New Guinea Pigs, Need Advice Please

Status
Not open for further replies.
Lottie_Guinea

Lottie_Guinea

New Born Pup
Joined
Nov 3, 2015
Messages
8
Reaction score
7
Points
55
Location
England
Hello everyone,
I brought two baby guinea pigs today that are 8 weeks old, they're called Alice and Dinah (I really hope some people get that reference!) (Dinah is said like Diner) (My avatar is a picture of them!)
I would like to know what veggies and fruit they should/shouldn't be fed? I had four guinea pigs before but they have all passed, apparently some of the things I fed them were bad for them but at the time I was told they should eat it so now I'm very confused haha.
I used to feed them Cucumber, Lettuce and Orange peel and Potato peel which I was told by the vet to feed them but the people I brought my new babies from have said that I shouldn't give them any of those things? Although I thought they needed orange peel for certain vitamins they don't get anywhere else?
Also I would like to know if it is a problem that their feet are very cold, the rest of their bodies are warm, it's just their feet that are cold? It's very strange and I've never had it with a guinea pig before. I've been told it's bad for them to have cold ears so I checked but their ears are fine too, it's just the bottoms of their feet.
I will also gratefully take any advice for looking after baby guinea pigs.
Thank you everyone!
- Lottie
 
Lettuce is only okey in very small pieces and then only sometimes p, maybe even better if you don't feed them it at all, orange peel I wouldn't it's not the best, cucumber is fine, no potatoe peels ever in fact you should stay away from any types of peels, your food you give them should have some of the vit c they need plus extra things like pepers or kale or spinach most green veggies are high in vit c and should be given but also things like carrots or apples and some fruit.
Lettuce can cause diarrhea so it's very dangerous, try looking it up on the internet things okey and not okey to feed your pigs that's how I learned about it.
 
Caviequeen said:
Lettuce is only okey in very small pieces and then only sometimes p, maybe even better if you don't feed them it at all, orange peel I wouldn't it's not the best, cucumber is fine, no potatoe peels ever in fact you should stay away from any types of peels, your food you give them should have some of the vit c they need plus extra things like pepers or kale or spinach most green veggies are high in vit c and should be given but also things like carrots or apples and some fruit.
Lettuce can cause diarrhea so it's very dangerous, try looking it up on the internet things okey and not okey to feed your pigs that's how I learned about it.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much, I'l not give them those things anymore!
 
@Caviequeen what's the problem with lettuce? I've never met a pig who doesn't like lettuce. as long as its a small part of their diet, I don't see a problem.
 
I only said to be careful and not to give them to much and to be on the safe side maybe don't give lettuce at all, that's all I said, I don't like giving my Guinea pigs lettuce because it's very water based and stuff like spinach or kale is better for them. That's all it's just my opinion.
 
But mine get lettuce every day I thought that was ok? Whereas kale is an occasional treat because it's high calcium and cabbage family .. Confused!
 
Was told by stewybus at Newcastle meet kale is good for them as it is high in calcium but has phospherous that helps it through the guinea pigs body if that makes sense.
 
Most things are ok in moderation. Lettuce has very little nutritional content and is mostly water but most piggies like it. Too much is a bad thing though. Cucumber is high in water content too but has better nutritional value.

Peppers are great for vitamin C. Books etc used to advocate feeding oranges for their vitamin C but now most commercial pellet foods have added vitamin C and other veggies are better sources of it for guinea pigs so it's not needed (be aware that if they are kept for a long time they lose the vitamin content so only keep as much as you get through regularly, not huge stockpiles).

There is a lot of debate about spinach and Kale, both are high in Calcium so I tend to avoid them as I have piggies with bladder issues but they do love them. It may well be that the calcium/phosphorus ration in kale makes it safer for piggies than other calcium rich herbs and leaves.

Variation is good too. My boys get a mixed meal of veg morning and night but they do get bored and picky so it's good to change the options every so often.
 
Tomsmum said:
But mine get lettuce every day I thought that was ok? Whereas kale is an occasional treat because it's high calcium and cabbage family .. Confused!
Click to expand...
There are a lot of different kinds of lettuce. I don't give iceberg lettuce because it's very watery and has minimal vitamins and I've heard it linked to diarrhea. One of mine is on chronic antibiotics and the last thing I need is to upset her digestive system. I do give romaine lettuce and other kinds of lettuce, just not iceberg lettuce.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top