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Do guinea pigs need nuggets?

Black piggies

Black piggies

Senior Guinea Pig
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My piggies have plenty of hay, and low calcium/low sugar veg, twice a day. They get a treat of wheat bran powder and have one of those straw houses to grind their teeth on.

We lost our boar last month, and he was massive and ate a lot. Now it's just the 2 girls, the nuggets aren't getting eaten. They're still eating well otherwise. Do they actually need nuggets?
 
Nuggets are not essential and in any event only make up the tiniest part of the diet. If they don’t want to eat them, then I wouldn’t be concerned, as long as they are getting plenty of hay and a good variety of veg
 
My boar doesn't eat them anymore, he's bored of the good brands, so I gave up and just let my sow have a tablespoon a day
 
Nuggets are a safety net to fill in where there's any gaps nutrient wise in the hay and veg part of the diet. If you're confident that you're providing a good variety of nutrition otherwise, then they should be ok without them. The only pellets mine currently get are 100% grass pellets, soaked in water. I've otherwise totally removed commercial guinea pig food from their diet. I'd be wary of only giving low calcium and low sugar veggies though, if not giving them nuggets, best not to restrict the other parts of their diet as well, unless for medical reasons, although my bladder stone piggy still gets the same veg as the others :)
 
Eriathwen said:
Nuggets are a safety net to fill in where there's any gaps nutrient wise in the hay and veg part of the diet. If you're confident that you're providing a good variety of nutrition otherwise, then they should be ok without them. The only pellets mine currently get are 100% grass pellets, soaked in water. I've otherwise totally removed commercial guinea pig food from their diet. I'd be wary of only giving low calcium and low sugar veggies though, if not giving them nuggets, best not to restrict the other parts of their diet as well, unless for medical reasons, although my bladder stone piggy still gets the same veg as the others :)
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What are grass pellets? Sounds good.
 
Black piggies said:
What are grass pellets? Sounds good.
Click to expand...

They're pellets that are 100% compressed grass nothing else. Galens Garden do regular grass as well as Timothy ones
https://galensgarden.co.uk/shop/forage-pellets-cobs/?bot_test=1

I have 14 piggies so I buy them in bulk (20kg bags) from Simple Systems which supply horse feeds but as theyre 100% grass it doesnt really make a difference what animal is on the bag 😅 but if you only have a few, the ones made for piggies and rabbits from Galens garden will be in more reasonably sized bags :)
 
Eriathwen said:
They're pellets that are 100% compressed grass nothing else. Galens Garden do regular grass as well as Timothy ones
https://galensgarden.co.uk/shop/forage-pellets-cobs/?bot_test=1

I have 14 piggies so I buy them in bulk (20kg bags) from Simple Systems which supply horse feeds but as theyre 100% grass it doesnt really make a difference what animal is on the bag 😅 but if you only have a few, the ones made for piggies and rabbits from Galens garden will be in more reasonably sized bags :)
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Thank you they look great. Will give them a try. 14 piggies! The poop scoop schedule :xd::))
 
I really don’t think offering pellets is a bad idea at all— no human is perfect, and while, not is every pellet, it’s a great safety net to fall back on. If your piggies don’t like their current pellets, maybe try another?

If it were me, I wouldn’t go full veg and hay without plenty of research into daily vitamin requirements and making sure those are met with the veggies each day. This can be quite difficult since most veggies aren’t very vitamin rich (ex green leaf lettuce only has a bit of Vit K), and if they are they’re also high in calcium or have other issues (ex spinach, broccoli). It’s just a mess to dive into, and pellets just seem a lot easier to me that way I don’t have to stress the numbers :)

Not to derail on a hamster rant, but hamsters, much like piggies, should have plenty of variety in their diet! Pellets can make for a good base, again, as a major source of vitamins and minerals, but hamsters are insectivores/granivores that thrive on a varied diet. Generally, it’s recommended to mix a pellet, a seed mix, and potentially a protein booster if the diet is below 18% after that (averaged 18%, that is).
 
My two don't get pellets now but do get plenty of grass and a variety of veggies( I try to give 5 different types most days, which are mostly leafy greens or weeds that are OK for guinea pigs) and they are doing really well.
 
Eriathwen said:
They're pellets that are 100% compressed grass nothing else. Galens Garden do regular grass as well as Timothy ones
https://galensgarden.co.uk/shop/forage-pellets-cobs/?bot_test=1

I have 14 piggies so I buy them in bulk (20kg bags) from Simple Systems which supply horse feeds but as theyre 100% grass it doesnt really make a difference what animal is on the bag 😅 but if you only have a few, the ones made for piggies and rabbits from Galens garden will be in more reasonably sized bags :)
Click to expand...

What an awesome idea! I have access to grass most of the time but presently as its summer here, all the grass is dry, spindly and in seed, so I walk 2 acres over, morning and evening to get some nice grass. That would be a good back up and should I get more guinea pigs I'll keep it in mind.
 
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