What to feed my guinea pigs?

[Eva121]

I have two two month old guinea pigs. I have pellets and fresh hay available to them at all times and I give them vegetables for breakfast and dinner. Where I live there isnt really many options for nice fresh greens so it can be hard to find nice veggies to feed the guinea pigs. Right now their breakfast is: Bell peppers, Romain lettuce, half a baby carrot, 1 piece of cucumber, and cilantro. Their dinner is mostly the same except for maybe some green beans instead of a carrot. I just wanted to make sure what I am feeding my guinea pigs was okay. I really want to buy more veggies so there is more variety like cherry tomatoes, water cress, or some dill. But have been unable to find any! If there is more or less of certain things I should be feeding them, please let me know! They also barely eat their pellets, is that bad?

 

[Piggies&buns]

With the pellets, they only need one tablespoon per pig per day. Overfeeding pellets can stop them from eating hay and pellets are not entirely good for them. They do add some vitamins but some people choose not to feed pellets at all, they just aren’t vital to their diet at all. Don’t leave pellets available for them all day. Hay is the most important thing they can eat and it needs to be 90% of their diet.

Don’t give carrot everyday as it is high in sugar. They only need one cup of veg per day per pig.
Where do you live? It’ll just help us to know why you can’t find fresh veg. They really need a good variety to get all the nutrition they need.

If you look at the feeding guides, then that will help give you ideas on what veg to give, but also in what quantities. Certain vegetables should not be fed too high or in too high quantities due to their calcium content being high which can lead to problems with bladder stones.

Mine get a base of veg such as bell pepper, cucumber, coriander each day and then I add in rotation other things such as green beans, courgette, baby corn, celery, spring greens, lettuce, other herbs such as dill, parsley (high calcium), kale (high calcium), rocket (high calcium), tomatoes (high acid), spinach (high calcium),

 

[Wiebke]

I have two two month old guinea pigs. I have pellets and fresh hay available to them at all times and I give them vegetables for breakfast and dinner. Where I live there isnt really many options for nice fresh greens so it can be hard to find nice veggies to feed the guinea pigs. Right now their breakfast is: Bell peppers, Romain lettuce, half a baby carrot, 1 piece of cucumber, and cilantro. Their dinner is mostly the same except for maybe some green beans instead of a carrot. I just wanted to make sure what I am feeding my guinea pigs was okay. I really want to buy more veggies so there is more variety like cherry tomatoes, water cress, or some dill. But have been unable to find any! If there is more or less of certain things I should be feeding them, please let me know! They also barely eat their pellets, is that bad?

Hi and welcome!
Please go lightly on the pellets; hay should make over 80% of the daily food intake, and it can really make a difference in overall health and in how long they live. 1 tablespoon a day is enough. Also do not feed carrot daily - it is like eating a fatty burger for guinea pigs and rabbits; carrots and lettuce are both high in vitamin A, which builds up in the liver in the long term.

You may find our very detailed diet guide with a sample diet helpful, from which you can then evolve your own. The diet guide looks at all aspects. it is has been specifically written for new owners.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

The diet guide is part of our new owners guide collection, which is addressing all the areas new owners have the most questions and concerns about, plus some more that they are often not aware of, like the need to save up for vet care right from the start.
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides