Meal plans and what veggies can you feed everyday?

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AnnaHeartsGuineaPigs

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Hello!

I'll be getting my piggies very soon (it continues being pushed further and further back, but hopefully in the next week or so) and I am very confused about veggies.
I know that every piggie should have 1-2 cups of veggies a day, but a lot of people say different things about what those veggies should be. Some say lettuce has too much calcium and shouldn't be fed, others say it should be fed every day. Some people say red is the best color bell pepper, others say it is the only color that should not be fed. Overall, there is a lot of contradicting information and I would love to get some answers once and for all. If someone could give me a week's meal plan of what they feed their piggies, it would be extremely helpful to see what veggies other people feed and how often they feed them. You can just structure it like or any other way that you like:
Sunday:
Monday:
Tuesday:
et. etc.
It would be super helpful to take a look at what other piggie parents feed :nod:

Thank you!
 
One cup of 50 grams of veg per day is enough.

Mine have a daily basis of lettuce, bell pepper (any colour), cucumber and coriander. I may or may not add anything else to it, it just depends what I’ve got in my fridge. The only things they don’t get very often are high calcium veg such as kale, parsley and spinach or high sugar items like carrots and fruit

Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading
 
Piggies&buns said:
One cup of 50 grams of veg per day is enough.

Mine have a daily basis of lettuce, bell pepper (any colour), cucumber and coriander. I may or may not add anything else to it, it just depends what I’ve got in my fridge. The only things they don’t get very often are high calcium veg such as kale, parsley and spinach or high sugar items like carrots and fruit

Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading
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Thank you! Could you specify what type of lettuce? I am planning to buy romaine and green leaf lettuce, do these sound good?
 
Seeing as you’ll be getting a new mum, please read the guide below. But going forward (once the pups have been weaned at 3 weeks) you’ll be feeding according to the link above.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-and-nursing-diet.109377/

Please see if you can go to weigh and we’d check them if it’s cutting it fine time wise - so if they’re getting close to two weeks. You don’t want to be taking on a potentially pregnant mum and daughter.

What reason are they giving for pushing the date forward?
 
Siikibam said:
Seeing as you’ll be getting a new mum, please read the guide below. But going forward (once the pups have been weaned at 3 weeks) you’ll be feeding according to the link above.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-and-nursing-diet.109377/

Please see if you can go to weigh and we’d check them if it’s cutting it fine time wise - so if they’re getting close to two weeks. You don’t want to be taking on a potentially pregnant mum and daughter.

What reason are they giving for pushing the date forward?
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I really don't know. First they said when she was pregnant, then they said a week after the pups were born, and now they say 3 weeks after. I am willing to wait, but it does annoy me because they aren't in AT ALL the best or even adequate care right now and so the stress they are trying to spare the mom and babies from by moving them to a new house at a young age, they are already experiencing by being cared for in a small cage with a bad diet and no weighing (not even once a week) along with no knowledge on how to sex guinea pigs. I'm pretty young, so do you have any ideas on how I could approach them to maybe weigh her and her babies and encourage them to try to sex them? I don't know if they'll listen to me.

P.S I know they mean well and I can't expect everyone to be well educated on guinea pig care, but I still want my future piggies to be happy and healthy and it is getting hard to be as tolerant when it depends on real live animals that I have already fallen in love with from just a few pictures.
 
Tell them the reality of the situation. If they don’t sex the babies and one turns out to be a boar, then there is potential for mum and sister to become pregnant. A back to back pregnancy would put a great strain on mum, and increase the risks of pregnancy/birth. Use that as an opening with regards getting in to weigh and sex them.

Given they’re now pushing it forward to three weeks, I would strongly recommend you don’t take them on. I know you’ve set your heart on them and love them already, but that’s a risk I wouldn’t take. It’s ultimately up to you. So if you do decide to go ahead then be prepared with a bulky vet fund and issues that may arise.
 
This is what we are current giving Pepper and Pringle, (they have a bowl each) it has coriander, celery, little gem lettuce, cucumber, red pepper and some mint.
I hope you get the situation sorted with the piggies.
57841DBE-CA1B-4ACF-A240-D8027F68F4FF.webp
 
Siikibam said:
Tell them the reality of the situation. If they don’t sex the babies and one turns out to be a boar, then there is potential for mum and sister to become pregnant. A back to back pregnancy would put a great strain on mum, and increase the risks of pregnancy/birth. Use that as an opening with regards getting in to weigh and sex them.

