Confused about pellets

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Delaine

Delaine

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I am trying to weed through all the information on pellets. I want the best food I can get for my two girls and I need food available in Canada. I am in the process of changing over to Oxbow but have some doubts. They have been eating Sun Seed Sunthing Special pelleted food which they like. I talked to the nutrition department at Oxbow and I apparently have the older formula of Cavy Performance. The new formula says Essentials on the package. The expiration date on my bag is Nov. 9, 2012 which according to Oxbow means it was manufactured two years before that on Nov. 9, 2010 which means my food is already 13 months old and I just purchased it. Oxbow says that is okay. I pulled up the ingredients on the Oxbow site and according to their web site both the Cuisine and Performance now have Lignin Sulfonate as the 9th ingredient on one and 7th on the other. I think it is to bind the pellets together? Has anyone got a new bag listing this ingredient or know exactly what it is? There is no corn in these formulas, mine has corn. Is corn worse than Soya beans? I feed my guinea pigs chopped corn husks and have tried raw corn cobs but I wouldn't feed them soya beans. Sun Seed pellets doesn't list a binding agent or Mineral oil. My bag of Performance lists Mineral oil close to the bottom. I have e-mailed Sunseed to make sure they list all ingredients on the packaging. I am waiting for a reply. I would appreciate it if anyone could clarify any of these questions. Thank you.
 
Corn HUSKS are great but corn cob is not so great. As far as I know, a small amount of soy in pellets is fine.

I've never heard anyone say anything bad about Oxbow pellets.

Cavy Performance is only for young guinea pigs and pregnant females. For non-pregnant adults you need Cavy Cuisine. If that's not what you've got then I suggest you change ... I realise that's a lot of extra cost and hassle, but if you give them the wrong one then there's a chance of very painful (and possibly fatal) bladder stones.
 
i understand your worry about the pellets but don't worry so much. Hay should be their number one priority food wise, then fruit and veg and then the pellets :)
 
AnnaB: Thank you for putting things into the proper perspective. :) I do over analyze things and they really eat very little pellets compared to the massive amount of hay and their morning and evening greens.
 
I have heard different opinions on the age to change over to a lower protein/calcium pellet. Oxbow says 6 months, some say 9 and others say 12 months. It can get quite confusing. My girls are both 9 months old. At what age do you suggest switching over? I was going to change at 1 year to Oxbow Cuisine. My girls breeder and another long term breeder both suggest keeping them on 18% protein pellets for life unless you encounter problems. By then it may be too late. Can you get a timothy based pellet with 18% protein? My breeder knows I have no intention of breeding my girls so I must ask what her reasoning is.
 
Well, calcium buildup in the bladder is fairly common in guinea pigs, very painful indeed and often fatal, so I'd prioritise avoiding that over everything else. So ... I don't know exactly when they should switch to adult pellets, but I'd say probably at 6 months and definitely not too much later than that.
 
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