This May Be A Very Rookie Question About Vegetables

[Piggie_love96]

I've had guinea pigs before and owned rabbits but of course while their diet is similar when it comes to fruit and veg, it varied with the animals personality and what they liked and didn't like.

I've found some conflicting threads and posts on the internet about what veggies guinea pigs can get daily and after years of owning smaller rodents instead of rabbits and guinea pigs until now, I'm stuck on figuring out what is the truth or not.

If anyone has a good idea of what daily veggies my piggies can be fed, they are used to romaine lettuce, parsley, kale, spinach and I believe carrots and I just want a basic bit of information about what they can have daily and also what they can have a couple of times a week so I can do a bit of a rotation in what they have to mix it up a bit.

Thanks! x

 

[sport_billy]

Have a read of this guide here Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading
and have a read of the food section of the forum, there are lots of suggestions on daily diets

We feed ours this roughly

Morning:
Cucumber -1.5 cm x 2cm chunks (twice)
Celery - 1 stick between 3 chopped up small
1/6th of Red/Green/Yellow Bell Pepper (de-seeded)

Evening:
Cucumber 1.5 cm x 2cm chunks (twice)
Two Little Gem Lettuce leaves or 10 sprigs Coriander. Twice a week we will swap in cabbage or parsley

We also add in to the above diet carrot, sweet potato, celery leaves and a few other things occasionally

But by no means am I any expert on food here, some folks on the forum are really clued up... so pick up advise where you can.

 

[rome_italy]

Sport Billy has suggested a good guide and here you can find other guides, too. There maybe be different opinions online and among the vets, but all the vets (the updated ones) follow the rule suggested here, too; that is: 80% hay, 15% veg and 5% pellets. Pellets can be eliminated without any damage. Then there is the grass which is very important for the gut of the herbivores; if fresh grass is not available you should not replace it with too many vegs... because herbivores are not vegetarians, the gut is totally different.
Following the general rule you can choose the right menu for your piggies, considering their tastes, what you can buy at the market and always checking their poo and wee.
Another general rule is: reduce the sugars and sugars are into carrots, fruits and other vegs. And avoid the vegs and herbs rich of oxalates which can form stones.
Another main rule is the amount of the pellets, here vets are making a war against all the excess of "good" pellet dried food, the main culprit of kidney troubles in cats, dogs and roditors.
If you have lawns available (maybe during the good season) grass is very nutricious. In fact I have grass available in the park and in pedestrian areas all year round and my piggies eat only hay, grass (different kinds and wild herbs), a little slice of bell pepper, no pellets (only sometimes as a treat) and their health is very good. But if I lived in a different district this diet would not be possible...
There are good nutritional charts on the website Guinea Lynx. I would consider parsley and spinach, which are the ones with a high amount of oxalates.
Guinea Lynx ::Oxalic Acid in Selected Vegetables
this is an interesting research, it is not new, but the info are correct:

UROLITHIASIS IN RABBITS AND GUINEA
PIGS
Heidi L. Hoefer, DVM, Diplomate. ABVP
Island Exotic Veterinary Care
Huntington, NY
Rabbits and guinea pigs are susceptible to formation
of urinary tract calculi. Uroliths can be located anywhere
in the urinary tract and are typically composed of calcium
salts: calcium phosphate; calcium oxalate. (...)
Diet is likely to play a role in calculi formation.
Rabbits and guinea pigs are often fed a diet high in
calcium-rich alfalfa, and supplemented with greens rich
in calcium. Rabbits (and guinea pigs) are unique in that the amount of
calcium absorbed is directly proportional to dietary intake
and is less dependent on vitamin D. This intestinal
hyperabsorption of dietary calcium. may lead to
excessive excretion of calcium in the urine. Calcium and
oxalates are the main risk factors for stone formation in
the guinea pig. High levels of vitamin D in the diet may
increase intestinal absorption of calcium in the guinea
pig.
Foods containing high levels of oxalates must be
avoided particularly in the guinea pig,. Oxalate content is
high in dietary supplements like spinach, parsley, celery,
strawberries, and vitamin C. Vitamin C supplementation
is important in all guinea pigs and when limited to
25-100 mg/day is unlikely to result in hyperoxaluria
(it takes 8-10 grams of vitamin C per day to result in
significant hyperoxaluria in people).

 

[piggieminder]

That's a very interesting research paper @rome_italy it was given to me by my vet last year.

 

[rome_italy]

That's a very interesting research paper @rome_italy it was given to me by my vet last year.

yes, it is a bit old (2006) but the results and the advices are valiant.
This is the full research:
http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/navc/2006/SAE/625.pdf?LA=1

 

[HeatherW]

Can I ask how much is too much? I feed my guineas salad leaves from prepared Tesco bags: Butterhead Lettuce Mix, Baby Leaves and Mixed Salad. The first two contain some spinach leaves, so I wanted to check if it is/could be harmful for them to have a bit of spinach every day?

Thank you!

 

[rome_italy]

I think the rules can be followed without any obsession. You should check the poo: my piggies sometimes eat a big piece of salad and nothing bad happens, their poo had been perfect when they used to eat like that:

they eat also a huge amount of fresh and wet grass:

but there are here piggies who start being bloated when they eat grass (actually I guess it is another culprit, maybe grass+something else).
Since last June- July I substituted almost all the vegs with fresh grass; I give them only a little piece of bell pepper for dinner and everything goes on very well (in this picture they were young, now they are adults).
Last week we had snow and no grass available of course, hence my piggies ate some pieces of vegs more and more hay.. and now their poo is not good. No diarrhea, but its shape and consistence is not normal and they have lost some weight. The boar has gained weight instead!
I want to say: there isn't any strict rule with the gut. If I don't eat tons of vegs I feel bad for example. There are people who never eat veg or eat only some leaves of salad and they feel fine. I could die with their diet...
The general rule for guinea's diet is: 80% hay/grass; 15% vegs; 5% pellets. Or as italian vets say: "illimited hay and grass; vegs as much as the area of the head of the piggie; pellets as much as the area of the ear of the piggie" (I don't find it clear, though).
Grass and hay are their main and most natural food, rich of fibres. Grass contains all the necessary water, vitamins and minerals; vegs, too, but it contains water, vitamins, but also nitrates and too much phosphorus and can alter inner ph.
Check their poo every single day: you will be never wrong.
Be careful with those vegs rich of oxalates (spinach for example) because oxalates can cause stones.
this is a list of the vegs and their amount of oxalates:
Guinea Lynx ::Oxalic Acid in Selected Vegetables
and this is a list of all the charts available in that very good website: (you can find all the vegs a piggie can eat)
Guinea Lynx :: Vegetable Chart