1st time piggy own - Fruit/veg advice please

PiggyPoo

PiggyPoo

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Heanor, Derbyshire, UK
Hello there,

I’m a proud 1st time owner of our 2 new female piggies (12 weeks old) Twilight and Heidi. They’ve only been with us 3 nights.

I’ve been endlessly searching the net for expert feeding advice, only I’m left feeling a little confused as each site says differently. Here’s what I’ve learned so far....

80% Hay

10% Pellet

Gradual introduction to Grass

Green Peppers

Cucumber/courgettes

Chopped celery (remove veins)

No iceberg lettuce (Which lettuce is ok?)

Occasional Cabbage (which cabbage is best ?) broccoli (causes gas) Small carrot as high in sugar
Small amounts of fruit (best fruit below)

Strawberries

Blueberries

Raspberries

1/4 Apple (no seeds)

No pet shop junk treats (which treats are ok?)

I’m just looking for some advice/tips and reassurance that I’m getting this right!

Please help!
Thanks in advance
 
Welcome.

My Finn and Lara both love romaine lettuce. It is their favorite so they get it everyday. I give my boy and a girl veggies three times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. They also have endless suppky of hay.

Breakfast consists of romaine lettuce, baby spring variety veggies, pallets, and herbs. For herbs, I give them parsley, cilantro, basil, and etc.
For lunch, I give them some grass, pallets, herbs, baby carrot, small piece of fruit like apple or blueberry.
Dinner consists of romaine lettuce, baby spring variety veggies, pallets, and herbs.

This is my daily routine so my piggies are used to it. So basically, their veggies are divided into three small portions a day. They always get endless supply of hay, which they choose to spread around and lay on or pee/poop on.

Finn has been with me since he was a baby so pallets are given to him with his food by small amounts.
Lara was unwanted by a friend so basically I became her parent by default. Lara never had veggies with her old owner, so she always only had pallets and hay. I am saying this because I leave pallets for her all the time so thàt she doesn't suffer through changes when she always had pallets while living with her old owner. I hope you understand what I mean.
 
Hi, I was really confused as well about the portions, etc with salad. Be careful with fruits. I give apples or other fruits on a limited basis. There is a fantastic thread here with portion sizes, etc that is really helpful.

I have a printed list attached to the cage to help out and have found it invaluable.
Vegetables and Fruits Safe for Guinea Pigs To Eat – The Happy Cavy “Snack” List

Scroll down about a third and there is a comprehensive list of literally every veggie and fruit with a color code next to it based on the frequency it can safely be given. There's a lot of info there that is very user friendly.

I am pretty limited here with our produce nearby our home but can get out to the larger store once a week for more exotic and different veggies. We don't always have the choice or Romaine at our local stand so I do also use leafy greens and will get Boston lettuce as well for their weekend treat.

The humane society recommends one cup of the daily mix totalled (sorry for the lack of conversion here but promise to learn to UK standards) per guinea pig.

Hope it helps a bit. I recommend you read up on any and all of it as there is a lot of information on this out there.

With celery, be sure to chop them well as they can be a choking hazard. I believe this and any other ones are marked well on the printout as well.

Congratulations on your new girls! Welcome to the forum :-).
 
Welcome to the forum! You will find great articles in the forums tab, including one on food - I can't link in this device, sorry.
 
Hey! Welcome to the forum :)
Most veggies are okay for piggys, some of these are-

-Bell peppers (any are fine although the brighter the colour , the more sugar it contains) Red peppers are more sugary than green therefore it is best to go for a middle colour like orange or yellow. This can be fed daily
-Parsley is good but shouldn't be feed too much, piggys love it though!
-LETTUCE- Most is okay (no iceberg) . I'd recommend little gem. Can be fed frequently.
-Spinach is great (not too much)
-Celery (can be fed daily 1-2 sticks per pig)
-Grass is amazing
-Sweetcorn (a few times a week)
-Carrot(a few times a week)
 
Welcome to the forum.
Looking forward to seeing pictures soon.

Food can be confusing- sometimes I’m still not sure I get it right.
You have the right idea about balance.
Here’s some of the other stuff my lot like.
Chicory
Dill
Pak choi
Carrot greens (carrots are an occasional treat)
Cucumber
Romaine lettuce
Spinach - occasionally
Red peppers
Green beans

There’s a lot of other stuff they like - it’s probably easier to say what they don’t like but use your common sense and the guidelines on the forum.
 
Thank you so much for your help! This makes me feel a lot better! I just want the best for my piggies!

I’ve given a small amount of cucumber this morning which they loved and a small cheeky strawberry each but they don’t seem bothered with them at the moment

Thanks for your advice. I’ve seen some posts on here and had a look through that link! There’s just so much conflicting advice on the net! I want to keep to their natural diet!

Are plum tomatoes ok? (Without the green!)

Please note 3ft x 2 ft temporary indoor cage (until their bigger outdoor cage is ready! Grandad is making a run for them as we speak! I need to settle and tame them first then the increase outside time).C6367741-206A-47E9-B999-911AE850D196.webp
 
Mine love tomatoes which I cut and deseed for them.
It’s an occasional treat because of the acid and sugar.
 
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