older pig suddenly picky about food

Question
Hi,
  I have a female guinea pig who is right aroung 4 years old, and i`ve noticed lately her eating habits have changed. She has become constantly hungry (or least begs for food and treats constantly, even if i just fed her 20 minutes prior!) I have also noticed she is suddenly picky about what type of food she will eat, picking out certain things in her food and leaving the rest. I have always switched between several brands of food with her and have never had problems in the past. Now its a hassle trying to find a type of food she will eat. I do make sure to give her fresh kale daily, but i worry she isnt getting a good enough variety in her diet, since she seem to be avoiding the pellets in pretty much every type of food i have tried in the past 2 months. Is there anything you can recommend? Or is this just due to old age or illness? (She did survive what i believe was a case of mites last summer, she lost all her fur and it took a few months to completely grow back)
         Please help!
         Stephanie

Answer
I don't recommend switching food too often. The kind of pellets you want are the kind with about 18% protein and don't have anything other than green pellets in them. No colored 'fruit loops' etc.  There is no nutritional value in them, they're just eye candy for the owners.

Perhaps if you cut back a little on the veggies it might stimulate her appetite for the pellets. Generally we lose a bit of appetite during the hot months. Your little girl is obviously not one of them. I generally get questions about pigs who won't eat at all, so this is a bit unusual.

If she's not losing weight, her coat is not shedding excessively and the hair is still shiny and healthy looking there may be no problem at all. The condition of the coat is always the indicator of health in both animals and humans. I honestly don't think there's a health issue here, she's just decided that if she can get the goodies from you she prefers them.  

If she's taking the softer treats like lettuce, kale, etc. and not touching the pellets at all you might check her teeth to be sure there isn't a dental problem that keeps her from being able to chew the hard pellets. Sometimes the teeth get overgrown and it interferes with the ability to properly chew the hard foods.

At four she's not a youngster anymore, but she's obviously not showing any signs of 'old age.' She's just making known her preference for the things she likes. Unless she's showing evidence of weight loss or poor coat condition she's getting the nutrients she needs and doesn't necessarily need the variety.