile of the grated food on my finger. He happily ate it all, and it was a wonderful bonding activity. I would hand feed him grated food and lettuce for 20 minutes, break
for 10, and feed for another 20. I did this 3 times a day, and soon he started eating crunchy pellets again. This is 4 days after he jumped, and I decided to move him back
to his cage. he started eating small amounts of hay, and from there he quickly recovered. He is now a happy piggy, still regaining weight, but is currently at 2 LB 2 OZ.
What helped for me:
1: Water down pellets, Just remember to clean the bowl twice a day.
2: Try feeding fresh grass, it’s very easy for your furry friend
to chew up and digest.
3: Ripped/cut up lettuce, This will be easy to eat, and a healthy treat.
4: Grated veggies, You can grate pretty much any veggie your pig likes, and it’s so hard to resist the little piggy lips!
5: cut up hay, I would only cut the hay down to 1 or 2 inches. Hay is essential to digestion, and also to keep the remaining teeth from overgrowing.
This is just what I did for Nibbles, And it helped him from loosing too much weight. I hope this helps if anyone has a pig who cant eat right. Always remember, if your guinea pig refuses to eat and you’ve done everything you can think of, Take him/her to an experienced exotic vet! No website is a substitute for real veterinary care.
Bye for now! 😀 -Anna
Written
on August 6, 2014