How I became a grandma

[ginasgrandmom]

Hi. I'm Heather and this is my very first guinea pig ever! Well, mine by way of my youngest. Gina is about one month old and was bought last Sunday. Against my wishes, of course. I told the story on another thread, but I can tell it again. If people really want to hear.

There are three kids for me, along with one mouser cat and an old man dog. Both other pets are 10 years old now, and rescues, so we all expect to be in this for the long haul. Molly, the cat, is treating her as another of her kids.

Personally, I am scared to death of guinea pigs. Gina is the only exception to date. Even pictures of them make me squirm a lot. So, it'll be me more of an issue on who Gina gets as a friend someday. The next one will have to keep me from freaking out to even get to meet her.

Ummmm, what else? Oh, she doesn't want anything to do with veggies. We had one dandelion growing and I picked it for her and she gobbled it up. Hope she finds an interest in veggies soon.

[Orlaith]

Hi Heather and welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy it and find it helpful.

Gina is a bit on the young side (she's weaned but generally pups benefit from a few weeks more before being rehomed) so make sure she gets plenty of love and attention and a good diet.

Dandelions are a favourite of most guinea pigs. you can give her the flowers and the leaves. Here is a good list of safe fruit and veg that you can try: klccavies.weebly.com/cavy-safe-fruitvegforage.html
Some pigs need to get a food a few times before they'll take to it. In my personal experience I have noticed that pigs on their own tend to be fussier than pigs in groups - this is because pigs are pretty jealous when it comes to food so if one pig in a pair tries a food the other will automatically try too so they don't miss out

[ginasgrandmom]

I am starting to see that about her being picky. But, the big fights are about putting her back in her cage because all three kids want to talk to her and spend time with her. They like feeding her hay when she's out with them. But, is there any ideas how to get her to learn to eat them besides trying to put them to her face and in her cage? I'm not concerned about them getting wasted because I'm getting the excess that isn't being sold at work and will be tossed. (The extra like from home when you buy more of a veggie than you'd be using equivalent) I'm more concerned about her getting enough nutrients. Or is there a better way to teach her to eat from the hand?
Thanks for the help.

[lisa21264]

Hello and welcome. Try to hand feed her if she will let you.Talk softly to her and let her sniff your hand. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get them to eat a certain vegetable. My Terra loves bell pepper and it took a few tries to get him to eat it.Guinea pigs need vitamin C and they get it through pellets and veggies.The pellets I get have some vitamin C in them but they need vitamin C veggies too.