Food plate examples

ladymuck83

ladymuck83

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi 👋

I have had a look at the pinned posts but would really like some ideas - is there any chance some of you could snap your food plates for me to see what you are feeding your piggies.

I found a very dark wee this morning in a cardboard box hoping this isn’t a sign I’m feeding them wrong not sure how long it’s had been there

Also can u let me know what nuggets you are using :)

Would be really grateful :)
 
Hiya
There is a thread on the forum What’s for tea?! here is the link
It gives you an idea of what Forum members are feeding their piggies and themselves 😝
Quantity - Generally one cup full of veg a day for each piggie you have, usually divided into morning and evening tea x
Mine two boys are having fennel fronds, dandelion flowers, a little celery and one small spring cabbage leaf.

I use Harrington’s nuggets, 1 tablespoon per piggie a day x
 
Brill thank you both. I am gathering then that calcium is bad? Xx
 
Hello,

The veggie plate below is pretty typical of what my boy Finn and Lara each get per day. They get veggies three times a day, and romaine lettuce is something they get everyday. Herbs, kale, and baby carrots may be replaced with celery, spring veggies, and other veggies. Fruits are given only a couple of times a week due to their high sugar content.
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I give mine Oxbow pellets each day.
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Was about to photograph ours but the piggies ate it too fast! Today for tea we had a slice of red pepper and a slice of cucumber each with a small desert spoonful of science selective grain free pellets (about 16 pellets per adult piggy). It was babyleaf salad and the same amount of pellets for breakfast, then a grape as a treat after being good for the vet nurse during toenail cutting time!
 
ladymuck83 said:
Brill thank you both. I am gathering then that calcium is bad? Xx
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Calcium is not bad, and is actually essential as part of a healthy and balanced diet.
Most guinea pigs excrete excess calcium in their urine (which is why is sometimes shows up as white spots on their bedding).

However some guinea pigs also suffer with a build up of excess calcium in their bladder and urinary tracts, as either stones or sludge.
This can cause serious and painful health problems, and is the reason that a lot of people filter their water, and also avoid veg that is know to have a high calcium content.

The theory is that calcium problems are caused by an imbalance in the Calcium:Phosphorous ratio, and it's not necessairly as simple as not feeding high calcium veg, however the 'problem' with feeding fresh foods is that it is impossible to accurately predict the exact ratios of calcium and phosphorous, becasue these will vary. Just like all oranges do not taste exactly the same - some are naturally sweeter than others, and this depends on many factors which are impossible to control.

So many of us choose to try and limit high calcium veg in the hopes that this will keep the levels low enough that they don't cause problems.
But I have had 5 guinea pigs, all fed the exact same diet, and only one has suffered with bladder issues, so I am fairly certain that there is a lot more to it than just limiting spinach! But I do now filter all of their water and limit spinach :nod:
 
ladymuck83 said:
Oh wow these are brill thank u
@Seven7

@Bill & Ted yoir piggies are GORGEOUS I want more

@PigglePuggle thanks for info they sound like they enjoy their food - how often do u get their nails cut :)
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We get the nails cut at the vet nurse about every 3 months, possibly for a couple of my older piggies every 2 months would be better, but generally due to work commitments and the number of piggies we take them all in the school holidays unless anything looks too urgent. Lots of people cut nails at home, and there is a nail cutting guide on the forum, but unless there's just one or two unusually long nails catching on things that need immediate attention, I'm too much of a coward!
 
Seven7 said:
Hello,

The veggie plate below is pretty typical of what my boy Finn and Lara each get per day. They get veggies three times a day, and romaine lettuce is something they get everyday. Herbs, kale, and baby carrots may be replaced with celery, spring veggies, and other veggies. Fruits are given only a couple of times a week due to their high sugar content.
View attachment 110501

I give mine Oxbow pellets each day.
View attachment 110503
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Guess how much a big bag of oxbow hay is over here in the u.k?


£37 i see it for in my local horse feed shop that sells rodent food lol. Il have to get a photo,next time I'm there.

Its about 48 dollars
 
@Swissgreys ok that makes more sense. I use the pets at home nuggets at the moment there doesn’t seem to be any calcium in them but will only give spinach 1-2 times a week!

Thank u @PigglePuggle
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
Guess how much a big bag of oxbow hay is over here in the u.k?


£37 i see it for in my local horse feed shop that sells rodent food lol. Il have to get a photo,next time I'm there.

