Food brands for guinea pig

[Kancil]

Hello, I’m new here and I’ll be adopting two male guinea pig soon. I’ve prepared their cages, bedding and overall necessities. I’m quite confused on which brand of pellets I should buy.

I’ve heard numerous brands to be good and searched up wether they are available in my country. Only oxbow cavy cuisine, burgess excel, versele laga, and small pet select are available in my country. Sadly the small pet select is only imported by one company and I don’t want to risk them discontinuing, so I only have three choices.

Out of the three choices which one should I pick? Thank you!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome

Any one of them is fine.

Pellets are the least important and smallest part of their diet - only give one tablespoon per pig per day (and actually the one part they can do without). Hay is the most important part

 

[Kancil]

Welcome

Any one of them is fine.

Pellets are the least important and smallest part of their diet - only give one tablespoon per pig per day (and actually the one part they can do without). Hay is the most important part

I’ve considered only feeding hay and fresh veg but I’m scared that they’ll only pick veggies that they like. I thought that the pellets could help with getting all of their necessary nutrients. Thank you for replying!

 

[PerfectPiggyPaws]

Hello and welcome ,

Personally, I choose grain-free pellets without soya but we are spoilt for choice in the UK. I know you are limited in what you can buy so I'm sure that whatever you choose will be great. Just compare the ingredients and go for whichever one you think is the best.

As long as you get lots of good hay, that's the main thing. This forum can help you with lots of advice on what veggies to go for if you are unsure.

Just enjoy it and have fun getting to know your new boys. Make sure you post some pictures cos we love to see piggies

 

[luckyandsammy]

I feed mine versele laga, they really like it.
I prefer to get grain free nuggets for them as I used to have a boy with bladder problems and I read that grain can make them worse.

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

Once you get to know your piggies, it may come down to which brand they like - sometimes they can be very picky creatures! It can help to change brands occasionally, I switch between Versele Laga and a UK brand to give my two a bit of variety.

If you can, it would probably be good to get sample sized packs of all the brands available so your piggies can try them, to avoid waste, but if you can't get samples then I would start with a small bag of whatever you choose, in case they don't like it.

 

[Piggies&buns]

You may initially need to buy the brand they are already being fed even if it isn’t one you would choose to feed. You then need to transition them over gradually to the brand of your choice.

 

[Princess Dustmop]

The last couple guinea pigs I adopted from rescues, I've asked for a small baggy of pellets for transition purposes ... though so far, both piggies strongly preferred my pellets and just ate around the transition pellets.

It's worth asking for a sample of the current pellets, though, if you can.

 

[Kancil]

Thank you for replying guys! Sorry it took me so long to reply. I finally got one of my guinea pig. I went with versele laga and he really loves it. To the point that I’m using them as treats (only one tsb per day). He ate all of his veggies and enjoyed the hay too. Here is a picture of him.

 

[PerfectPiggyPaws]

What an absolutely beautiful piggy. So glad that he is doing well and loving his food, he looks very happy there with his plate of goodies. If a piggy loves the food it's great to use it to hand-feed and get him used to you and gain trust.
Enjoy your little fur-baby xx

 

[Julie M]

Verse laga is a good brand. I feed my boys the cavia complete, and a mix of science selective