Jitka czech
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi, sorry for my poor English, I just want to ask if I feed my guinea pigs well.
I noticed in one discussion forum (USA) that most owners feed their guinea pigs a lot differently than in the Czech Republic. In the US, they mainly eat salads and leafy vegetables, a little carrot only.
Our guinea pig vets recommend:
- during the summer: ...... mainly grass - lots of grass (classical grass, dandelions, ribwort, yarrow, daisy, nettle etc.) - It is the most natural for them. Do not use any granules at all (calcium comes from dandelions and nettles, the grass contains the best ratio of calcium and phosphorus, And a lot of vitamin C) ....... garden or meadow hay with herbs .......... and three times a week they get: pepper (vitamin C), basil, fennel as vegetables (good for digestion and dissolution of urine Stones), carrot root, celery root, parsley root .....
- in winter: ...... hay, and vegetables (Instead of grass): mainly carrots, celery root, parsley root, peppers (vitamin C), fennel as vegetables, and then some other vegetables of choice ...... ................ In the Czech Republic, our veterinarians are NOT advised to give guinea pigs salads (none at all) for 2 reasons: they are very watery and contain a lot of nitrates - Salad causes bloating and nitrates slowly kill guinea pigs ......
And I have to agree - I have one guinea pig with a very sensitive belly - she can not eat a salad because of the bloat but at the same time the grass can eat a pile and nothing will do it to her. It always feels best during the summer (it only eats grass and hay), over the winter has problems with digestion (vegetables are harder to digest, the only thing that does not cause problems is carrot and root of celery) ..... it confirms that the guinea pigs need Mainly hay and grass and everything else is unnatural for their digestion (vegetables, granules) and therefore often die at a younger age than they should.
My grandmother has been taking care of guinea pigs for many years.
In the summer they feed them only on grass (even hay they do not eat very much at the time, even if they have it in the cage, just prefer grass), in winter they only eat homemade hay and carrots and peppers, do not give extra vitamin C in life ... ..and her guinea pigs live 8-10 years. :-)
I noticed in one discussion forum (USA) that most owners feed their guinea pigs a lot differently than in the Czech Republic. In the US, they mainly eat salads and leafy vegetables, a little carrot only.
Our guinea pig vets recommend:
- during the summer: ...... mainly grass - lots of grass (classical grass, dandelions, ribwort, yarrow, daisy, nettle etc.) - It is the most natural for them. Do not use any granules at all (calcium comes from dandelions and nettles, the grass contains the best ratio of calcium and phosphorus, And a lot of vitamin C) ....... garden or meadow hay with herbs .......... and three times a week they get: pepper (vitamin C), basil, fennel as vegetables (good for digestion and dissolution of urine Stones), carrot root, celery root, parsley root .....
- in winter: ...... hay, and vegetables (Instead of grass): mainly carrots, celery root, parsley root, peppers (vitamin C), fennel as vegetables, and then some other vegetables of choice ...... ................ In the Czech Republic, our veterinarians are NOT advised to give guinea pigs salads (none at all) for 2 reasons: they are very watery and contain a lot of nitrates - Salad causes bloating and nitrates slowly kill guinea pigs ......
And I have to agree - I have one guinea pig with a very sensitive belly - she can not eat a salad because of the bloat but at the same time the grass can eat a pile and nothing will do it to her. It always feels best during the summer (it only eats grass and hay), over the winter has problems with digestion (vegetables are harder to digest, the only thing that does not cause problems is carrot and root of celery) ..... it confirms that the guinea pigs need Mainly hay and grass and everything else is unnatural for their digestion (vegetables, granules) and therefore often die at a younger age than they should.
My grandmother has been taking care of guinea pigs for many years.
In the summer they feed them only on grass (even hay they do not eat very much at the time, even if they have it in the cage, just prefer grass), in winter they only eat homemade hay and carrots and peppers, do not give extra vitamin C in life ... ..and her guinea pigs live 8-10 years. :-)
