What to give my boys...

[Victoria Jones]

Right now for food I am giving my boys Gilbert and Gandalf Oxbow Essentials Young Guinea Pig Food which was recommended by my Vet. I also feed them Timothy Hay. My question is when it comes to veggies what is best to give them? I have given them Kale, Carrots (2-4x a week) and romane lettus. What other leafy greens or veggys are good to give them. I have been very hesitant in what I give them because I do not want them to get sick.

 

[Helen82]

Hello! Carrots should only be an occasional treat and kale shouldn't be fed daily as it is very high in calcium. Bell peppers can be fed daily and are a good source of vitamin C. Coriander (cilantro) is also a good regular food. In the guinea pig guides there is a food list and a suggested daily diet.

 

[Piggies&buns]

The link below will help you with a guide for daily veggies. Any new veggies need to be introduced slowly.

Kale is too high in calcium to be fed every day. Only feed it once a week.
Carrots are too high in sugar and should be kept as an occasional treat. I only give my boys a tiny bit of carrot twice a month.

Hay needs to be the biggest part of their diet and make up around 80% of their daily food intake. Pellets and veg are supplementary only. Limit their pellets to one tablespoon per piggy per day. Don’t let them have constant access to pellets.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Victoria Jones]

The link below will help you with a guide for daily veggies. Any new veggies need to be introduced slowly.

Kale is too high in calcium to be fed every day. Only feed it once a week.
Carrots are too high in sugar and should be kept as an occasional treat. I only give my boys a tiny bit of carrot twice a month.

Hay needs to be the biggest part of their diet and make up around 80% of their daily food intake. Pellets and veg are supplementary only. Limit their pellets to one tablespoon per piggy per day. Don’t let them have constant access to pellets.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Thankyou The vet I talked to said to keep 1/2 cup of the oxbow pellets in the bowl for them and that usually took gilbert two days to eat before I introduced Gandalf to the family. and I only give kale as a treat because of how high it is in calcium.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thankyou The vet I talked to said to keep 1/2 cup of the oxbow pellets in the bowl for them and that usually took gilbert two days to eat before I introduced Gandalf to the family. and I only give kale as a treat because of how high it is in calcium.

Sounds like far too many pellets (if I’ve converted it to tablespoons correctly!). One tablespoon per pig is enough. I give my piggies their one tablespoon of pellets in the morning. I leave the bowl with them for about an hour and then remove the pellet bowl until the next day, even if there are still pellets in the bowl. They need constant access to hay and that is what they should be filling up on, Not on pellets. Overfeeding pellets can contribute to excess calcium intake and other health issues.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Great advice given above, peppers and cucumber most days plus coriander alternated with a babyleaf salad mix are my piggies regular daily veg, other veg gets alternated in on a once or twice a week basis (dill, parsley, spinach which are all high calcium, one or two small portions of any of these a week is plenty- babycorn or carrots are very high calorie and again a treat food once or twice a week in very small amounts, like 1 or 2 slices of carrot or babycorn, not a full one!). My piggies get approximately 12-15 pellets each for a meal, usually twice a day but some days we skip the breakfast pellets and just have scatterfed babyleaf salad instead! With veg and pellets we only ever feed what will be eaten in 20 minutes, then the food bowls are taken away and big piles of hay get added!