How to Know What to Feed to Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs can be fussy little creatures. They will be shy at first, but they are loving and caring. Be patient, and they will eventually squeal and squeak when you come into the room. Follow these simple guidelines to make sure your guinea pig eats strongly, happily and safely. It is important that your guinea pigs eats on a healthy balanced diet, and that they are safe doing it. This article will help and support you while loving your guinea pig all the way along.

1

Learn the basic foods every guinea pig needs:

• Water. Give fresh water every day, in a water bottle container.
• Some nutritionally-balanced guinea pig feed.
   Fiber is the most important part of your guinea pig's diet, so you need to make sure you feed him plenty of hay. Both timothy hay and meadow grass work well.
  

1. 2 Guinea pigs like cucumber and carrots.
• Replace any water bottle that leaks and replace any wet bedding as soon as you spot these problems.
• Plain guinea pig pellet feed is an important thing in a guinea pig's diet, and should be fed about 1/8 - 1/4 cup per guinea pig per day.
• Consider giving your guinea pig vet approved supplements that are high in fiber

1. 3
   They Love hay! Hay. Guinea pigs love hay - lots of hay! They need it for digestive and teeth health. They should have unlimited access to it, which often means refilling a good-sized dish 3 to 5 times daily. Timothy hay is the default hay for all pigs. They will happily eat it and play with it, and it's healthy for pigs of all ages. Alfalfa hay contains a lot of calcium so is inappropriate for older pigs except as an occasional treat, but pigs 6 months or younger, or pregnant pigs, need extra calcium so a half-Timothy/half-Alfalfa mix is good. Other types of hay include meadow hay, bluegrass hay, brome grass hay, oat hay, and orchard grass. Hay can be purchased from pet stores, but often it has sat too long, which isn't very healthy for guinea pigs. Look for green and soft. Yellow and hard means it's straw. You can often order hay directly from a local farm, or through your exotics veterinarian, which is often cheaper and better hay.
   • Vitamin C. Guinea pigs are one of the very few mammals (along with humans) who can't make their own vitamin C, so they need to get it from their food. Guinea Pigs are highly prone to getting scurvy, which is a disease caused by low levels of Vitamin C. Guinea pigs need 15 MG or more of Vitamin C daily. Water drops and tang are not recommended as they do not work and can make cavies stop drinking water if they do not like the taste.
   • 
      Grass. If you have a lawn that you know does not have chemicals and is not used by dogs/cats for urinating and defecating, get a fully enclosed outdoor run and let your guinea pig play in the spring and summer months as long as there is no breeze and the temperatures are between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Only allow them outdoors supervised. Make sure they have a dark place for them to hide in from the sun, or if something scares them. Move this around from day-to-day. Guinea pigs will keep your lawn nice and short, and they fertilize it too.
     
     
     • Always supervise your guinea pig when outside. Preferably, you should keep them within a fenced-in area as well.
   • Vegetables Some are very high in vitamin C; Others are handy treats. What to try:
     
     
     • Oranges - Only feed once a week, it can lead to mouth sores. Try giving them a slice or two. They eat the orange and leave the peel.
     • Carrots - feed one pinkie-sized baby carrot per pig per day.
     • Cucumber - has little nutritional value but is a great summer treat, can be fed every other day.
     • Leafy greens - Green leaf lettuce, cilantro, red leaf lettuce, escarole, swiss chard, and curly endive are all good options. Romaine should only be fed in small amounts once in awhile balanced by other vegetables as it has a poor calcium/phosphorus ratio that can cause problems in stone pigs. Do not feed iceberg which is high in nitrates and can cause diarrhea, any vegetable in the cabbage family which can cause bloat, or beet greens which are too high in oxalates.
     • Green/Red/Yellow/Orange bell peppers (not too much red yellow and orange as these are high in calcium). 1/8 of green a day is good. Alternate 1/8 of red, yellow, or orange a day.
2. 4
   Learn what foods that guinea pigs should never be fed:
   
• Any fruits or vegetables that have been cooked, tinned, preserved, or otherwise altered as these may have poor nutritional value.
• Potatoes (skin and eyes are poisonous and very starchy)
• Mushrooms
• Avocado
• Cabbage
• Collard Greens(can cause gas)
• Rhubarb
• Hot Peppers
• Bok choy
• Jams and Jellies
• Nuts and Seeds
• Dairy
• Meat
• "Junk food"
• Raisins
• Alcohol
• Bread
• Fish
• Beans
• Lentils
• Animal by products such as eggs, milk
• Chocolate
• Iceberg lettuce
• Apple seeds

tips

• Even if your guinea pig loves alfalfa hay, use it sparingly. It should not be a part of their everyday diet. Think of it as a dessert, or a treat. Alfalfa should be used only 1-3 times a week, as it causes diarrhea.
• Try to always keep him/her busy by keeping toy in the cage. If he/she gets bored take him/her outside, put a little fence on the grass with some veggies, cut into cubes in a hollow object like a tall tissue box with minnie stairs or boxes to get to it.
• Guinea pigs chew instinctively and will eat as much as you feed them throughout the day, so watch how much you give them and stick to a balanced diet. Explain this gently to small kids who own pigs.
• If you make a private corner or put things in the corners they can hide behind, they will use it like a bathroom!
• Guinea pigs are social creatures and work best in same sex pairs. Always try to have more than one guinea pig as they will get lonely by themselves.
• Guinea pigs are like people, and each have their own food preferences. If you have multiple pigs, be sure to provide even more of their favorites, and if they consistently leave a certain food, they probably don't like it. However, don't be discouraged; sometimes they need to figure out that it is tasty first, and it may take a few tries. This is especially true if they are young or if you have just acquired them from a laboratory or pet store (who usually only provide one type of food); they may not have a diverse palate quite yet.
• Feed fruit in small quantities. Not only does fruit have a high sugar content, but it may also have a low Ca:P ratio, which could lead to bladder problems and possible diarrhea from foods such as raisins.
• Some guinea pigs get tired of having the same fruit or vegetable day after day, so vary their diet. There are some things are always eaten with vigor, though. The more the variety, the happier the pig!

WARNING!!

• Never flip your guinea pig over, it makes them angry and scared.
• Before getting a guinea pig, review the sounds so you will know what to listen for.
• Uneaten food should be removed promptly, within 1 hour.