Best everyday diet. Which one?

Maryjames

Maryjames

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Hi guys. I recently lost my guinea pig Fuzzy. She had a bladder stone the size of a chick pea and we had surgery. She died 4 days later. I have another guinea pig Peanut who is only 6 months old and so I had to purchase another for her because I didn't want her to be alone. With that said the Vet said that the pellets that they sell contain Alfalfa which is not good for everyday consumption. So I give them American Timothy Hay, and vegetables as well as forage. I took the pellets away because he said they were bad for them. What is your experience about this? Thank you in advance for your help. I want to do the right thing by my little darlings and I thought I was and here we are.
 
I’m sorry for your loss.
Pellets and unfiltered drinking water contribute quite a lot of calcium to the diet. Not all pellets contain alfalfa though and some are better than others anyway. Alfalfa is high in calcium and isn’t suitable for piggies (other than in small amounts for pregnant and nursing sows) . Keeping pellets strictly limited to one tablespoon per day goes towards limited calcium intake. However, it is ok to not give pellets at all. They are the least important part of the diet anyway. I don’t feed my piggies pellets every day, and when they do have them I only give them half a tablespoon each.
Ensure your piggies get plenty of hay, as that is the most important. Ensure they get a good variety in their veg so they get a good mix of nutrients, and if possible let them graze on grass in the summer. Dont let them have too much high calcium veg such as spinach, kale, dill, parsley - one small amount once per week only.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
 
Pellets are only 5% of their diet. However, you can feed pellets that are grass based and not alfalfa based. And they should also only have a tablespoon a day.

Diet is of course important. The biggest contributor to excess calcium in the diet is pellets and (unfiltered) water. And sometimes some piggies will be more prone to stones than others.

I think whether you feed pellets is up to you. Of course you can’t entirely eliminate calcium from their diet because they do need it. It’s a case of balancing it out.

I feed mine pellets every day (though will be doing pellet free Sunday going forward). I used to buy a bag of parsley that would last then a month. Kale was a rarity and they probably only had spinach maybe twice since they’ve been with me. I haven’t given them parsley in a long time (months) and kale and spinach likely in over a year now.
 
:agr: Great advice above. Interesting that when I was having a pig treated for dental issues, my vets also commented on pellets reducing teeth wear if piggies fill up on them instead of hay (because they are easier to chew); making them more prone to developing dental disease if over fed pellets.
 
What type of vegetable can you feed every day? If I eliminate the pellets or reduce them what is left besides the forage that they seem to like and the hay. I give them filtered water also as our water contains a lot of calcium.
 
You can feed bell pepper (mine have that for breakfast everyday) They also have corriander, Romaine lettuce and cucumber. These are all everyday vegetables :)
 
Even veggies make up just a small portion of their diet each day (like an afternoon snack). Unlimited, good quality hay is what they need. To add enrichment you can add cardboard box hides of hay, hay stuffed into cardboard toilet roll tubes etc.

As said above, avoid high calcium veggies.The guide is really useful:

Diet Guides
 
Coriander, bell pepper, cucumber and lettuce are good daily staples. Be careful with forage as some does contain quite a bit of calcium. Dandelion is one that contains quite a lot of calcium.
 
Any colour bell pepper is fine, my previous piggies have all turned their nose up at any colour apart from red. But my three new ones are interested in all three colours. It’s entirely based on their personal preference, all can be fed though
 
I'm so sorry for your loss. Was Fuzzy a very young girl? I lost a lovely big boar after a bladder stone op and two of my girls also had trouble - this is various pigs over the years. I blamed myself a lot and yet my vet pointed out that their companion piggies kept in the same conditions showed no signs or symptoms of stones. She thought that it is often something to do with the particular piggy. Maybe genetics - maybe they eat more pellets than the other one - maybe they don't drink as much as they could. If you're going to tweak their diet I'd say don't do it overnight, just take your time so everyone gets used to the idea. You can also weigh your piggies on a weekly basis to check they do not have significant weight loss (usually more than 50g loss) if you are unsure about removing pellets. This might reassure you that they are doing OK.

There is a useful guide to pellets showing what is in each type although bear in mind that sometimes a 'brand' might change over time without highlighting the fact!
Nugget Comparison Chart

I found that by putting a water bottle near the entrance of the cave where my piggies slept with the spout pointing inside (careful not to block the door) it encouraged one girl to drink a lot more at night when she didn't come out into the open. My vet said that even pigs who show regular calcium deposits in their pee can avoid problems if they keep everything flowing through - you want to avoid 'sludgy' slow flowing pee. Also you can monitor pee for calcium - if you add something to their diet (or remove something!) and you notice a corresponding increase in gritty white deposits you can change back and see if it helps.

Sending love to you and Peanut - spend a little more time together so you can build your bond until you can find her a friend x 💕
 
Hi, thank you for your reply. Fuzzy was 4 years old. A very sweet girl. We noticed she was losing weight and when we took her in we discovered the large stone. She never would have been able to pass it. As you know, not all Piggy's are alike so her system probably was more prone to that. I have since got another baby piggy called Pinky. Peanut is my other girl who was all alone and my vet said I needed another asap as Peanut is only 6 months old. They both get along well and I wanted to start them both on the right track. The chart you sent was very helpful. I don't quite know which one is best as I'm not sure what the percentage figures mean. Which is the best. I just want to give them the best life an the best nutrition. Sorry for the long email. Thank you so much for your help.
 
The important thing is to find a pellet that is grass based and doesn't contain alfalfa (also known as lucerne). The rest is up to you with regards which one you choose. For example, mine were fed Burgess excel in the past (when I first brought them home) but I moved them to Harringtons.
 
Do bear in mind that pellets are only one tablespoon per day, so whichever you feed, they aren’t a high priority in the diet. Look for one which is hay/grass based as a priority and if possible one which is grain free (so doesn’t say things like wheat or wheatfeed) although most of them do contain it as it is cheap way for manufacturers to bulk them out, but unfortunately it doesn’t offer nutrition to the piggies.
I have always fed burgess to my pets and still feed Burgess to my rabbits now but when the piggies were given burgess I only have half a tablespoon each rather than the full tablespoon (burgess does contain alfalfa - listed as Lucerne on the ingredients). I have now switched to Haybox guinea pig pellets as they are cold pressed and made from 100% grass.
 
Maryjames said:
Oh lovely. Are they fortified with vitamin c?
Click to expand...

Yes - all brands mentioned in this thread are Vit c fortified (including the Haybox pellets - they did not previously provide information on their website but they now do confirming fortification)
 
Mine were on Harringtons until Velvet (RIP) passed a small bladder stone and then I switched them to Science Selective Grain free (gradually over the course of a week) and they are still on them now.
 
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