Vet vs Animal Rescue diet advice

Willow&Kai

Willow&Kai

Junior Guinea Pig
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I've been feeding my guinea pig Willow capsicum (two kinds), carrot (only a thin slice), cucumber (again, only a thin slice) and lettuce daily - this diet was approved by a guinea pig rescue when I was looking to buy a second guinea pig. However I have just taken Willow to the vets today (the issue was not related to his diet, I have been told I clean the cage too often) and the vet has told me that it is not a good diet - instead she would like me to remove the lettuce entirely, only give capsicum once a week and instead give him celery, coriander and parsley every day. I have heard that celery gives guinea pigs urinary track stone, so I am being very cautious to start him on that diet.
I have a had a lot of trouble in the past with these vets and so I was wondering if I should go by what they are saying. I want to provide the best diet I can but am skeptical about what the my vets tell me.
 
Parsley everyday is one of the things that kills guinea pigs . Its high in calcium, can can cause bladder stones
 
Hmm it sounds like the vet isn't particularly knowledgeable on piggies. I could understand saying not to feed lettuce daily if it were down to causing a health problem but this doesn't sound like it is the case. I try not to feed the same thing everyday and add variety as I find my piggies start getting choosy when faced with the same veggies everyday. Have a look at our balanced diet guide which will give you an idea on how much of what to feed and how often Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
 
Skypipdot said:
Parsley everyday is one of the things that kills guinea pigs . Its high in calcium, can can cause bladder stones
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Yeah that's what I had heard, I am very unwilling to go by what my vets say unfortunately. They had also advised me to feed up to half a carrot a day which I have also hears is bad for them.
 
Lady Kelly said:
Hmm it sounds like the vet isn't particularly knowledgeable on piggies. I could understand saying not to feed lettuce daily if it were down to causing a health problem but this doesn't sound like it is the case. I try not to feed the same thing everyday and add variety as I find my piggies start getting choosy when faced with the same veggies everyday. Have a look at our balanced diet guide which will give you an idea on how much of what to feed and how often Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
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Oh I wasn't aware that this site had such a guide, I'll be sure to take a look at it. Thank you!
 
Willow&Kai said:
Yeah that's what I had heard, I am very unwilling to go by what my vets say unfortunately. They had also advised me to feed up to half a carrot a day which I have also hears is bad for them.
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I used to feed parsley daily to one of my old boars, about a month later he had 3 bladder stones
 
My pigs are on a low calcium / carbohydrate and low sugar diet as I don’t like feeding too much calcium plus my Ellen has IC and has mild diabetes although she has been in remission for 3 years.

On a daily basis they will have pepper (capsicum) all colours just not sweet, cucumber, coriander, a green bean and a leaf of little gem lettuce. This diet is also in the food guide.

I ran it past my vet and she said it is a perfect diet for my needs. She did say I could add in some more greens but they’re not keen on cabbage although they like spring greens but I can’t get hold of it easily. You only feed a slither though as too much of any cabbage can cause gas. I do occasionally give them a slice of carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, parsley etc as a rare treat.

I also filter their water
 
Claire W said:
My pigs are on a low calcium / carbohydrate and low sugar diet as I don’t like feeding too much calcium plus my Ellen has IC and has mild diabetes although she has been in remission for 3 years.

On a daily basis they will have pepper (capsicum) all colours just not sweet, cucumber, coriander, a green bean and a leaf of little gem lettuce. This diet is also in the food guide.

I ran it past my vet and she said it is a perfect diet for my needs. I do occasionally give them a slice of carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, parsley etc as a rare treat.

I also filter their water
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I have copied your diet 👍
 
Bill & Ted said:
How about a little grass and dandelion? Dandelion leaves are full of Vit C and don’t cost anything, just a bit of foraging x
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He loves his dandelions, that's a good idea. I'll be sure to give it to him more often. 😊
 
There’s a wide variety of stuff that guinea pigs will eat and enjoy so they can have a varied diet.
Mine love chicory, dill, pea shoots, baby spinach, cucumber, pak choi as well as romaine and bitter head lettuce. Celery is loved as well, as is sweet potato, apple, melon skin, pear.

It’s about learning what can be fed daily and what should be either less oft or occasional treats.
Piggies will also decide that something that was their absolute favourite this week will be treated like poison next week.
 
Meg's favourite veg is aubergine, Velvet's is carrot peelings, Christian's is Chicory, Betsy's is anything she can stuff in her mouth and Dennis's is pepper. Cucumber is always popular as is baby sweetcorn, green beans and mange tout. They all love a bit of lettuce (not iceberg), spring greens, kale and spinach (only for a treat as full of calcium). Coriander doesn't stand a chance when all 5 descend on it and neither does dill VERY occasionally they will get parsley for a treat (if it is reduced in Asda).
 
In my experience vets know next to nothing about guinea pigs. He said you clean the cage out too often?
 
Rae13 said:
In my experience vets know next to nothing about guinea pigs. He said you clean the cage out too often?
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It all depends on the type of vet you go to. Most are general cat/dog vets. You need to find a good guinea pig (cavy savy) vet. My vets are excellent which is why I have recommended them on the forum.
 
Rae13 said:
In my experience vets know next to nothing about guinea pigs. He said you clean the cage out too often?
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Yes, she said that guinea pigs eat their soft poos, and by cleaning the cage very day I'm depriving him of that. I had heard of that, but I had thought they stored it in a pouch - though I'm not exactly knowledgeable in this area.
I would have taken him to a different vet as I've had trouble with this vet before, however I live in a small town and the only other vets that are willing to treat guinea pigs near me is an hour away. Without a license that makes it relatively hard to get there.
 
Lots of people poop clean once or even twice a day. Piggies pull out poops their eaty poops and eat tend to eat them straight away as these are highly prized and they don't want to give them away. The poops that are left in the cage/hutch are generally the ones that have been through twice.
 
Betsy said:
Lots of people poop clean once or even twice a day. Piggies pull out poops their eaty poops and eat tend to eat them straight away as these are highly prized and they don't want to give them away. The poops that are left in the cage/hutch are generally the ones that have been through twice.
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Oh I see, yeah I was quite confused because I have seen plenty of people clean their cages daily without trouble. I had ended up simply cleaning the cage daily and leaving a handful of poops from the day before.
 
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