General: Lots of Questions

[Twztovf8]

I have piggys, and I have heard so many do's and don'ts from all diffrent sources. I was wondering if you guys could possibly clear up any myths that I may have heard..

I have heard that you never feed a piggy regular lettuce, just romaine.

What if my area doesn't have a piggy adoption place? I get all my piggies from petco and havent had any trouble. But I definately take very good care of my piggies.

How do I go about getting my piggies to eat veggies? Just a little at a time or take them one at a time and work with them on their eating?

I really appreciate all your help.

[Ly&Pigs]

I have heard that you never feed a piggy regular lettuce, just romaine.

False. They need a variety of lettuces. Any variety except iceburg is fine to feed.

What if my area doesn't have a piggy adoption place? I get all my piggies from petco and havent had any trouble. But I definately take very good care of my piggies.

Then you try other resources before going to a petstore or breeder. Check local newspaper ads, craigslist, petfinder, here, guinealynx, guineapighome, pigloo.net. If you can't find pigs to adopt, don't get them until you can as there is a huge overpopulation of cavies out there. Where there are petstores, there will be cavies needing homes.

How do I go about getting my piggies to eat veggies? Just a little at a time or take them one at a time and work with them on their eating?

See this tip- http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...t-veggies.html

[SFailed186]

Originally Posted by Ly&Pigs

Then you try other resources before going to a petstore or breeder. Check local newspaper ads, craigslist, petfinder, here, guinealynx, guineapighome, pigloo.net. If you can't find pigs to adopt, don't get them until you can as there is a huge overpopulation of cavies out there. Where there are petstores, there will be cavies needing homes.

I would just like to add that this really does work. The area that my sister and I live in is not familiar with guinea pigs at all. In fact, I have only heard of maybe two or three other families in this general area with guinea pigs. It took some time for us to find a female piggy on Craigslist (maybe 4 months?), but in the end we did find her. Be patient with the process of adoption and don't give up because it is worth it.

[ameyjaney]

On the subject of adopting: Just because a place does not blatantly advertise the fact that they have guinea-pigs to adopt does not mean that they don't. Take as an example, the cat and dog home here. The name does not suggest that they have other animals apart from cats and dogs but I know from local knowledge that they do. It is worth phoning to find out and investigate .

[sdpiggylvr]

You can feed all kinds of lettuces - butterhead, romaine, green leaf, red leaf, etc. But not Iceberg lettuce as it has no nutritional value. (That's kind of a given.) It is recommended that you feed several kinds of leafy greens daily. A mixture of romaine, cilantro, and swiss chard is an example of the base of the daily "salad". You'll need to add more to the salad as well, such as a cherry tomato, a few sprigs of parsley, a baby carrot, a slice of yellow bell pepper, etc. You should also add a small piece of fruit daily - such as a slice of apple, an orange slice, etc. Please see this diet list: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ants-list.html It has lots of information on each veggie and fruit you can feed guinea pigs as well as how often you should.
If you are unable to find any guinea pigs at your local humane society, guinea pig rescue, or animal shelter, you can try a search on PetFinder. www.petfinder.com
Like Ly said, start off small with just a few veggies per day - like romaine lettuce and a slice of red pepper. Then slowly increase the amount of vegetables, and throw in a new one every other day or so. If a particular veggie causes diarrhea or tummy ache, take away that veggie and don't feed it again.
Good luck!

[1frankie7]

Originally Posted by sdpiggylvr

You can feed all kinds of lettuces - butterhead, romaine, green leaf, red leaf, etc. But not Iceberg lettuce as it has no nutritional value. (That's kind of a given.) It is recommended that you feed several kinds of leafy greens daily. A mixture of romaine, cilantro, and swiss chard is an example of the base of the daily "salad". You'll need to add more to the salad as well, such as a cherry tomato, a few sprigs of parsley, a baby carrot, a slice of yellow bell pepper, etc. You should also add a small piece of fruit daily - such as a slice of apple, an orange slice, etc. Please see this diet list: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ants-list.html It has lots of information on each veggie and fruit you can feed guinea pigs as well as how often you should.
If you are unable to find any guinea pigs at your local humane society, guinea pig rescue, or animal shelter, you can try a search on PetFinder. www.petfinder.com
Like Ly said, start off small with just a few veggies per day - like romaine lettuce and a slice of red pepper. Then slowly increase the amount of vegetables, and throw in a new one every other day or so. If a particular veggie causes diarrhea or tummy ache, take away that veggie and don't feed it again.
Good luck!

You should not feed fruit daily because it is very high in sugar.

And you should not feed parsly every day.

[akstrohm]

Swiss chard should also not be fed daily (or even close to daily). It is extremely high in oxalic acid.

Frankie is also correct that fruit and parsley should not be fed daily either. You also need to give more than a slice of bell pepper--at least 1/8 pepper per pig per day provides a good amount of vitamin C.

I would review the charts that you provided the link to as well as the sample menus.

[sdpiggylvr]

Oops, sorry, I thought you could feed fruit and swiss chard daily! I only fed it once as it upset my pig's tummy. And I also do not feed parsley every day. I was just saying a sample menu. I don't feed my pigs fruit every day...only about 3 times a week, actually. I'm sorry I didn't get the exact right amounts. Thanks for clarifying.