Veggies?

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Squish

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I'm considering getting two Guinea pigs. I'm returning to college in September and greatly desire a companion. I had 2 rats in the past but they both passed away tragically and I can't handle their short life span to get any more.

My only concern with owning Guinea pigs is their vegetable requirements. I as a person eat very few vegetables and rarely have some in the house, but I might be willing to buy some just for my piggies.

Through research I've read that they require "a variety" of vegetables. Meaning different ones every day or a mix of various vegetables per day? I would probably buy the vegetables and make a single mix and serve them from that. How many different veggies would have to be in that mix?

I still need to do a lot of personal assessment before adopting piggies, but this forum seems like a good place to get honest information!
 
Welcome to the forum!

Giving them a mix of various vegetables per day would be the ideal (and the mix can vary from one day to another). Bell pepper (especially the red one) must be fed daily, as it contains a high amount of vitamin C and piggies really need it.

I'll leave you a few links here that you might find quite useful:
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading

Also, if you add your location to your profile, it will make easier for us to help you in the future!
 
Hi and welcome!
I'm glad that your getting all of your research done before deciding if it is right for you to get piggies :D

All of my boys get a variety of veg per day and I try to change the mix so they don't get bored it would be like having beans on toast everyday for your tea :D I have two seperate veggie times so breakfast and teatime so the amounts are split between these, here is a typical list of what I give:

Breakfast
Romaine lettuce
Cucumber (not too much can cause upset tummy)
Coriander

Teatime
Lettuce mix usually from asda but sometimes I give kale,spinach,Savoy cabbage, Spring greens it just depends on what they have had and when, because kale & spinach are high in calcium which is bad for them and things like cabbage can cause bloat so I don't give them to often
Bell peppers
Dill or basil

So my piggies get at least 6 different veggies per day as their main diet of veg, then I will give them their treats like tomatoes, grapes, Apple carrots etc obviously not everyday though lol that is just a small list of what my piggies eat there are many more veggies that they will eat but I thought I would show you how I give variety :D

I hope my ramblings have made sense :D
 
I also do not often have veggies in the house, but I do now because of the piggies!
What works for me is to buy 1 yellow bell pepper and one green bell pepper (mine don't seem to like red pepper).
Then I also buy the smallest bag of green beans I can find.
And a bag of carrots (which are always cheap so I don't feel terrible if I don't use them all).
And either 1 lettuce or a bag of lettuce mix (just make sure it doesn't contain iceberg lettuce).
And a cucumber.

I wash those things and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge. They tend to last fine for 2 weeks.

I also sometimes buy a small bag of baby tomatoes, though this week normal tomatoes were on special. So what I did was cut off a slice of tomato, then washed out all the seeds from the inside of the remainder of the tomato as I figured the soft flesh would make it go off quicker. And I've stored that in the container too.

I only give tomatoes and carrots every third day or say.
The bell pepper and green beans I give most days. Same with cucumber and usually some lettuce too.

In the evenings I get things like grass, chickweed, plantain, kale, spinach, swiss chard, celery greens and carrot greens out my garden and give them those.

And then before bed I give them some grass. I have 2 trays of wheat grass that I bought at the grocery store that I keep on my windowsill in the kitchen. It just keeps regrowing. I also sometimes pick from outside. If I'm out I take a small plastic bag with me and if I find nice long grass I pick some and take it home. Then I wash it really really well and that keeps fine in the bag in the fridge for a few days as well (and doesn't cost me a thing!).

If you don't have access to a garden to grow veg, there are some cheats to doing it at home, like placing the top part of carrots on a tray with some water and the greens then just keep growing. I believe you can also put celery in a glass of water and the greens will keep growing.

So there are ways of getting and growing veg for piggies without having to actually eat it yourself!
 
Everyone else seems to have got there before me but I will add my list anyways!
My pigs usually have a mix of different veggies and breakfast and dinner, and I have to admit sneaking them a bit of my blueberries/Apple when I am walking past the cage!:))
My pigs like mixes of:
Curly kale
Pea pods
All colours of pepper
Cabbage
Broccoli
Cucumber
Celery
However as a treat I give them:
Grapes
Blueberries
Carrots
Apple
 
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