Vegetables

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Georgiacait

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Hi!

I'm getting my first pair of guinea pigs on Sunday from the RSPCA. They are feed their animals a low calcium diet consisting of mainly variations of lettuce. Although I know the main part of their diet is hay but how do they get the rest of the vitamin C that they need?
I will start off with feeding what they are used to, but should I start introducing other things into their diet?

Many thanks, Georgia
 
Hay contains some vitamin c. It is also in fresh grass (which is of course their natural diet) and their pellets are fortified with vit c.
Giving a variety of veg is a good idea though and with a good varied diet, they get all the vit c they need.
Safe daily veggies are coriander, lettuce, bell pepper and cucumber. Introduce new veggies (including fresh grass) to them slowly.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading

Ive also included the feeding grass/lawn time guide. Obviously lawn time is pretty much done for the year now but you can still pick grass for them

Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time
 
Thank you, we already have a dog which probably means very limited access to fresh grass, unfortunately.

I was planning to introduce some different vegetables but there's quite a lot of conflicting information, so I was getting a little unsure 😩
 
I feed my boys coriander, little gem lettuce, celery, cucumber & bell pepper, they get basil, sweet corn, carrot & spinach as a rare treat! The daily veggies are all fairly safe calcium wise (to the best of my knowledge) and pepper is a great source of vitamin C!
 
You will find the guides I linked in helpful.
The four items I listed are safe to be fed daily and while you can add in other items, actually those four items are fine on their own. I add in the odd other item if I happen to have it in the fridge, but I don’t buy anything else specially.
Make sure to keep high calcium veg (primarily kale, spinach and parsley but there are others) and high sugar items (fruit and carrots) limited.

Some people with dogs fence off an area to enable either some lawn time in a run or even if you don’t have a big enough space for that, it may allow you to pick some fresh grass. Otherwise, you can grow grass in pots - although it will be decimated in a few seconds! Just an idea!
 
Mine get romaine lettuce daily - it’s their favourite lettuce.
Otherwise mine get much the same as others have said.
Coriander gets fed daily too, except today when Micah decided he doesn’t like it anymore!
I offer chicory and fennel occasionally as well.
Green beans are a great favourite and every day Priscilla treats her chunk of cucumber as if it was a high treat akin to caviar and champagne .

You will soon discover the things your piggies like or dislike.

Congratulations on your new family members.
It’s very exciting and we look forward to lots of pictures when they arrive and are settled.
 
My piggies love corrider they eat that first then the pepper any colour then the lettuce then the cucumber then the celery lol
 
My piggies eat lettuce, bell peppers, sometimes mini tomatoes, and cucumber. Guinea pigs also like celery but only give it to them as an occasional treat because it has high sodium levels which can cause bloating, bladder stones, and general discomfort. Good luck with your piggies!
 
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