Its about 48 dollars
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I have a shipment of Oxbow hay bags, chew toys and wood balls coming in by mail tomorrow. It will be a huge shipment because just the Oxbow hay bags will be several boxes. Usually just the 2.55kg Oxbow hay bags come in giant boxes not to mention all their chew toys and wood chews.

I will post some pictures when I receive them tomorrow.
 
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My boy Finn and Lara's shipment of Oxbow hay, chew toys, wooden balls, and rice crispy have all come in this morning by mail.

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@SkyPipDotBernie, the shipment have come in this morning so I took a picture. Mail delivery here is pretty punctual so I can rely on them. Not that I would allow Oxbow hay to run out or anything.
 
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These are the hay bags with FOR SALE sign on them, which I purchased at the pet store, :woot:. My Finn and Lara will finish these first and get to their new bags of Oxbow hay I just received.
I buy both at the pet store and online so I never run out of Oxbow hay for my fur babies.
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Tonight’s meal

Coriander, celery (chopped up small) round lettuce and quarter each of strawberry 🍓 for pudding

Any comments as usual gratefully received :)
 

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ladymuck83 said:
Tonight’s meal

Coriander, celery (chopped up small) round lettuce and quarter each of strawberry 🍓 for pudding

Any comments as usual gratefully received :)
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Looks good but personally I wouldnt feed too much watery veg like celery and 2 types of leaves together. Maybe as separate meals in the same day once there's been a good hay munch in between.
Tonight we had grated sweet potato, a slice of red pepper, and a small lettuce leaf per piggy by the way, after a cucumber slice for breakfast. And lots of hay of course :)
 
PigglePuggle said:
Looks good but personally I wouldnt feed too much watery veg like celery and 2 types of leaves together. Maybe as separate meals in the same day once there's been a good hay munch in between.
Tonight we had grated sweet potato, a slice of red pepper, and a small lettuce leaf per piggy by the way, after a cucumber slice for breakfast. And lots of hay of course :)
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That sounds nice I Will try that tomorrow :)

So that’s too much leaves u think? Do u feed twice day?! So one lettuce leaf 🥬 each per day?

Would this make them wee or make them sick what I fed them tonight. Thanks for the info. :)
 
ladymuck83 said:
That sounds nice I Will try that tomorrow :)

So that’s too much leaves u think? Do u feed twice day?! So one lettuce leaf 🥬 each per day?

Would this make them wee or make them sick what I fed them tonight. Thanks for the info. :)
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I think shes thinking of them getting soft poop from too much lettuce👍. ? Maybe
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
I think shes thinking of them getting soft poop from too much lettuce👍. ? Maybe
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Ah ok thank u :) Ok so I’m feeding too much at the moment, one leaf of lettuce each tomorrow, slice orb cucumber 🥒 (which they always leave) and red pepper maybe?
 
ladymuck83 said:
Ah ok thank u :) Ok so I’m feeding too much at the moment, one leaf of lettuce each tomorrow, slice orb cucumber 🥒 (which they always leave) and red pepper maybe?
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Red pepper is an everyday( best vit c veg out there) cant go wrong. You can give green and yellow too
 
Too much leafy veg can cause watery poops but can also cause bloat which is very painful. We have a piggy who almost died from acute bloat so I'm quite strict with leafy portion sizes! The number of leaves in a meal depends on the leaf size of course, I would say half a romaine lettuce leaf, or 1 baby gem lettuce leaf, or 6 leaves from babyleaf salad, or 6 small spinach leaves, or 4 stems of coriander, are a reasonable leafy veg portion per piggy. You always need to factor in, what if 1 greedy piggy eats everypig else's veg too!
Peppers are a very good veg to feed, lots of vitamin C, mine get a slice of red pepper each almost every day. My lot wont eat any other colour of pepper but lots of piggies eat yellow and green peppers too!
We feed ours veg twice a day, usually cucumber with breakfast because its easy and all the piggies like it, and then red pepper and at least 1 other veg for dinner in the evening. We tend to rotate leafy veg through the week so maybe 2 days they get coriander, 2 days its babyleaf, 2 days its romaine or little gem lettuce, next 2 days its spinach... they get beansprouts too a couple of days a week, also sweet potato or carrot once or twice a week but these are high calorie so not too often, once a week a grape or piece of apple as a treat...
Its important that their diet works for you too though, my piggies generally get whatever veg we will be eating ourselves, if we have stirfry they get beansprouts, if I'm making sweet potato curry thats when sweet potato turns up, etc!
 
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