Whilst our 3 lovely new baby piggie girls are family pets, they were mainly for my animal mad daughter. (shh don't tell her they are really mine!) I am looking for a feeding chart, in pictures so she can see the amount of daily fresh veg for each piggy. So she knows what is every day and then what are treats and how much as she wants to do as much as he can herself. Now before I start making one from the information in the feeding thread does anyone have one. Homeschooling and working just taking up all my spare time so if I didn't have to that would be great! Also on another note, our feed will run out and want to swap them over to the most appropriate slowly - they are currently on Mr Johnsons Advanced Guinea pig food which came with them from the shop ( yes the piggies came from a pet shop, yes I know all the risks and problems, circumstances were not normal and needs must.) Any recommendations of brands?
Hi
Here is a very simple guide:
- empty bottles, rinse and refill with fresh filtered water daily. The filtering helps to prevent bladder stones and sludge.
- unlimited hay, refilled mornings and evenings (makes 80% of what a guinea pig eats in a day) and is crucial for teeth, a smooth digestion and a longer life span.
- 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day.
- Here is a picture of our sample ved diet. It should make around 15% of what a piggy eats in a day.
3 veg high in vitamin C and other nutrients:
- 1 slice of pepper (high in vitamin C)
- 1 slice of greens (or kale - about 1/3 of the greens as it is a stronger relative).
You can also vary this with a little portion of parsley, dill, basil or mint. This is the high calcium/magnesium/vitamin and trace element part of the diet. Fresh grass (high in vitamin C) can also be fed in place of greens or fresh herbs.
- 1-2 sprigs of fresh coriander (UK)/cilantro (US) for vitamin C and trace elements. Leave out when you are feeding other herbs. Coriander is the herb least high calcium and can fed daily.
3 veg high in water contend but low in nutrition:
- 1-2 leaves of romaine/Cos or gem lettuce. If you use packs please be aware that any mixes with spinach, rocket etc. are all high in calcium and should only be fed occasionally as special treat, leaving out the greens.
- 1 slice of cucumber
- 1 chunk of celery (or you feed 2 slice of either cucumber or celery)
1 veg for fun:
Example: green bean or mange tout, but can be replaced by a small chunk of carrot, a little sweetcorn or tomato/any fruit no more than twice weekly. On the whole, the greener the diet, the better! You can save some suitable veg from your own dinners for the fun slot.
What not to feed or only feed as rare treats:
Here is our comprehensive diet guide, which looks at all food groups in detail, including which veg you can safely feed how often and which veg should be only used in small quantities as a rare special treat (like carrot, sweetcorn, tomato and any fruit). It also has a chapter on treats and on special needs diets.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading
The temptation to overfeed watery veg and fruit in hot weather!
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
