Are we doing it right?

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KentPig

KentPig

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I'm sorry if this is a repetitive post that you see day in day out. I did have a look through but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted to know.

Anyway we recently (Last Saturday) Purchased too pigs from Pets at home. I have heard different conflicting things on what you can and what you can't give them. Here is a quick list of what so far we have been giving them just want to make sure we are doing it right in the right way or if anyone could give us advice and tips.

So far

Romaine lettuce (They love!)
Broccoli (They Love)
Tomato (Never touched it)
Apple (a little)
Celery (they can take it or leave it not really fussed by it)
small Raddish (not keen)
Cucumber (They can take it or leave it)
red and Green pepper (Never touched it)
Mixed baby leaves (Spinach,rocket)
Strawberry (Not keen)

Always have a bowl of pellets in too

Are all of these ok to give them?

I get up early for work so around 5-6 I will get a small side plate and put generous helpings on there for them, And then when I get in take out what they haven't eaten then give them a small bit of Romaine lettuce then we set up huge run in the lounge for them which they absolutely love springing around so funny to watch anyway we will put generous helpings of fresh in with them.

Is this the correct way to do it? I just want to get it right to put my mind at rest.
 
The most important thing for piggies is HAY. You can't give them too much. As for the vegetables we wouldn't feed them radishes. Think about their diet being roughly 80% hay, 15% veg and 5% pellets/nuggets. Again personally we would not feed them muesli as this can lead to selective feeding. Please find the link below for an extensive list for guinea pig veg shopping, you will find your piggies will like some things more than others and then all of a sudden will change.

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?42-Vegetables-Shopping-List

Happy shopping and don't forget if you havent already done so we love piggy pigtures on this forum

Lisa & Ali.x
 
I second that hay is one of the most important aspects of the guinea pigs diet, unlimited amount should be available at all times, pellets should be available but don't over feed. Fruits should only be fed sparingly once a week as they are sugary and acidic fruits can cause mouth sores if fed in large amounts. Radishes are ok but I have found no piggy likes them. As for the rest young piggies take time to try new things, just keep trying with them. Mine have a little for breakfast like dark greens (spring greens, cabbage etc) and then in the evening they have a large veggie bowl the basis of which is celery, cucumber, peppers and then I alternate other veggies that I put in. Mine like broccoli, carrot, beetroot, green beans, baby corns, corn on the cob, herbs (coriander, basil, parsley, dill), swede, cauli leaves, tomatoes, apple, pear, orange plus lots of other stuff. The key is variety. Have a look at the shopping list link lots of good ideas on there :)
 
Like Lisaali says, hay is by far the most important thing for them to have and they love it! It's good to play in/on, lie on, eat and have fun with. Keep it fresh by changing it regularly ( my guys wee in the hay tray a lot). For fun you can stuff it in toilet roll tubes or in paper bags for them to pull out and wrestle with. It's probably one of the most popular things in our house!

Regarding veggies don't panic if they aren't keen on too many things yet. They will only be young and have moved around a lot before ending up in your home and lots of young pigs take a while to acquire a taste for different veg. Just try them with small bits of various things. They will work out what they like soon enough. Also they can be funny about things and I have found they often eat more if you chop them up into chunks or bits. A friend's piggies shun anything that comes whole, they prefer chopped mixed salad and veggies!

Fresh leafy herbs like Basil, Mint, Coriander, Dill, Parsley and tarragon are popular in our house for treats as is a whole corn on the cob complete with leaves. It's like dinner and a plaything in one!
 
Thanks for the reply. We have the attachment on the side of the cage for Hay and lots of hay for the bedding.
 
That's great tomorrow night id shopping night so we will grab some herbs and a corn on the cob....They eat better than we do :))
 
KentPig said:
They eat better than we do :))
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Indeed! It's embaressing when you get to the checkout and the operator is like ' ooh aren't you the healthy ones...' and we are like 'Errr no it's all for the piggies...' Either that or having to explain to the operator what fennel, beetroot and corn on the cob actually are as they look at you with a confused expression! Once we got the fennel for the price of an onion as the till girl didn't know what it was, saved us about £1 on each bulb of it!
 
MerryPip said:
Indeed! It's embaressing when you get to the checkout and the operator is like ' ooh aren't you the healthy ones...' and we are like 'Errr no it's all for the piggies...' Either that or having to explain to the operator what fennel, beetroot and corn on the cob actually are as they look at you with a confused expression! Once we got the fennel for the price of an onion as the till girl didn't know what it was, saved us about £1 on each bulb of it!
Click to expand...

Same here, they always say your healthy aren't you :))
 
KentPig said:
That's great tomorrow night id shopping night so we will grab some herbs and a corn on the cob....They eat better than we do :))
Click to expand...

You should go to Lidl at the weekend, they've got sweet corns for 29p each (Saturday & Sunday). This time of year I give mine them alternate days. Give them the whole thing not the fancy dressed ones you get in Asda or Tesco. Some of mine prefer the green outside to the yellow inside.

If you#'re using hay for bedding too they should have plenty. They can just eat it when they're sat or laid resting.
 
Thanks for the replies it's put my mind at rest. I will take a look and grab a cob, I have given them a couple of chunks of my own cob they seem to be enjoying it.

Another thing which I have read somewhere is that Fresh veg/fruit should be taken out after an hour or two is this right? Or can we just leave them with what ever they don't eat straight away?
 
Doesn't get chance in my boys cages but yes you should if they haven't eaten it within 2 hours especially apple what spoils etc... Sweetcorn can be left however as it doesn't go off, I leave mine in for a few hours and come back and its stripped :)
 
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