- Protein in the diet
- Pellets as a source of protein
- Pea flakes as a source of protein
- A different way of thinking about diet
Protein in the diet
Protein is a vital part of a guinea pig diet. Guinea pigs are known to eat the odd small bug even though they are herbivores but they get most of their protein from plant matter. The arginine in the plant protein is needed for healthy growth and development.
Pellets as a source of protein
In a traditional pet diet, most protein comes generally in the form of pellets; usually via the filler product that is then enriched with fibre (ca 15-20%), vitamin C and some other trace elements. Most pellet brands contain about 10-20% protein. The filler products also generally the carrier of the calcium that comes with pellets.
Better pellet brands aim to be fairly close to the ideal calcium : phosphorus ratio of 1-5-1, i.e. they should not cause stones in an otherwise balanced diet.
The most commonly used carriers that provide the bulk in pellets are grasses, alfalfa/lucerne (which is a legume), wheat/cereal, sunflower extract or soy based meals (i.e. in a powdered form like flour, which is made from cereals).
The current trend of moving away from a higher or any pellet intake to fresh or dried forage products in addition to fresh, mainly green veg does however come with some considerations: how do we give our piggies the protein they need? Some of it will come with their plant food, but not necessary enough. A lot of the commercially available forage treats and mixes are not necessarily labelled.
The recommended daily diet amount is 1-2 tablespoons per guinea pig per day. The lower amount works better in a mainly hard water country like the UK whereas the higher amount is fine for a mainly soft water country like the USA.
Pea flakes as a source of protein
That is the reason why pea flakes are gaining track as a healthy treat. Flakes contain 20% protein, so a bit more than nearly all pellet brands.
However, while pea flakes may be not quite as highly processed as pellets, they are still a food that has undergone several processes themselves, like all commercially available dried forages. Peas also contain sugar, which is why they are a favourite with piggies, who have the same junk food addictions as we humans. And they contain calcium and calories, too.
The big mind trap is the word 'treat'. Treats are not perceived as an integral part of a daily diet but they somehow float around, disconnected from it in terms of nutrients and calories and not subject to any restrictions since they are an emotive food. Dead wrong, of course!
A different way of thinking about diet
The best way of thinking about your guinea pig diet is that there are actually only three food groups:
Water, hay (over three quarters) and everything else or 'supplements' - because 'everything else' replaces the supplementary role of wild forage in the original diet that guinea pigs have evolved on as a species.
What this does is give you more leeway with your diet: how much fresh veg and fresh forage; pellets or dried forage and what part of the daily diet you want to give in treat form - they all need to balance each other out but within this group you can shift things around and you can introduce new food sub-groups like forage without upsetting the apple cart.
It may help you to think of pea flakes as a form of pellets with a bit more protein content but without vitamin C enrichment.
This way, you can avoid the treat trap and place pea flakes in your overall diet more correctly.
Bowls, sprinkle-feeding or training?
You may also want to rethink how you feed the supplements group and become more creative with it than just using bowls. Sprinkling fresh food or pellets around the cage triggers the natural foraging instince of your piggies. It also minimises food hogging and bullying as well as spoilage from your piggies using the pellet bowl as a toilet. In between meals guinea pigs should be encouraged to eat as much hay as possible.
You can use anything from the supplements groups (not just treats) for training your piggies to come to you for making friends or follow you around for exercise purposes in coach potatoes, teach them little tricks or make them work to get at it by wrapping it up in some brown paper.
Include speciality hays as a healthy treat in your diet or offer different varieties of hay as an enrichment as well. Get as creative as you can and have lots of fun and giggles with your piggies!
I hope that you have found this helpful and thought provoking.
- Pellets as a source of protein
- Pea flakes as a source of protein
- A different way of thinking about diet
Protein in the diet
Protein is a vital part of a guinea pig diet. Guinea pigs are known to eat the odd small bug even though they are herbivores but they get most of their protein from plant matter. The arginine in the plant protein is needed for healthy growth and development.
Pellets as a source of protein
In a traditional pet diet, most protein comes generally in the form of pellets; usually via the filler product that is then enriched with fibre (ca 15-20%), vitamin C and some other trace elements. Most pellet brands contain about 10-20% protein. The filler products also generally the carrier of the calcium that comes with pellets.
Better pellet brands aim to be fairly close to the ideal calcium : phosphorus ratio of 1-5-1, i.e. they should not cause stones in an otherwise balanced diet.
The most commonly used carriers that provide the bulk in pellets are grasses, alfalfa/lucerne (which is a legume), wheat/cereal, sunflower extract or soy based meals (i.e. in a powdered form like flour, which is made from cereals).
The current trend of moving away from a higher or any pellet intake to fresh or dried forage products in addition to fresh, mainly green veg does however come with some considerations: how do we give our piggies the protein they need? Some of it will come with their plant food, but not necessary enough. A lot of the commercially available forage treats and mixes are not necessarily labelled.
The recommended daily diet amount is 1-2 tablespoons per guinea pig per day. The lower amount works better in a mainly hard water country like the UK whereas the higher amount is fine for a mainly soft water country like the USA.
Pea flakes as a source of protein
That is the reason why pea flakes are gaining track as a healthy treat. Flakes contain 20% protein, so a bit more than nearly all pellet brands.
However, while pea flakes may be not quite as highly processed as pellets, they are still a food that has undergone several processes themselves, like all commercially available dried forages. Peas also contain sugar, which is why they are a favourite with piggies, who have the same junk food addictions as we humans. And they contain calcium and calories, too.
The big mind trap is the word 'treat'. Treats are not perceived as an integral part of a daily diet but they somehow float around, disconnected from it in terms of nutrients and calories and not subject to any restrictions since they are an emotive food. Dead wrong, of course!
A different way of thinking about diet
The best way of thinking about your guinea pig diet is that there are actually only three food groups:
Water, hay (over three quarters) and everything else or 'supplements' - because 'everything else' replaces the supplementary role of wild forage in the original diet that guinea pigs have evolved on as a species.
What this does is give you more leeway with your diet: how much fresh veg and fresh forage; pellets or dried forage and what part of the daily diet you want to give in treat form - they all need to balance each other out but within this group you can shift things around and you can introduce new food sub-groups like forage without upsetting the apple cart.
It may help you to think of pea flakes as a form of pellets with a bit more protein content but without vitamin C enrichment.
This way, you can avoid the treat trap and place pea flakes in your overall diet more correctly.
Bowls, sprinkle-feeding or training?
You may also want to rethink how you feed the supplements group and become more creative with it than just using bowls. Sprinkling fresh food or pellets around the cage triggers the natural foraging instince of your piggies. It also minimises food hogging and bullying as well as spoilage from your piggies using the pellet bowl as a toilet. In between meals guinea pigs should be encouraged to eat as much hay as possible.
You can use anything from the supplements groups (not just treats) for training your piggies to come to you for making friends or follow you around for exercise purposes in coach potatoes, teach them little tricks or make them work to get at it by wrapping it up in some brown paper.
Include speciality hays as a healthy treat in your diet or offer different varieties of hay as an enrichment as well. Get as creative as you can and have lots of fun and giggles with your piggies!
I hope that you have found this helpful and thought provoking.