Given they’re now pushing it forward to three weeks, I would strongly recommend you don’t take them on. I know you’ve set your heart on them and love them already, but that’s a risk I wouldn’t take. It’s ultimately up to you. So if you do decide to go ahead then be prepared with a bulky vet fund and issues that may arise.
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I'm very torn. I cannot express how much I know these guys mean well and how they have so much good in their hearts from rescuing so many animals and so I really do not want to be at all hostile or seem mean. The reason they are so calm about continuously pushing the date back is an example of "ignorance is bliss". They don't know that males need to be separated at 3 weeks old, they don't know that the bedding they are on is unsafe, they don't know the cage is too small, they don't know the diet is not good for the guinea pigs, etc. etc. The only reason my family was kind of urging the rescue for them was because of the bad care which is something they are so oblivious to. We're going to have this talk with them in the kindest way possible, and when we do end up getting them, I (and my parents) are/am okay with skyrocketing vet bills. I really hope they listen and I'll give updates if any new things happen :)
 
I really worry for the mum getting pregnant again. Good luck with the talk and make sure it’s sooner rather than later. It can’t be left till the pups are 3 weeks.
 
Mine get a romaine lettuce leaf each morning and a handful of herbs around lunchtime.
Their preferred herbs are coriander and dill. Dill shouldn’t be fed too often.
Their main veggies are given in the afternoon and consist of a variety of stuff, depending on what’s in the fridge. The base is a handful of salad leaves
Mine won’t eat any pepper except red pepper. They love red lettuce too.
A chunk of cucumber is given almost daily.
Green beans, chicory and celery are also favourites.
Occasional veggies are pak Choi, grated sweet potato, carrot or apple

I hope things work out for you in getting your piggies.
It sounds as if they will land on their paws
 
Siikibam said:
I really worry for the mum getting pregnant again. Good luck with the talk and make sure it’s sooner rather than later. It can’t be left till the pups are 3 weeks.
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Great news! They have agreed to bring them tomorrow! We had the talk and turned out that we were both thinking the same things about each other. They thought we didn't know when they needed to be separated or when to sex them, and we thought they didn't. They admitted they had been a bit all over the place and that we could take on the responsibilities of neutering and caring for them better than they could. I'm super excited to get them and will definitely make a new post with some pictures from a photoshoot that I will inevitably have when they aren't as stressed : ) Thank you so much for all your help!
 
My piggies eat bell pepper, romaine lettuce, and cherry tomatoes every day. I also occasionally feed them fruit and treats and every other day include carrot of cucumber with their every day veggies. I also give them 1/8 a cup of pellets and unlimited hay of course.
 
LongWheekyBabies said:
My piggies eat bell pepper, romaine lettuce, and cherry tomatoes every day. I also occasionally feed them fruit and treats and every other day include carrot of cucumber with their every day veggies. I also give them 1/8 a cup of pellets and unlimited hay of course.
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cherry tomatoes should not be given every - they are far too acidic and acidic foods can lead to cheilitis
fruit and carrot every other day is too much. They are too sugary and should only be given once per week.
 
Thanks for the information! I will do some more research and change up their diet!
 
Siikibam said:
@AnnaHeartsGuineaPigs did they bring the piggies round today? Have you had a chance to weigh and try to sex yet?
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Yes! They are the cutest little babies and I'm super happy I have them now :luv: I found out that the girl that had them, thought you could only sex guinea pigs when they are 4 weeks old and before that it is impossible to tell. Phew, glad I dodged that bullet. I wanted to give them yesterday (the day I got them) just to settle in and today I am planning to weigh/sex them to the best of my ability. The leg on the mom really doesn't look very good so we're going to the vet very soon along with just checking how the babies are. The babies are very fast and skittish so we'll see how I end up picking them up and weighting them without them screaming for mommy.

P.S Woah. Guinea pigs are messy. I woke up and there was poop EVERYWHERE in their cage :))
 
Poop everywhere is what you want. When they don’t poop then you have to really start worrying. I don’t call it mess, to me it’s a sign of health.

Try to take them all out together. Perhaps get them used to being herded into box or something instead of picking up by hand. Let us know the weights. And if you post clear photos we can try and help you with sexing. But bear in mind hands-on is the best way to go.
 
Siikibam said:
Poop everywhere is what you want. When they don’t poop then you have to really start worrying. I don’t call it mess, to me it’s a sign of health.

Try to take them all out together. Perhaps get them used to being herded into box or something instead of picking up by hand. Let us know the weights. And if you post clear photos we can try and help you with sexing. But bear in mind hands-on is the best way to go.
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I have posted a separate sexing topic. I have weighed them today. One baby was 165 grams, the other was 155 grams and the mom was 755 grams. Are these healthy weights for a mom and 2 ten day old pups?
 
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