Food Options!!

[Loi_Puffy]

Hello everyone!!

I got a pair of guinea pigs from one of my acquaintance and I need little guidance from you people..

I'm really concerned about if I'm keeping them nicely..

Things they are happily eating:

-> Cucumber
-> Carrots
-> Spinach
-> Coriander Leaves
-> Mango (along with peel)

Is it ok to give them these things?

Things which they are not eating:

-> Peas
-> Ladyfinger Peel
-> Beans
-> Tomato (even with seeds Removed)
-> Parsley
-> Green Capsicum (outer peel)

I have got some pellets for them from a pet shop but they are eating them very slowly.. I mean a single bowl is going to last for a week I guess..
Giving them cold water (changing thrice in a day)

I've made home for them out of a big cardboard box (nearly 7 sq ft)..Also the bedding I've made is of shredded newspaper and garden grass spreaded on towel (can't find hay anywhere )..

Please tell if I'm doing it right.. I'm really concerned.. Thanks in advance!!

[LitaRutherford]

I know there is a sticky or thread with lists of ok foods but I dont have the link. I'm sure someone else will though.

They dont need a lot of pellets and if you just got them recently i might take a bit before they pick up the speed at which they eat. Is the water in a bowl? Or a bottle? If its a bottle I dont think you need to change it so often.

You should look into a diffrent cage option, guinea pigs can chew out of cardboard pretty easily, and ventelation isn't the best i'd imagine which can lead to URIs. I'd say even a extra large store cage is better then a box. But you can make ancage out of lots of stuff. My three have a cage that is a large dog play pen. They are on fleece instead of bedding so I dont need sides but if you prefer bedding you can always use coroplast or a shower curtain as a bottom and up the sides a few inches to keep the bedding in.

As for the hay, as far as I know all pet stores that would carry pellets carry hay as well since its so important to their diet. If not then feed stores also often carry it or so I've heard.

[Loi_Puffy]

Thanks for the quick reply!!


The water is in the bowl, thats why I change it three times
Yea.. The pet store didn't have the hay, otherwise I would have bought it.. I'm trying my best to find hay.. I live in India and its very difficult to explain people what Timothy hay is..

[LitaRutherford]

There might be other options since I know many people don't use Timothy. However I have no idea what kind of options you would have there. Orchard grass and blue grass are two I have heard. Have you seen anything by those names? Would ordering online be an option for you? Just some suggestions.

Oh and about the food, some pigs take a while to try new things. I had to keep giving my boys bell peppers for a week before they would actually eat them. So don't give up a veggie just because they dont eat it right away. My boys love bell peppers now after they made such a fuss about eating them before.

[Loi_Puffy]

I'm using grass from my garden nowadays!! They seem to be very happy with it!! I'm in love with my guineas!!

[Loi_Puffy]

You're right buddy!! The veggies they were earlier not eating, are now now eating gradually!! Its just that they take their own time..

[bpatters]

Here's a thread with information on what they can eat, and how often: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ants-list.html

Go easy on the carrots and mango -- they're high in sugar and other things that GPs shouldn't have too much of. A small chunk of carrot per day is plenty, and mango maybe once a week. Also limit the spinach -- it's very high in oxalates, and can contribute to stones in the urinary tract. Cucumber can cause gas, which can lead to bloat, so give it in small amounts also.

Give them all the capsicum they'll eat. If they're young, continue with the parsley, but limit or discontinue it when they get to about six months of age.

If they're eating a lot of veggies, then they don't need many pellets -- 1/4 cup per pig per day if they're young, 1/8 cup per pig per day if they're 6-8 months old or older.

Hay in India is indeed a problem. See if you can find a horse stable somewhere, and ask what they feed their horses. You might be able to buy hay from them. And you don't necessarily need timothy, just a long strand grass hay.