- Sourcing hay
- Veg alternatives
- Pellet alternatives
It can happen that you are suddenly ill and do not have family and friends close by to help out immediately.
Please see whether you can organise a supermarket delivery or find a neighbour/small neighbourhood shop or your local church to help you find somebody who is willing to shop for you and your pets - ideally before you fall ill. Make sure that you always have a little cash at home for an emergency if at all possible.
If money has become an issue, you will find this guide link here helpful with loads of tips on how you can economise on your guinea pig food bill without compromising on your guinea pigs' health.
Money crunch? - Practical saving tips for your guinea pig food bill
Sourcing hay
Hay is the most important food source for guinea pigs that you cannot replace. For this reason, always have an extra week ot two of hay supplies at home if possible; just in case. Know where you can order supplies online if needed but be aware that a next day delivery is not always possible. Stuff happens!
Fresh grass can cover some of your hay needs but you cannot suddenly feed lots of it to guinea pigs not accustomed because it can cause diarrhea or bloating. They should still have access to hay at all times.
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time
Veg alternatives
- Fresh grass
If access to fresh veg is difficult, your piggies can make do without it for a while or can live off fresh grass from your garden (which is high in vitamin C) as long as an uninfected person can go out and pick some. Please do not introduce a large quantity of fresh, damp grass on an unprepared digestive system and inroduce it gradually.
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time
- Growing fresh herbs and cut-and-come lettuce indoors
In case of veg supplies in shops running low in the coming months, getting herb seeds and growing them in seed trays on the window sill is another way to ensure some fresh food. Cut-and-come lettuce is also an option you can consider for indoors food. Any container will do.
- Wild forage
Foraging is also going to be an alternative option as spring is getting underway: Safe wild weeds/plants you can feed your piggies (UK plants)
Pellet alternatives
If your pellets are running out and getting more is a problem, then please do not panic: it is the smallest and most disposable part of the guinea pig diet. You should feed only 1 tablespoon per piggy per day anyway - and your piggies will not suffer if they do not get any for a while. The piggies in my childhood never had pellets and still lived to 6-10 years without any serious illnesses.
Veg and pellets in combination are replacing the supplementary role that wild forage (ca. 25%) used play for guinea pigs in addition to their grass/hay main diet (ca. 75% of the daily food intake).
If you have access to fresh herbs, grass or dandelions, then you can replace your pellets with feeding that; please always wash any foraged stuff as fresh dog/fox pee is poinsonous to guinea pigs.
PS: All parts of a dandelion are edible, by the way!
- Veg alternatives
- Pellet alternatives
It can happen that you are suddenly ill and do not have family and friends close by to help out immediately.
Please see whether you can organise a supermarket delivery or find a neighbour/small neighbourhood shop or your local church to help you find somebody who is willing to shop for you and your pets - ideally before you fall ill. Make sure that you always have a little cash at home for an emergency if at all possible.
If money has become an issue, you will find this guide link here helpful with loads of tips on how you can economise on your guinea pig food bill without compromising on your guinea pigs' health.
Money crunch? - Practical saving tips for your guinea pig food bill
Sourcing hay
Hay is the most important food source for guinea pigs that you cannot replace. For this reason, always have an extra week ot two of hay supplies at home if possible; just in case. Know where you can order supplies online if needed but be aware that a next day delivery is not always possible. Stuff happens!
Fresh grass can cover some of your hay needs but you cannot suddenly feed lots of it to guinea pigs not accustomed because it can cause diarrhea or bloating. They should still have access to hay at all times.
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time
Veg alternatives
- Fresh grass
If access to fresh veg is difficult, your piggies can make do without it for a while or can live off fresh grass from your garden (which is high in vitamin C) as long as an uninfected person can go out and pick some. Please do not introduce a large quantity of fresh, damp grass on an unprepared digestive system and inroduce it gradually.
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time
- Growing fresh herbs and cut-and-come lettuce indoors
In case of veg supplies in shops running low in the coming months, getting herb seeds and growing them in seed trays on the window sill is another way to ensure some fresh food. Cut-and-come lettuce is also an option you can consider for indoors food. Any container will do.
- Wild forage
Foraging is also going to be an alternative option as spring is getting underway: Safe wild weeds/plants you can feed your piggies (UK plants)
Pellet alternatives
If your pellets are running out and getting more is a problem, then please do not panic: it is the smallest and most disposable part of the guinea pig diet. You should feed only 1 tablespoon per piggy per day anyway - and your piggies will not suffer if they do not get any for a while. The piggies in my childhood never had pellets and still lived to 6-10 years without any serious illnesses.
Veg and pellets in combination are replacing the supplementary role that wild forage (ca. 25%) used play for guinea pigs in addition to their grass/hay main diet (ca. 75% of the daily food intake).
If you have access to fresh herbs, grass or dandelions, then you can replace your pellets with feeding that; please always wash any foraged stuff as fresh dog/fox pee is poinsonous to guinea pigs.
PS: All parts of a dandelion are edible, by the way!
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