Wrong Food Purchased

[jaqs]

Hi all so today i went and bought food for the Skinny Pigs ( I'm very low on cash) and I've just gone to put food in their food bowls and realised its Russel Rabbit not guinea pig pellets, just wondering if the rabbit nuggies will be ok until i can source some money and but more guinea food or is it reccommended i dont feed it them ?
Jaqs Mr Gibbs & Sylvio

 

[Princess Dustmop]

Rabbits and guinea pigs have different dietary needs, so their foods are not interchangeable. Rabbit foods will generally have too much calcium (often containing alfalfa/lucerne) and not enough vitamin C, and I'm sure there are several other nutritional differences, as well.

I looked up Russell Rabbit food, and I would not give it ... no Vitamin C/ascorbic acid listed is a red flag, as is alfalfa meal. Also, this is a muesli, so not really an ideal food type even if it were formulated for guinea pigs. (Skip the Gerty Guinea Pig version, too ... it's got the vitamin C but still has alfalfa, filler, and treat.) You want one with a grass hay (such as timothy) listed as the first ingredient. The dried peas and corn are treats ...

I'd see if you could return the Russell Rabbit food. Stores here are sometimes willing to take things back, or at least exchange them, if you bought the wrong item (depends on store policy, more likely if product is unopened). I don't know if UK stores allow similar.

(This is the US ingredient list ... the UK is the same ingredients but listed in pieces; I find this easier to read ... UK list is in attachments if you prefer.)

 

[Piggies&buns]

Rabbit muesli is not suitable for guinea pigs.
(Russel rabbit muesli isn’t even suitable for rabbits).

I'm not sure if you normally feed this kind of muesli (food with different bits in it) to your piggies (but instead the piggy version - Gerty guinea pig) but if you do then it is best to switch away from it and get a plain nugget/pellet feed (this muesli is not the same thing as nuggets) where all the pieces are the same

Definitely see if you can return it but don’t feed it to your piggies if you can’t return it

 

[Posyrose]

Pellets aren't an essential part of a piggy's diet. My vets advise against feeding them. If you remove pellets you need to ensure that you feed enough fresh veggies to meet their need for vitamin c and unlimited good quality hay, of course.

 

[weepweeps]

Pellets aren't an essential part of a piggy's diet. My vets advise against feeding them. If you remove pellets you need to ensure that you feed enough fresh veggies to meet their need for vitamin c and unlimited good quality hay, of course.

I agree.

 

[jaqs]

Thank you so much to you all for your replies very much appreciated.

we have some veggies....
peppers,
rocket,
carrots,
we have frozen corn on the cob too would that be ok to thaw and feed them

 

[jaqs]

Rabbit muesli is not suitable for guinea pigs.
(Russel rabbit muesli isn’t even suitable for rabbits).

I'm not sure if you normally feed this kind of muesli (food with different bits in it) to your piggies (but instead the piggy version - Gerty guinea pig) but if you do then it is best to switch away from it and get a plain nugget/pellet feed (this muesli is not the same thing as nuggets) where all the pieces are the same

Definitely see if you can return it but don’t feed it to your piggies if you can’t return it

Its the Nuggets but reading neither Musili or nuggets if they are for rabbits I never feed Musili always nuggets/ pellets.
With me not being well at the moment I picked up the wrong bag of food by mistake and only realised after opening it was for rabbits. So I doubt the shop will take it back unfortunately.

Thank you tho

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you so much to you all for your replies very much appreciated.

we have some veggies....
peppers,
rocket,
carrots,
we have frozen corn on the cob too would that be ok to thaw and feed them

No frozen food cannot be fed

And no don’t feed the piggies food meant for rabbits - the nutrient content is not right for piggies

 

[eileen]

I bought burgess Rabbit pellets 1.5kgs by mistake.i gave them 1 tablespoon each,until bag was completed.ensured that they had adequate vit c veg.i do have 11 guinea pigs,so it was eaten rapidly.the main difference in the ingredients between rabbit and guinea pig pellets was lack of vit c in rabbit pellets.