Food

[Mclayton]

Hi. I'm getting confused with this forum. I'm told that guinea pigs can eat coriander daily,, but its listed in the high calcium group. My piggies are a bit prone to bladder issues, so I need to be careful what I give them daily. They already have little gem lettuce, cucumber & green pepper once a day, & was also giving them coriander,, but I'm a bit concerned now since seeing it on the high calcium list.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Coriander is fine to be fed daily - a few sprigs. I don’t think there are many of us on here who don’t feed daily coriander. It is not considered high in calcium so although it is higher per 100g than lettuce for example, it is not a problem.
If you only feed lettuce, cucumber and bell pepper then they would be missing out on important trace elements in the coriander. Herbs are good for piggies for those elements but other herbs such as parsley and dill are considerably higher in calcium so are not recommended for daily feeding.
It’s all about a good balance and the items listed in the diet guide provide that.

Don’t forget that they still need calcium and if you go too far in trying to reduce calcium and only give them veg considered low calcium then you can cause just as many health problems as giving too much.

Pellets and unfiltered drinking water are the biggest contributors of calcium into the diet (even low calcium pellets contain more calcium than the highest calcium veg). If you don’t overdo pellets then you give yourself room to feed other veg items for variety.

I see your piggy has IC. Wiebke has said in other posts that it is changes to the diet and introducing new veg which can cause flares in IC piggies. Piggies can be sensitive to certain veggies but it is an individual thing and if your piggy is fine on the diet as being fed, then there is no need to change it (doing so potentially causing an IC flare)

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Mclayton]

Coriander is fine to be fed daily - a few sprigs. I don’t think there are many of us on here who don’t feed daily coriander. It is not considered high in calcium so although it is higher per 100g than lettuce for example, it is not a problem.
If you only feed lettuce, cucumber and bell pepper then they would be missing out on important trace elements in the coriander. Herbs are good for piggies for those elements but other herbs such as parsley and dill are considerably higher in calcium so are not recommended for daily feeding.
It’s all about a good balance and the items listed in the diet guide provide that.

Don’t forget that they still need calcium and if you go too far in trying to reduce calcium and only give them veg considered low calcium then you can cause just as many health problems as giving too much.

Pellets and unfiltered drinking water are the biggest contributors of calcium into the diet (even low calcium pellets contain more calcium than the highest calcium veg). If you don’t overdo pellets then you give yourself room to feed other veg items for variety.

I see your piggy has IC. Wiebke has said in other posts that it is changes to the diet and introducing new veg which can cause flares in IC piggies. Piggies can be sensitive to certain veggies but it is an individual thing and if your piggy is fine on the diet as being fed, then there is no need to change it (doing so potentially causing an IC flare)

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

He doesn't have IC. we were only presuming, at that time. It was infection. He's absolutely fine now.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Oh ok, so he doesn’t have bladder issues then.
An urine infection is caused by bacteria and is often a one time thing so wouldn’t be considered a long term bladder issue requiring diet adjustment (unlike bladder stones which would be a good idea to review the diet)

 

[Mclayton]

Oh ok, so he doesn’t have bladder issues then.
An urine infection is caused by bacteria and is often a one time thing so wouldn’t be considered a long term bladder issue requiring diet adjustment (unlike bladder stones which would be a good idea to review the diet)

When he did a wee last night, it was quite white with calcium, & obviously squeaked when doing the wee. The only change for last night, was one of them grass turf things, with flowers on top. Rosewood nibble & dig meadow they are called. I'm wondering if it was that, as like I previously said, I feed lettuce, cucumber, pepper, coriander, science selective grain free pellets, & filtered water.

 

[Piggies&buns]

When he did a wee last night, it was quite white with calcium, & obviously squeaked when doing the wee. The only change for last night, was one of them grass turf things, with flowers on top. Rosewood nibble & dig meadow they are called. I'm wondering if it was that, as like I previously said, I feed lettuce, cucumber, pepper, coriander, science selective grain free pellets, & filtered water.

White wee is the body’s normal way of excreting excess calcium. You only need to check the diet if it is frequent or if the dried patches of white wee feel gritty.

As long as you are sticking to one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day only, then your diet sounds ok

 

[Mclayton]

White wee is the body’s normal way of excreting excess calcium. You only need to check the diet if it is frequent or if the dried patches of white wee feel gritty.

As long as you are sticking to one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day only, then your diet sounds ok

Just wondering then, why he squeaked last night after doing a white wee. He recently got the all clear on Monday, regarding infection. He's had x ray & scan, & are no stones

 

[Piggies&buns]

Just wondering then, why he squeaked last night after doing a white wee. He recently got the all clear on Monday, regarding infection. He's had x ray & scan, & are no stones

All you can do is monitor and stay in contact with your vet.
If he is consistently having painful pees but is clear of infection, sludge and stones, then IC is usually the next thing to consider. IC can only be diagnosed through process of eliminating all other possibilities.

 

[Mclayton]

Hi. Can guinea pigs have pepper daily, & how often can they have tomato in a week? Thanks

 

[Ruth1]

Hi. Can guinea pigs have pepper daily, & how often can they have tomato in a week? Thanks

Bell pepper daily and I never feed mine tomato. I don’t think they need it - I imagine them to be acidic things and I don’t bother! A wee green bean every now and again is nice for them .

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes pepper is daily.
Tomato isn’t needed but it is once a week only. It’s too acidic to be anything other than a treat.
I don’t think I’ve ever given tomato to mine

Ive merged your new post with your post of the other day given the topic is similar.
The feeding guide was linked in previously.
Green bean is on the plate in the guide but should be only an occasional item.

 

[Mclayton]

Yes pepper is daily.
Tomato isn’t needed but it is once a week only. It’s too acidic to be anything other than a treat.
I don’t think I’ve ever given tomato to mine

Ive merged your new post with your post of the other day given the topic is similar.
The feeding guide was linked in previously.
Green bean is on the plate in the guide but should be only an occasional item.

I just wanted to give them something different, other than pepper, little gem or romaine, cucumber & coriander, which they have daily

 

[Piggies&buns]

I just wanted to give them something different, other than pepper, little gem or romaine, cucumber & coriander, which they have daily

They can be given other things but everything else is in moderation -
Sugary items (fruit (including tomatoes) and carrot) are no more than once a week in very tiny amounts but they don’t need to be in the diet at all. Mine get a very thing piece of fruit once a year in summer
and anything else is once or twice a week.

Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading