Confused.com....

[smartsavage]

Hi there!

I've been browsing your wonderful forum for the last few days and am rather confused.....which is easily done!

We've had our two wonderful piggies for a few weeks now and they're settling in nicely. I've read, and I think I've understood, the whole fresh food routine but was wondering, as our piggies are only 11 weeks old, how much fresh food should they be having?

I was told by our local pet shop NOT to give them fresh food as they're too young but I've been introducing a little fresh food slowly and they love it!

Are they ready for 50g a day each yet? Should I be feeding alfalfa?

They have unlimited meadow hay, pellets and water.

I'd be very grateful of any help or info!

We have 2 girls and they are called Nibbles and Noodles and belong to my 7 year old Daughter, but I do the feeding and cleaning....she gets the cuddles! (but once she's in bed, I get them too!)

Thanks

 

[madguinealady]

I have given all my piggies veggies from the start, they need the vitamin c. Good idea to introduce them slowly to them. There is a veggies feeding guide on here as well.Congratulations and welcome

 

[MerryPip]

Piggies can and will eat veg from day one along with milk from Mum. They are born fully up and running as in the wild they need to be fully functioning for safety.

I would keep their veg intake monitored and don't give too much watery veg like lettuce (never iceberg) so you don't get tummy problems.

As they are young and growing they will eat an astonishing amount so try to make sure they are eating plenty of hay (they should be eating hay as at least 50% of their diet but up to 80% is best) and a good quality pellet based food (not muesli as it encourages selective feeding and dental issues) as well as veg. introduce new veg slowly so they get used to different things. Once they are fully grown at between 10-18 months you can then start to make sure the portion is the recommended adult one and not too much.

Weigh your piggies regularly - at least once a week to make sure they are growing well and are healthy (weight loss is often one of the first signs of illness in piggies). If you get into a routine of doing it and keep a record then you know what's normal for them and when things are wrong so you can get help. Small fluctuations are normal due to full/empty bladder or food intake but larger losses need investigation by a good vet especially in growing youngsters who should be regularly gaining weight.

Hope that helps!

 

[Jess]

Complete agree with MerryPip

Clearly your local Pet Shop haven't ever picked up a Guinea Pig book as everyone knows that baby guinea pig can eat hay within hours of birth and that can include veg.

Glad you introduced the veg anyway!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! You are doing perfectly right to introduce fresh veg slowly in piggies who have never had any, as sadly many shop and breeders piggies do! You may find that they can be a bit picky about what they eat or not can be a bit variable at first; just persist, like with a child that doesn't like its green stuff.
Here is a list of what they can eat. Please include one high vitamin C veg every day, like a slice of pepper of any colour, a floret or chunk of stem of broccoli or a sprig of fresh coriander/cilantro, parsley, dill or mint. Please vary between these as with the exception of pepper and coriander these should not be fed daily. Give fruit and tomato no more than twice a week; too much can cause sores in the mouth. Try as many veg as you can to prevent them from becoming very selective. http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...veg-and-fruit-list-with-vitamin-c-grading.42/

As to pellets: Feed unlimited until the weekly growth rate is slowing down at a few onths old. then start to reduce them very gradually to the half to handful that fully grown mature adults need from about 15 months onwards. The extra pellets cover the slightly higher need of calcium and protein that youngster have; alfalfa hay is not needed. Weigh your piggies pnce weekly throughout their lives; it is an important tool to discover health issues early on when they are still treatable.
Meadow(UK)/orchard(US) and timothy hay are both fine to feed; the unlimited hay should make up to 80% of the daily food intake. Please rather feed pellets in portions with cleaning the bowl in between rather than just topping it up. Some youngsters have a tendency to pee in the bowl and to mess it up.

As you are mentioning meadow hay, I gatehr that you are located in the UK? With members from all the world, we are grateful if you added your country, state (US/Aus) or county/general area (UK) to your details, so we can pitch you the correct advice, links and recommendations straight away. Click on you username on the top bar, go to personal details/location. In the same section you can also upload your avatar, the picture that always appears with your name in every post.

 

[smartsavage]

Thank you so much for your replies.

I've given them 50g between them this morning to see how they go and they've cleared the lot. They seemed to love the parsley and of course cucumber. I've looked at the PDF of fruit and veg so I can pick the right combinations. It's definitely more complicated than I first thought but at least I can do my best to get it right from now on.

I'm going to weigh them later on when my Daughter comes home so she can be involved and keep the record herself.

They are so adorable, I just want to get things right and make sure they're both happy and healthy.

Many thanks