Guinea Pig Nutrition
A guinea pig needs to eat a good quality pellet food everyday as well unlimited hay, vitamin c vegetables and of course, a constant supply of fresh water.
Pellets
If your guinea pig is under 10 months, they will need an alfalfa hay-based pellet food. Oxbow's alfalfa hay-based food is called Cavy Performance. It has a higher protein and calcium content for the younger guinea pig. Its suitable for young guinea pigs, mothers-to-be and nursing mothers. Oxbow pellets contain added vitamin C, are high in fibre and are plain, so no artificial colours. A mixed feed can also encourage your guinea pig to become fastidious, so they just choose their favourite bits. Some mixed feeds also contains nuts and seeds which are high in fat, so aren't healthy for guinea pigs.
Always check the sell by date on the packets. Never buy loose guinea pig food that some pet stores sell. Its always best to buy the pre-packed so you know its fresh. Never buy rabbit/hamster food for your guinea pig. Every species of animal require different dietary needs. Guinea Pigs especially need the added Vitamin C in their food. So ignore any super market pellets that say its suitable for both rabbits and guinea pigs.
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Quantity of Pellets
Between 3 guinea pigs, I give roughly 2 handfuls of pellets. Most days there's just a few pellets leftover, occasionally all the pellets have vanished. Just go off your guinea pigs appetite, if there's too many pellets left, just decrease the amount. If you are constantly seeing an empty bowl by morning, increase the amount. Remember, guinea pig food is only part of your guinea pigs diet. Guinea pigs under 10 months need a constant supply of pellets as they are still growing. They need extra calcium and protein.
If you find your guinea pig is becoming too overweight, they could be eating too many pellets, either because they are bored or they aren't getting enough exercise. Just decrease the amount of pellets a little, weigh the amount to give you an exact figure. You'll find your guinea pig will fill up on hay and on their daily vegetables, which aren't fattening, but are very healthy. Also, try and increase your guinea pigs exercise time. Always weigh your guinea pig every week and keep a record. If your worried about your guinea pigs weight, either loosing or gaining excessive amounts, seek advice from your vet.
Reasons why vitamin c is important
Vitamin c is especially important in a guinea pigs diet. Unlike many animals, guinea pigs can't produce their own vitamin c. A deficiency of vitamin c, could lead to scurvy and also loss of resistance to other diseases.
Although good quality pellets contain vitamin c, its not an adequate amount for a guinea pig, their diet needs to be supplemented with vitamin c vegetables. I only use a vitamin c tablet as a supplement, if one of my guinea pigs is poorly. I always have Oxbow's 50 mg vitamin c tablets in their first aid kit. They can be halved into 25 mg daily. I don't dissolve it into their drinking water, but add it to a little water, using a 1-ml syringe to administer the vitamin c.
List of vegetables and fruits
Here is list of fresh foods that are suitable for guinea pigs and are very popular with my little group. Remember every guinea pig is different, some guinea pigs may like certain foods like carrots or kale, but may turn their noses up at other foods like baby tomatoes or celery. Like us humans, they all have likes and dislikes.
Red or Green Bell Peppers:One slice of a whole pepper, given daily, remove seeds. My favourite fresh food for guinea pigs and is loved by most guinea pigs. Very high in vit c, especially the red, but all colours have high vit c content. Pease note: Bell peppers are not to be confused with red hot chilli peppers which are a totally different food and should never be given to guinea pigs.
Broccoli: Half a floret, including the stalk, twice weekly.
Kale:Two to three small leaves, twice weekly. Not always available in our supermarket.
Carrot: One baby carrot or a small slice of a large carrot, every other day.
Romaine Lettuce: One large leaf, every other day. Never give guinea pigs iceberg lettuce, its not nutritious and it can give them an upset tummmy and diarrhoea.
Celery:One 1/4 of a stick, weekly. Very stringy so needs to be chopped up into small pieces to avoid piggy choking.
Dandelion Leaves:Two or three, average size, twice weekly. A seasonal food during spring and summer.
Fresh Grass: Small handful, three to four times weekly. A seasonal food, spring, summer and autumn. Sometimes my piggies go outside to eat fresh grass for themselves on warm sunny days. Never put guinea pigs out on wet grass, always make sure the grass is dry and never use grass that's been cut by a lawn mower. When spring has arrived and your grass has started to grow, just give your piggies a small amount of grass to begin with so their tummies adjust.
Baby Tomato's: One baby tomato or small plum tomato, twice weekly. Remember to remove the poisonous tomato top ( green part ) If using a slice from a larger tomato, remove seeds.
Cucumber: Very little nutritional value, but has high water content and is loved by most guinea pigs. One slice, include the outer layer which is their favourite part. Given every other day. Cucumber is really appreciated by guinea pigs in hot weather, it acts as a liquid and is nice and cool. A little like us enjoying an ice lolly.
Parsley: A few sprigs , given weekly. Very high in calcium so should be limited if your guinea pig is prone to developing bladder stones.
Apple: One small slice, include peel, give weekly, remove core and pips. Royal gala variety is a favourite. Many fruits are full of natural sugar and have fruit acid. To avoid your guinea pig getting a sore mouth, cut all fruit into small pieces and just give as an occasional treat because of the high sugar content.
Pear: One small slice, include peel, give weekly, remove core and pips.
Seedless Grapes: One or two, must be seedless, give weekly.
Satsumer Pieces: One or two segments, remove rind and pips, give weekly. You can give a little of any orange citrus fruit.
Corn on the Cob: A recent new food. I'm unable to find corn on the cob with outer leaves, but the leaves can be eaten by guinea pigs. Roughly a dozen tiny segments, twice weekly.
The Importance of Hay in a Guinea Pigs Diet
Hay plays a very important role in a guinea pigs diet and should always be available to them. Guinea pigs are herbivores, meaning they don't eat or need any kind of meat, just plant material. Their digestive system requires a constant supply of high fibre food to keep it healthy and running smoothly. Hay is not only an excellent roughage food, it also helps to keep their teeth ground down. Guinea pigs teeth are constantly growing. They use their incisor teeth for breaking up the food and use their molar teeth for chewing. Constantly grazing on hay, helps to keep their back molar teeth in good shape and helps to stop them from over growing. See hay as an important accessory to guinea pigs, that should always be with them.
Buying a good quality hay
Buying hay by the bale is very economical and its often better quality than pet shop bought hay. Buying a bale of hay, also means you can use it as a soft bedding for your guinea pigs. You do need somewhere dry and clean to store the bale. If you just have a couple of guinea pigs, you could ask the horse supplies centre to bag you up a few bags of hay rather than buy a full bale. Always check for unusual objects in the hay, including prickly thistle. Anything that isn't hay, remove it. Fresh hay should not smell mouldy or be damp, disregard any hay that isn't fresh as it could be harmful to your guinea pig.
Fresh grass
You can also give your guinea pigs fresh grass from your garden. Never take grass from a park or near the roadside, you never know if a dog has fouled the grass. Make sure no chemicals have been used in your garden and never use grass from a lawn mower. Remember fresh grass wilts very quickly, so only leave it in the cage for around 20 minutes. Most guinea pigs will eat it straight away. However, if you have a poorly guinea that you are hand feeding, but also encouraging them to eat, by leaving food in the cage, then you must remove any uneaten grass regularly.
Garden plants
Remember you can feed your guinea pig certain garden plants like clover leaves and dandelion leaves. Remember to keep all your house plants out of reach.