Veggies

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Carebearpiggy

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Right now I 3 girls (1 is 7.5 yrs and the other two are about 2.5 yrs). For pellets they get oxbow adult guniea pig pellets and they get kaytee Timothy hay or oxbow orchard grass hay.
For the 3 piggies their veggies included:
Daily: - 1 cup lettuce (usually green/red leaf lettuce)
- 1/2 bell pepper (any color mix it up)
- 1 large carrot or 3 baby carrots (I was told my vet that 1 baby carrot a day was okay)
- 3 cherry or grape tomatoes
- and 3” of English cucumber (actually thinking about cutting this out-some days it’s a hit and miss)

Other veggies (all in small amounts/ usually mixture of 2 below daily and never high calcium ones together)
- 4xs a week they get a small amount of Clinatro
- dadelion greens 2xs weekly
- parsley 2xs weekly
- carrot tops 2xs weekly
- snap peas 1x weekly
- broccoli 1x weekly
- Apple 1x weekly
- and turnip/mustard greens 1x weekly

however the peas and theturnip/mustard greens are not a big hit any more and I was thinking about Getting rid of these and adding kale into their diet, I’m just wondering how much and how often?
Not related to this guts but I did have a boar that got a bladder stone surgery that a Calicum Oxlate stone so I want to do my best to keep these girls from getting them.
 
Hi!

I'm no expert. But my oldest pig is prone to pee sludge and is on watch for stones. Parsley, carrot tops and dandelion greens are all high in calcium and I think kale is too. Personally Id only do one of those as a treat once a week. Pepper, cuke, cilantro and green leaf are my pig's daily staples (with the main course fresh bunches of Timothy hay). I treat the oxbow pellets like a treat too - 1 tablespoon twice a day 💕

Do you see white spots in the cage? If I give too much parsley or clover, do.

Remember hay is 80% of their diet. I try to play it safe with the calcium.
 
Fruits and carrots should be an occasional treat due to the high sugar content. So I would only give one thing no more than once a week, preferably every two weeks.

Tomatoes (and citric fruits) should be less often than weekly because the acidic nature can cause sores on the mouth. I would cut them out completely but it’s up to you.

Parsley and dandelions (kale and spinach as well) are high in calcium so I would feed sparingly. No more than once a week and only one thing once a week.

Cilantro, bell pepper, lettuce and cucumber can be given daily. Broccoli you should watch as that and cabbages can cause bloat if you give them too much or it. If they don’t like turnip and mustard greens then you don’t have to feed them.

So in summary, I would cut back on the weekly fruit, and think about cutting back a lot on tomatoes, dandelions, parsley and any other high calcium veg.

Pellets should be one tablespoon each day per piggy. You could scatter feed so they can ‘go hunting’ for them.

Just to give you an example, I have four and their diet is:
A lettuce leaf each (in the morning). Dinner then consists of a slice of cucumber, Slice of bell pepper and/or a sprig of coriander. They sometimes have a green bean daily if I buy any.

I always make sure to have peppers in the fridge and will usually buy a packet of coriander. Cucumber is next on the list of Veg I try to always have in. They’ll occasionally get a small piece of fruit - usually apple - or carrot peelings/a carrot top. But that’s roughly once a month. I rarely give them tomatoes now, and have never fed them citrus fruits.
 
Okay thank you for responses. I have tried to research and there is just so much conflicting information out there that I’m confused. What are some other low calcium vegs I could add it to add variety to their diet. The lettuce, peppers and Clinatro are definitely a big hit.
 
I agree with everything @Siikibam has said

Daily mine get coriander(cilantro), peppers, cucumber and lettuce. Anything else is added in on a rotation and sparingly (particularly when it comes to high calcium veggies). They don’t get fruit at all.

Pellets and drinking water contribute most calcium to the diet, so ensure the pellets are kept strictly limited to just one tablespoon per day and filtering their drinking water.
 
Siikibam said:
Have a read of the feeding guide. There is a list of veg you can feed and frequency.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Click to expand...
Yes I did, and trying to go off of that. I’m in the us so I can’t get the spring greens. My don’t like green beans lol. And with the celery I have read conflicting information that it’s okay for everyday use or it’s too much calicum for everyday use. I will def dial down on the high calicum veggies/carrots/ tomatoes and prob take the parsley out of their diet completely now that I know that they can Clinatro every day and they really love that stuff. I thought I was doing good but the more research I do the more I got confused and I could be way over thinking it, just want to do what’s best for them.
 
you can leave out the spring greens. In the beginning I used to feed my boys spring greens. I’ve not done so in almost a year, after discovering they like lettuce. If you want treats you can do the occasional herb like mint, basil, rosemary etc. I’d cut back on the fruit too.

it is confusing the amount of conflicting info on the web, so you have to choose wisely.

PS regards celery, mine used to get a piece daily until a short while ago when I read about it somewhere on here. They hadn’t had it in a while but I bought some last week. They’re now having it maybe 2-3 times a week.
 
I’m sorry I keep asking all these questions,
Does any one know how often they can have
Radicchio or Endive?
I’ll change up their diet to the main staples of lettuce, peppers, cucumbers and Clinatro everyday. I might add in the celery 2-3xs weekly. With a carrot or other high calicum veggie maybe once a week. Maybe a tomato once a month. I’ll cut out the Apple completely their not a big of it anymore anyway. But was wondering about radicchio cause I know the few times I tried it loved it more their lettuce (which usually the 1st thing they go for) and they tend to like endive.
 
Radicchio May be fed perhaps the same as chicory, though I’m not sure. I’ve never fed it, or endive.
 
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