Hey I’ve seen about of mixed feelings on what piggies should eat in a day and I just wanted to know what they really should eat and nuggets I’ve been giving mine 1/8 cup each because that’s what I’d seen they should have but I’ve just seen that people are giving 1/8 cup for 2 pigs and veg they should have 1 cup per pig right? Thankyou
Hi
There are essentially only three food groups: water - hay/grass fibre - fresh and dry supplementary foods.
Unlimited hay/grass fibre, which makes over three quarters of what they should eat in a way. You control that intake by weighing once weekly (switching to weighing daily first thing in the morning if you have health concerns or a lost) as you cannot control it by eye.
This link here explains all about monitoring the weight and how to put any weight loss in the correct individual perspective as well as when to step in with some form of feeding support. Syringe feeding formula basically replaces any missing hay intake.
Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
Everything else basically replaces the supplementary role that wild forage used to have in the diet guinea pigs have evolved on, whether that is fresh veg, fresh or dried forage, pellets and - not least - any treats, which do not float around divorced from everything else.
However, within the supplementary segment, you are free do play around, as long as you provide vitamin C and other minerals and trace elements (including those that are in not in pellets, like magnesium etc.), so little bit everything in moderation is usually not going wrong.
You have for instance more leeway with higher calcium veg like a slice of kale or (collard) greens for magnesium and vitamin C or a variety of herbs in a once a week slot, which are a great source if you reduce your pellets.
It is the overall balance within that food group that is the crucial point but there isn't any set ratio or firm you have to give only so much and not more. There are members who have stopped feeding pellets for fresh and dry forage, for instance. Most of us still feed a limited amount of pellets which averages around a tablespoon per piggy per day.
If you can, try to stick to pellets that are fairly close to the ideal 1:5:1 ratio of phosphorus-calcium-potassium. It is that overall balance (which also includes the individual water intake and how hard and mineral-rich your local water is) that provides the soft spot in the diet - unfortunately, there are lots of local and individual quirks so there is no one ideal diet that fits all and you have to work out your own personal balance. It is not about going as low with calcium as you can - you can unbalance your diet and get stones that way.
You also have to take into account that the UK is mostly a hard water country whereas the USA and Canada are most soft water countries; so general feeding recommendations tend to differ as they are tweaked towards different overal calcium ratios in the diet. In the UK, most calcium comes actually with water and then with pellets. Some piggies are much stronger drinkers than others and the daily water intake can also depend on the weather conditions or sudden changes, we generally recommend to filter the water (it has made the biggest impact with the occurrance of stones in my own piggies) or switch to low calcium bottled water with especially sensitive piggies.
Wild guinea pigs will actually choose which forage plants they eat on a certain day to instinctively balance out that ratio. Our domestic piggies cannot do that so we have to find a way of tweaking the diet for our personal best possible balance.
You find that ratio listed in our pellet guide:
Nugget Comparison Chart
I hope that this helps you understand the different recommendations and why there is not one ideal diet that works for all locations?
