new pets and eating

Question
We have a female ginuea pig. We have had her since early March 2006 and she is about a year old. On Sunday 8/27/06 we purchased a male black lab puppy and he is 7 weeks old. Natalie(our ginuea pig) last ate Sunday morning before we went to pick up our new puppy. Since we returned home with the puppy she will not eat anything. I have tried feeding her hay, pellets and a variety of fresh fruits and veggies that she used to eat daily. Anyways , my I was wondering if the introduction of a new animal was causing some kind of stress with Natalie that is stopping her from eating, or if you know what else could be causing this. Also do you know of anything I could try to get her eating again?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Melissa

Answer
Hi Melissa,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I am a full time carer for newborn twins so have had many problems in finding just five minutes to myself. Many apologies if any inconvenience was caused.

It sounds like the arrival of your lab has scared your piggie somewhat. Ideally try and make sure the puppy is not able to get into the room Natalie is in,  or if that's not possible then try to make sure your puppy stays well away Natalie's cage/hutch. Is your new puppy quite excitable or bark a lot? This can scare a piggie a lot, and would definitely contribute to her refusal to eat. Again, just try to keep the place pretty quiet where Natalie lives.
Make sure she always has her unlimited supply of hay - perhaps try a new type of hay to entice her; Oxbow Orchard Grass is almost always a massive hit with piggies - and stick to her usual routine. If she is in good health then she should start eating again soon - even if it's just nibbling hay or just a bite or two of pellets and veggies then that is certainly better than nothing. Plenty of cuddles will help settle her too.

Saying all this, I'd advise having a quick vet check to make sure illness isn't making her not eat. If she stopped eating just before you got the puppy I would definitely get her checked out - the arrival of the puppy probably hasn't helped but I wouldn't have expected her to be affected anytime before the puppy actually came home.

If you require any further help, let me know and I will be glad to assist.

Best Wishes,

- Laura
www.cavy-care.com