My guineas diet

Question
Jenny,
 I was hoping you could help. I just got a new guinea pig a little over a week ago. I've never had one before. Calla is about 2 months old. I've been feeding her fruits and veggies, along with alfalfa and timothy hay, and her pellets.
 Calla will eat carrots, green peppers, romaine lettuce, and cucumbers, but no other veggies. She won't eat ANY fruit either. She eats the hay and pellets fine though.
 I've tried apples, bananas, blueberries, oranges, papaya, and cranberries. I've also tried tomatoes, but she won't eat any of that.
 I don't know if this is something to worry about. Am I just feeding her the wrong things?

 Also, Calla's ears are a little dirty, I wanted to clean them, but I'm not sure how to without hurting her, and I'm not sure what to use. Do you have any tips?

 Thank you so much for your time. I hope you can help me and Calla. :)

Answer
Hi Amber,

Firstly; it sounds like Calla's diet is completely normal! Guinea pigs are very fussy creatures, and cannot eat vast quantities of fruit as they cause mouth ulcers, so she may be rejecting the fruit due to its acidity, and the same with tomatoes.

Carrots are a tried-and-tested favourite. She'll probably prefer red/orange/yellow peppers to green as they're sweeter. Also try celery (but cut it up small or she'll choke on the threads), dark cabbage such as kurly kale, and fresh parsley. Only feed lettuce occasionally; one leaf a week is plenty (same with spinach).

If you want to try her on some fruit, do so in moderation. Try a crisp variety of apple such as Braeburn, or green seedless grapes. As a general rule, guinea pigs prefer crunchy foods (and they're good for their teeth, too) so she's not likely to come around to the idea of eating bananas, blueberries, oranges, papaya, cranberries or tomatoes.

If you vary what you feed Calla, she's less likely to become fussy, and it will be better for her health, too. In terms of portions; for one guinea pig a good-sized meal is a quarter of a cucumber, half a pepper, half a carrot, one large cabbage leaf, half an apple, or one celery stick (ALWAYS cut up). I feed my piggies fresh veg twice a day (once at around 7am, and once at around 6pm) and then give them hay and nibbly bits (pellets) when I go to bed. Make sure you change the water in her bottle everyday. Treats should be given in moderation but can be a great way to make a piggy more friendly. Make sure you get those designed for guinea pigs, as their diets are very different to those of rabbits and chincillas.

In what way are her ears dirty? If the problem is wax, try using a cotton bud just like you would with your own ears, but never push it in; just go gently where you can see (you may need to dip it in warm water).

If you have any other questions ... just ask!

Best wishes,
Jenny.