New guinea pigs not eating?

Question

I bought my 2 new guinea pigs home yesterday. They are about 8 weeks old. They were absolutely terrified so I've done my best to talk quietly to them almost constantly and stroke their little noggins when they aren't hiding (which is 90% of the time). All afternoon they only ate their poops and hay which I know is a good thing but when I gave them some greens, chopped apple and carrot they didn't touch it. I left it in the pen all evening and overnight and took it out this morning, and gave them fresh water and dry food with vit c and probiotc supplement in it. Should I be worried? What if they've never been fed fresh food before?

Um, last entry - I don't think either of them have been abused, there's nothing wrong with their poop and they are breathing fine. But thanks for scaring the hell out of me!

Answer 1

I have four sweet girls, so I hope I can help. Did the pig come from a pet store or a breeder? Or a shelter (best place to get a pet)? Pet stores (and even breeders) often have substandard care so it's quite possible that your pigs received little or no fresh food. Pet stores are in the business of keeping the animals alive enough to sell, not helping them thrive. Guinea pigs can be very picky about new foods, and the older they are, the more rigid they become. Keep offering the foods, and soon enough one will try a bite, and the other will get interested and follow suit.

Make sure your pellets have the LONG-LASTING vitamin C, as regular C has a very short shelf life - Oxbow and Kaytee make this kind. As long as they are eating that, they will be fine. Also, make sure you are giving them Timothy hay - alfalfa is only for young babies, as it has too much calcium for adults, and be sparing with spinach, as it too has high calcium. Too much calcium in the cavy diet can lead to calcium deposits in the blood stream, jeopardizing circulation. Another important tip - check out http://www.guineapigcages.com and compare your cage size to the preferred size for two pigs. Your cavies will thank you endlessly! All in all, you're on the right track!

Answer 2

I have kept Guinea Pigs for 8 yrs now, and they can be nervous within a new environment. Do you know what food they were eatting before they came to live with you? I would recommend feeding the same dry mix, but if you want to change it add it to there usual food and start taking out the usual food, so there is more new food.
Guinea Pigs eat a lot of fresh foods, so extra Vitamin C isnt required. My Guinea Pigs get, Spring Greens, Apple, Carrots, Celery, Kale, Brocollii, Tomatoes, Pepper, there are lots of other things you can feed them.
I give them dry food on a morning and fresh food at night.Can you imagine 15 Guinea Pigs never shutting up wheeking until they have there food, I hear that every night, lol!
I am a Mod on a forum, the address is below, they are very friendly people and would love to help out newbies.

Answer 3

Not neccessarily abuse. It's possible she just wasn't handled much. It's possible she was abused but her caution doesn't neccessarily mean that. As for adjusting, it depends on the pig. It can take from a few days to a few months. Just try to be patient and spend lots of happy time with her and give her lots of special treats and she should be ok in time. If she was abused, it will take longer.


When a piggy is sick, eating their poo is VERY important. It has what they need to replenish the bacteria they need in their tummy to digest food. Without the bacteria, she'll die because she can't digest her food. Anytime a piggy is put on antibiotics they should be supplemented with acidophilus. Acidophilus is a supplement found in the vitamin section of drug stores. It helps replace the tummy bacteria. She's eating her poos so much because she's running low on her bacteria and she's trying to replace it. Baby food isn't great because of all the peservatives in it. Better for giving her vitamin c would be liquid vitamin c you can usually find around the baby vitamins in the store or you can crush adult vitamin c tablets to mix with her pellet mush. Baby oatmeal cereal is also a good way to help keep her weight up while she's sick. Offer her leafy green veggies (such as Romaine Lettuce, kale, and the like) and hay at all times. The fiber they contain is very important so if you can her to eat them that's great. Keep force feeding her until she's eating on her own. Hopefully adding the acidophilus to her food will encourage her to eat more than poos. Also running a vaporizer or taking her into the bathroom with you while you take a hot shower will help her breathe a bit better. Usually with URIs they worse before better even with treatment so don't give up if she seems to go downhill a bit at first. Good luck and keep up the good work.

Answer 4

they want an endless volume of hay (Timothy, Orchard, Bluegrass) on a daily basis besides as clean water on a daily basis. additionally they want a good fortfied pellet w/out each and all the crappy colored products in it. and that they want a good form of vegetables. some good vegetables are lettuces (no iceberg-it could reason diarrhea) like purple lettuce, eco-friendly leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce; eco-friendly/purple/yellow peppers, cilantro, cucumber, grape tomatoes, infant carrots, vegetables (like collard or mustard), parsley, celery (cut back up into very small products), and apple (a million-2x in step with day). i'm hoping this helps. you will get greater tips from those supplies Guinea Pig Cages and Guinea Lynx. good success!

Answer 5

its normal to eat their poops,try broccli or spring cabbage but first i would try cucumber if your pigs are from pet store they probably had limited veg.they will hide a lot at first mine stand on my feet now to see what i am doing.are you sure they are the sex you wanted cos we bought 3 girls and took to vet for health check and astually had 2 girls and a boy.woo close call the boy went back!pigs eat all the time so if they are eating hay and pellets and poop they should be ok

Answer 6

Guinea pigs are very shy skittish animals in general,its just their nature,give them time to settle in,they'll come round,i find with most pigs,i have 28,that they generally cant refuse raw beetroot and parsley,these are faves with pigs,i dont think you should be concerned.

Answer 7

Just give them time to settle in, they are nervous creatures at the best of times, I am sure when they are hungary they will eat.

Answer 8

i wouldnt worry, just put a little veg in the cage same time every day,they will soon start eating it, just give them time to ajust, as long as they a drinking, you should be okay, x