is grass a safe and good treat?

Question
I just got my guinea pig two days ago but hes not eating his food!I looked on the internet and it says a guinea pigs natural diet is grass so i gave it grass and now it only eats grass!Should i keep feeding it grass or make the grass a special trea?If i should use it as a special treat then how do i get it to eat its pellet food.One more thing i can NEVER pick up my guinea pig it just tried to run and it scrathes and bites me.So how do i get it to not resist when i try to pick it up

Answer
Hi David,

Guinea pigs love grass, and it's fine to feed this to your piggy. Make sure it's fresh from the garden, and wash and dry it before giving it to your piggy. Never ever give your guinea pig grass mowings, and make sure there are no wild flowers mixed in with the grass (except dandelion leaves, guinea pigs love these). Too much of any food isn't healthy, so grass is perhaps best left for your guinea pig to eat when he's in his run in the garden, or as a "special meal" once a week.

The most important part of a guinea pig's diet is hay. Make sure your guinea pig has plenty of this everyday, as he will need it to digest his food properly. Most experts advise that you give a guinea pig a constant supply of hay, but this can be very hard to keep up with, so I usually just give mine a good helping at night (a guinea-pig-sized amount). Timothy hay is the best kind, but it's expensive, and any hay from a good pet shop or equestrian store is fine; ask at the counter if it's okay for piggies to eat if you're not sure, and never confuse hay with straw!

Like humans, guinea pigs cannot keep vitamin c in their systems, so they need to eat fresh vegetables containing this every day, or they will suffer from scurvy. The best vegetables to feed a guinea pig are carrots, salad peppers (with seeds & stalk removed), cucumber, dark cabbage (like savoy or curly kale), and celery (cut into small pieces to prevent choking on the threads). I feed my guinea pigs fresh food twice a day; once at around 7.30am, and again at around 6pm. A good portion for an adult guinea pig is half a carrot, half a large pepper, a quarter of a cucumber, a large cabbage leaf, or a stick of celery (cut up!). Guinea pigs also like other vegetables so it's a case of trial and error to see what yours likes best; but be careful, as some foods that are safe for humans are not safe for guinea pigs, so if you're not sure, stick to the list I gave you. Guinea pigs also like some fruits, particularly apples and grapes, but these should be fed sparingly as too many will cause mouth ulcers due to the acid content. Guinea pigs adore parsley (the fresh, curly-leafed kind) and it has medicinal qualities; so a little of this once a week will keep your new pet happy and healthy.

Dried or pellet food is the least important part of a guinea pig's diet, but it should still be given, as it has vitamin supplements in it, and most guinea pigs love it (I sprinkle a small handful in the hay for my piggies at night, so they can hunt for it). Yours is probably just being fussy about the particular brand you've bought! Ask the pet shop or breeder you bought him from what food they used, and get the same, as it's what he'll be used to. Never ever give a guinea pig dried food that is meant for other small animals, particularly rabbits, as their diets are very different and some rabbit foods are even toxic to guinea pigs. My favourite to use is "Gerty Guinea Pig"; it smells lovely and if I was a guinea pig, I'm sure I'd like to eat it. The pellet foods are much less appetising, but they do prevent selective feeding. My guinea pigs always eat their favourite bits of the Gerty first, but they'll still polish off the rest!

Have fun with your new pet, and please ask if you have any other questions. I will copy a previous answer to you, that I gave about gaining the trust of a scared guinea pig.

Best wishes,
Jenny.

- - - -

Guinea pigs are skittish by nature as in the wild they are preyed upon, so until he learns to trust you, he will be afraid. Guinea pigs from pet stores are usually the most skittish of them all, as they are not handled regularly and are not kept in particularly good conditions. The good news is there is lots you can do to turn your fraidy piggy into a very affectionate pet!

Stroking him in his cage is a good place to start. He will feel safe in his home, and will enjoy being stroked. If you do this regularly he will start to realise that you're not a predator, you just want to stroke him. To start with you'll have to stroke him in the corner, but as he gets braver and learns to trust you, he'll come closer and closer.

Hand-feeding him is also a great idea. Start by holding out a tasty treat that is long, like a carrot stick, so he doesn't need to come close to eat it from you. Make the treats smaller as the days go by, so he has to come closer to eat. Eventually as soon as he sees you he'll be waiting by the cage door to receive his snack :o)

Being picked up is a scary experience for a guinea pig to start with, so I recommend you get him used to being stroked and eating from your hand before you try to pick him up. Start by not actually picking up, but positioning your hands on him as though to lift him, whilst he's still in his cage. Do this a few times, on different days. Then try lifting him up in his cage (don't bring him out), and putting him back straight away. Again, do this over a number of days.

Finally, when you take him out of the cage for the first time, there are a number of things you can do to make him feel more secure. Hold him very close to you; he will trust you by this point, and will feel safe from predators. Remember, it will be the first time he's out in the room you hold him in, so he won't know that he's not going to be eaten! Give him a snack, and make sure you sit on the floor. Stroke him (under the chin and behind the ears are always winners!) and make him feel safe and loved. Put him back in his cage (hold on tight; he will jump!) after about 5 minutes. The next time, keep him out for 10 minutes, then 15 and so on.

The circling around is normal behaviour ... my guinea pigs love coming out of their cage and they still do this ... they're just cheeky!

Good luck,
Jenny.