Leaving guinea pigs for a week -- advice on what to feed

[tanoposc]

I'll be away for 7 days. I have someone coming to feed my guinea pigs. I put their salads in individual plastic containers for each meal.

I assume that lettuce is not going to keep very well for an entire week. I've only ever been gone about 3 days before, and that was always fine. Is there an alternative to lettuce that I could feed them for the last 3-4 days that will keep in the refrigerator without having to inconvenience my friend -- who is doing me a favor in taking care of them -- to have to buy more lettuce? Or is there a good way to store lettuce so that it doesn't get soggy for an entire week?

Maybe a mix of zucchini, carrots, and green peppers? Or can they go a few days with nothing but hay and pellets? I'd rather not do that, but if there's no other good option, I'd consider that.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[Swissgreys]

Personally I wouldn't worry if they miss out on lettuce for a few days.
But one option might be for your friend to quickly chop some veg for them every day.
It would only take a few minutes and you could ask her just to do the basics - pepper, cucumber, celery and a green bean?
When we are gone for a week I buy a lettuce with roots (living lettuce) from the local supermarket and place it in a cup of water in the fridge. It keeps fresh for a week and our pet sitter just needs to tear off a few leaves to add to their daily veg portion.

 

[Siikibam]

I would leave the lettuce whole and she can rip off a leaf at a time. It should keep that way. As for other veg, maybe get her to cut them up and feed only the basics, as advised above.

We went away once for one night and my niece and her dad came in to feed them. I left them cut up and she knew what to feed etc. Granted it was only the one night though.

 

[AutumnThePig]

I've heard you can keep lettuce inside of a storage food container with water to keep them crispy for a few days. You could try to test it out ahead of time and see how many days the lettuce stays fresh before you leave.