asking for dietary advice

mackie

mackie

Junior Guinea Pig
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hi! i currently feed my pigs a combination of timothy hay & pellets. i mostly give them an unlimited supply of hay, & roughly 1/4 cups of pellets a day. i occasionally feed them fruits/veggies (a variety of mostly apples, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, & cucumbers)

i’m looking for advice on:
-some more healthy options of fruits & veggies to help broaden the selection
-the beneficial factors (e.g. vitamins, fiber) that the fruit/veggie contributes to their dietary needs
-portion intake
-some preferred brands of timothy hay/pellets
-fruits & veggies to avoid (the ones that may be harmful to them & why)
-some healthy treat options
-is it better to put them on a consistent feeding schedule or should i give them unlimited amounts of hay/pellets
-this one is stupid: is lettuce or cabbage healthier?

thank you in advance for any advice! ♥️
 
Hello. Unlimited hay and a tablespoon of nuggets per piggy a day. Daily veggies I give are romaine lettuce, green pepper, coriander, cucumber and green beans. I don’t feed fruits as they are high in sugar. I also don’t feed spinach, parsley, kale, celery as they are high in calcium. Some people also filter the water. Don’t add any supplements, they will get everything they need from the above healthy diet. I give a few pea flakes or a tiny bit of carrot as a treat. Have a look at the feeding guides at the top. Click on the white lines. Hope that helps.
 
mackie said:
hi! i currently feed my pigs a combination of timothy hay & pellets. i mostly give them an unlimited supply of hay, & roughly 1/4 cups of pellets a day. i occasionally feed them fruits/veggies (a variety of mostly apples, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, & cucumbers)

i’m looking for advice on:
-some more healthy options of fruits & veggies to help broaden the selection
-the beneficial factors (e.g. vitamins, fiber) that the fruit/veggie contributes to their dietary needs
-portion intake
-some preferred brands of timothy hay/pellets
-fruits & veggies to avoid (the ones that may be harmful to them & why)
-some healthy treat options
-is it better to put them on a consistent feeding schedule or should i give them unlimited amounts of hay/pellets
-this one is stupid: is lettuce or cabbage healthier?

thank you in advance for any advice! ♥️
Click to expand...

Hay needs to be unlimited and constantly available in their cage. It needs to make up around 80% of their daily food intake
1/4 of a cup of pellets is too much. They need just one tablespoon per pig per day. Pellets should never be unlimited as they are not healthy for them.
They can then have 50g of safe and a variety of veg per day.

Apples and carrots are not suitable to be fed frequently - they are both too high in sugar and acid and can cause health problems including cheilitis from the acidity, unhealthy weight gain and gut problems due to overgrowth of the wrong kind of bacteria if fed too much . They are fine as a very occasional treat though.
Cabbage can cause bloat so while it is fine to be fed, it shouldn't be a lot and it shouldn't be often.
Cucumbers and lettuce are fine to be given daily but are low in vitamin c.
Aim to feed a high vitamin c veg daily such s coriander or bell pepper.
Keep high calcium veggies to a limited amount - such as kale, parsley, spinach
Healthy treats are things like a different type of herb. I use dried forage as a treat. Mine only get fruit about once or twice a year if they are lucky

The long term diet guide which has been linked in above gives all the details about how to feed including a sample plate of safe veggies. I'll also a link below to the guide which details other safe and unsafe foods along with their vitamin c content

Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading
 
weepweeps said:
Hello. Unlimited hay and a tablespoon of nuggets per piggy a day. Daily veggies I give are romaine lettuce, green pepper, coriander, cucumber and green beans. I don’t feed fruits as they are high in sugar. I also don’t feed spinach, parsley, kale, celery as they are high in calcium. Some people also filter the water. Don’t add any supplements, they will get everything they need from the above healthy diet. I give a few pea flakes or a tiny bit of carrot as a treat. Have a look at the feeding guides at the top. Click on the white lines. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
thank you. that definitely helps. i figured apples are high in sugar. i only feed them fruits rarely. i’m go to the market in the morning to get them healthier options. see if my pigs like them! thank you for the suggestions.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Hay needs to be unlimited and constantly available in their cage. It needs to make up around 80% of their daily food intake
1/4 of a cup of pellets is too much. They need just one tablespoon per pig per day. Pellets should never be unlimited as they are not healthy for them.
They can then have 50g of safe and a variety of veg per day.

Apples and carrots are not suitable to be fed frequently - they are both too high in sugar and acid and can cause health problems including cheilitis from the acidity, unhealthy weight gain and gut problems due to overgrowth of the wrong kind of bacteria if fed too much . They are fine as a very occasional treat though.
Cabbage can cause bloat so while it is fine to be fed, it shouldn't be a lot and it shouldn't be often.
Cucumbers and lettuce are fine to be given daily but are low in vitamin c.
Aim to feed a high vitamin c veg daily such s coriander or bell pepper.
Keep high calcium veggies to a limited amount - such as kale, parsley, spinach
Healthy treats are things like a different type of herb. I use dried forage as a treat. Mine only get fruit about once or twice a year if they are lucky

The long term diet guide which has been linked in above gives all the details about how to feed including a sample plate of safe veggies. I'll also a link below to the guide which details other safe and unsafe foods along with their vitamin c content

Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading
Click to expand...
should i get him organic veggies? & do fruits provide any sort of health benefits or should i avoid getting him fruits altogether?
 
mackie said:
should i get him organic veggies? & do fruits provide any sort of health benefits or should i avoid getting him fruits altogether?
Click to expand...

You dont need to get organic veggies if you dont already do so for yourself

Fruit isnt something which they need to have in their diet. Its not a natural part of the diet.

They can have fresh grass (provided you've acclimated their digestive systems to it) as that is their natural food.
 
Piggies&buns said:
You dont need to get organic veggies if you dont already do so for yourself

Fruit isnt something which they need to have in their diet. Its not a natural part of the diet.

They can have fresh grass (provided you've acclimated their digestive systems to it) as that is their natural food.
Click to expand...
thank you! this helps a lot. i’ll go to the market in the morning to get some more greens for his diet & a healthier option of pellets. is there a recommended or preferred brand of pellets i should get? i apologize for all the questions 😅
 
mackie said:
thank you! this helps a lot. i’ll go to the market in the morning to get some more greens for his diet & a healthier option of pellets. is there a recommended or preferred brand of pellets i should get? i apologize for all the questions 😅
Click to expand...
We are here to help answer questions, don’t worry about asking them!

Ensure you add any new veg slowly into the diet so as to not cause a digestive upset.

You are looking for a pellet which is grass or timothy hay based.
Ideally one which doesn’t contain grains or alfalfa/Lucerne - definitely avoid if it contains alfalfa, but most brands of pellets do contain grains because they are a cheap filler. There are a few grain free brands available though

Nugget Comparison Chart
 
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