Feeding Your Piggy

Guinea pigs eat around 16 hours a day so it is vital that they are eating the right things! A good diet is very important for a piggies health and wellbeing. The guinea pigs natural habit is to roam amongst wild vegetation where all their dietary and many medical needs are met. The key to feeding fresh food is variety! If you feed your guinea pig too much of the same thing too often you may come accross imbalance of vitamins and minerals or a build up of gas. Guinea pigs cannot be sick, so problems in the gut can result in bloat which is painful and sometimes fatal for the guinea pig.
Guinea pigs basically need a constant access to hay, a good quality dried food and a good variety of fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Guinea pigs cannot make their own vitamin c so the fresh food is essential, a diet of just dried food can cause kidney stones if fed in excess. The hay should be good quality and sweet smelling, damp or mouldy hay will just make the guinea pig ill. Fresh food should be clean and anything left over removed before it goes stale. Grass clippings from the mower should not be fed as it will make the guinea pig very ill.
There is very little benefit to feeding guinea pigs shop bought treats, fresh herbs or branches of apple, pear or hazel trees are much more nutritious and will be far more appreciated by your pet.
Fresh, clean water should be available at all times in a water bottle. The bottle will need to be cleaned out every day- especially the spout!
Good Foods
1 cup of mixed fruit and vegetables a day
Asparagus
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Butternut Squash
Celery leaves and stalks
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Corn On The Cob
Cucumber
Courgette
Cress
Green Beans
Kale
Peas In Pod
Parsnip
Rocket
Radish
Spring Greens
Spinach (in moderation)
Sweet Peppers
Herbs
Basil
Coriander
Dil
Mint
Parsley
Thyme
From The Garden
Apple tree branches
Blackberry Leaves
Chickweed
Clover
Dandelion
Grass
Hazel Branches
Pear Tree Branches
Fruit
Apple (in moderation)
Apricot
Banana
Blackberries
Blueberries
Cherries
Cantaloupe Melon
Currants
Grapes (in moderation)
Honeydew Melon
Kiwi Fruit
Mango
Nectarine
Orange
Pear
Plum
Peach
Raspberries
Strawberries
Tomato (NOT leaves)
Do Not Feed
Potatoes
Iceberg Lettuce
Rhubarb
Anything from the garden you are unsure about
Remember
HAY!
Guinea pigs should never be without it.