Chinese leaf - safe or not?

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nebraska79

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I only had my 2 girl piggies for about 3 weeks. They’re still very scared of us, which is a shame as my son would love to hold and stroke them, me too!
But the questions is about chinese leaf – they seem to love it! They will eat carrots, cucumber and some apples – but every time I give them chinese leaf it disappears in seconds!
I’d love to use it for taming – but is it safe for them? I can’t find any info on Chinese leaf.
They don’t seem to be into any other veggie as much as into that.
I’ve heard that bell peppers are also good for them, as they’re rich in vit C – but they turn up their noses on peppers!
Any help and info would be appreciated.
 
It is not one of the recommended varieties of lettuce (the other bad variety because very low in nutrition is iceberg). Romaine lettuce is much better!

Please have a look at this list of veg they can eat: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42

Make sure that you include at least one high vitamin C veg every day - either a slice of pepper of any colour, a bit of broccoli (any part) or a sprig of fresh herbs like coriander/cilantro, parsley, dill, mint or basil. Please vary between these.

Please don't feed any fruit or tomatoes more than twice a week; it can cause sores in the mouth or on the lips. Carrots and lettuces are very high in vitamin A that builds up in the liver if fed excessively, so they are not daily veg either. Stay off veg that are very high calcium like kale or Asian cabbages or spinach - they are OK occasionally but not on a daily basis (could lead to bladder stones if one of your piggies has a disposition).
 
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Many thanks for that!
I'm struggling what sort of vegetables to give them on a daily basis.
They seem not to like many of them and leave them in the bowl until I throw them away...
What can you give them on a regular daily basis that is easily available in Uk supermarkets ad what can you eat as well to avoid wastage?
Thanks
 
nebraska79 said:
Many thanks for that!
I'm struggling what sort of vegetables to give them on a daily basis.
They seem not to like many of them and leave them in the bowl until I throw them away...
What can you give them on a regular daily basis that is easily available in Uk supermarkets ad what can you eat as well to avoid wastage?
Thanks
Click to expand...

My regular shopping list consists of...

lettuces (various types for a bit of variety, not iceberg)
Carrots with tops on (the tops can be fed a couple of times a week, the carrots maybe once a week or so)
Corn on the cob - its in season at the moment, and coming into the shops with the outer leaves still on (look for the greenest ones!) - pigs can eat these, and the stringy bits inside, although the actual sweetcorn should be given very occasionally, mine get maybe one cob a month, and I eat it the rest of the time!
Celery - once or twice a week (search for the leafiest ones!) - best fed cut up into approx 1cm pieces so they don't have problems with the stringy bits
Herbs - Parsley (once a week - high in calcium), Dill, Coriander (can be fed more regularly), some pigs like mint and basil, but mine don't!)
Kale - can get in supermarkets often chopped up, my guys prefer it unchopped but I can only get it from farm shops or green grocers
Cabbage (not too often - can cause gas)
Broccoli (any part of - mine particularly like the stems) - not too often, high in calcium
Spinach - again, not too often
Cucumber
Tomatoes - not too often, high in vit C but also acidic and if fed too frequently can cause sore lips - mine have maybe one cherry tom each, once a week
Bell peppers - any colour - can be fed daily (approx 1/4 a pepper for each pig will give a good amount of vit C)

You can feed fruits, but I prefer not to. I also prefer to stick to leafy veg for my guys. They did have a strawberry each today as a treat!

If you have a garden with untreated grass, or have a friend or neighbour or whatever, then dandelion leaves will go down well - these are high in calcium, so not too often :) As will grass!

You can also experiment with different types of hay - you can get soft ones, more coarse ones, in between ones :)
 
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