Hey guys! So my two female piggies have each of their own bowl, 2 bowls during salad time and 2 bowls that is always there for pellets. My piggies are young and I normally give them 1 tablespoon of pellets a day but they never seem to finish it. They also always eat from each other’s bowl interchangeably so I don’t know whether one of them/both are consuming too much pellets by eating pellets both from their own and their mate’s bowl or barely consuming any at all! Same goes for vegetables, if I’m not hand feeding them veggies, it’s hard to make sure that each piggy is getting a cup of veggies when they always eat out the same bowl or each other’s. Replies, advices, and tips are greatly appreciated, thank you!
-
Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement
Help keep track of pellet and veggies intake!
- Thread starter Keenatt
- Start date
Please don’t let this worry you - you won’t find a long term owner on here who tracks it in that way. You don’t need to - simply ensure you aren’t over feeding their portions and then If one gets more one than then the other has chance the next. Veg and pellets arent their main diet and are merely supplementary.
The only food you need to keep track of is hay intake and that is done via their routine weekly weight checks.
Give the recommended amounts - one cup of veg per pig per day and one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day.
When it comes to pellets, it doesn’t matter if they don’t eat them all or indeed don’t eat any. They are the one part of the diet that they don’t need. I personally feed each of my pigs 8-10 pellets but only do it twice a week. I would go entirely pellet free but they do enjoy them when I let them have some!
Of course you don’t want one of them overeating pellets long term so you can use pellets as a Bonding time - hand feed them some pellets.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Bowls for veg and pellets - they aren’t going to know whose bowl belongs to who and sharing is absolutely fine.
We actually dont recommend the use of bowls or hay racks/bags.
Instead scatter their portion of veg and pellets loose around the cage and loose in large piles of hay. This serves a few purposes:
1. Scatter feeding veg/pellets Means they both get equal chance of finding some rather than one eating faster than the other and then moving onto the other bowl
2. And this is important, foraging for food is a fantastic way to keep occupied and mentally stimulated. They are designed to graze and search out food and with it being hidden in piles is hay, it keeps them busy. Eating from a bowl is a mindless activity.
Same goes for hay, it’s more than food, it’s fun and loose piles make it much easier to forage and play in.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Weight - Monitoring and Management
The only food you need to keep track of is hay intake and that is done via their routine weekly weight checks.
Give the recommended amounts - one cup of veg per pig per day and one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day.
When it comes to pellets, it doesn’t matter if they don’t eat them all or indeed don’t eat any. They are the one part of the diet that they don’t need. I personally feed each of my pigs 8-10 pellets but only do it twice a week. I would go entirely pellet free but they do enjoy them when I let them have some!
Of course you don’t want one of them overeating pellets long term so you can use pellets as a Bonding time - hand feed them some pellets.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Bowls for veg and pellets - they aren’t going to know whose bowl belongs to who and sharing is absolutely fine.
We actually dont recommend the use of bowls or hay racks/bags.
Instead scatter their portion of veg and pellets loose around the cage and loose in large piles of hay. This serves a few purposes:
1. Scatter feeding veg/pellets Means they both get equal chance of finding some rather than one eating faster than the other and then moving onto the other bowl
2. And this is important, foraging for food is a fantastic way to keep occupied and mentally stimulated. They are designed to graze and search out food and with it being hidden in piles is hay, it keeps them busy. Eating from a bowl is a mindless activity.
Same goes for hay, it’s more than food, it’s fun and loose piles make it much easier to forage and play in.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Betsy
Anniversary Herd
I scattered pellets and veg and my three girls love rootling around in the hay trying to find it.
Please be aware that veg and dry or fresh forage as well as the dispensible tablespoon of pellets and any treats should be seen as just one food group because all together they replace only the supplementary role that wild forage used to have. Allowing your piggies to search for their supplementary food is important enrichment, as is any form of maing them work for it. They do not need to have this food group available at all time.
Unlimited hay/fresh grass fibre is the staple that makes over three quarters of what a piggy eats in a day. The more they eat, the better their teeth (it is the very abrasive silica in the grass fibre against which the all important back teeth have evolved on), their gut health and through it their general health and longevity. It can prolong a normal healthy life span for 1-2 years and take it from the lower end to the upper. Instead of investing a lot of mone in pellets, think about offering different hays - softer meadow hay for burrowing, romping and sleeping in as well as spikier timothy hay (flat on the ground to minimise hay pokes in the eyes) or orchard had. Other speciality hays should be only used as treats and they should not be on offer all the time.
Use forage as healthy treats instead of any shop treats.
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
Unlimited hay/fresh grass fibre is the staple that makes over three quarters of what a piggy eats in a day. The more they eat, the better their teeth (it is the very abrasive silica in the grass fibre against which the all important back teeth have evolved on), their gut health and through it their general health and longevity. It can prolong a normal healthy life span for 1-2 years and take it from the lower end to the upper. Instead of investing a lot of mone in pellets, think about offering different hays - softer meadow hay for burrowing, romping and sleeping in as well as spikier timothy hay (flat on the ground to minimise hay pokes in the eyes) or orchard had. Other speciality hays should be only used as treats and they should not be on offer all the time.
Use forage as healthy treats instead of any shop treats.
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
I see! I stopped using bowls and I also bought a snuffle mat. During the days that I give them pellets, I’ll toss it in there! I was definitely over feeding pellets but it’s good to know now. Also, regarding the nutrients they need, do you recommend feeding them supplements from Oxbow? Like vitamin C and joint supplements, or are vegetables fine as it is?
Thank you! I now scatter their veggies on their hay and hand feed at times
You do not need to supplement feed healthy piggies; none of us has ever been picked up by a vet for vitamin C deficiency. Most of the few cases we pick up are actually the result of over-supplementation which can ironically cause scurvy symptoms despite levels still higher than normal - the body will adapt to the higher levels and basically ignore them. The rest is from neglect piggies taken on by members.
A balanced diet should yield everything your piggies need.
No need for routine supplementation of any kind
The only time I have ever supplemented an animal (I have 35+ years experience of small animal keeping) is with a diagnosed need and with the advice of my vet (most usually joint supplements for diagnosed arthritis. There has never been a need to supplement vit c)