Nutrition: Cavy Nutrition Charts Discussion Thread

[Ly&Pigs]

Can someone tell me how to access the "Cavy Nutrition Chart" everyone is referring to?

Click the link in the first post of this thread to get to the thread where the charts are.

but I was very dismayed to hear her recommend putting Vitamin C drops in their water. I thought that was bad, isn't it?

It is bad to put drops in the water as light degrades the C too fast and it does no good.

Can someone also tell me HOW MUCH Vitamin C a 1-year old, male, unneutered guinea pig should get daily?

10-30 mg/kg. A 2lb pig is approximately 0.9kg. So if you make sure they are getting about 25-30mg of C per day through veggies, they will do fine. Bell pepper is a great source of daily vitamin C.

[Lynx]

I just noticed your charts and all your hard work. Let me just say that I think fresh grass (which we can't find good data for) is one of the best things you can feed your guinea pig. Start slowly if they aren't used to it. I used to feed fresh grass year-round. Even brushed off the snow and picked grass in the winter.

I think your charts give a new way of looking at foods and reiterate some guidelines that are handy to follow -- like how fruit should be fed sparingly and crucifers can cause gas. A pig that is acclimated to crucifers may have absolutely no problems though. Because we don't always know what causes gas buildup in the cecum (not a frequent problem but can be serious if it turns into bloat), I guess we have fallen into recommending to give it sparingly.

Keep in mind that when you are feeding foods, you want to aim for a balance of things. Heavier on the leafy greens, lighter on the fruits but include variety. A veg high in calcium can be offset by a suitable food low in calcium. For any of you who have a good scale and excel installed on your computer (you can also use http://www.openoffice.org/ which is free), you can see how your pig's diet stacks up on calcium and phosphorus here: http://www.guinealynx.info/calculator.xls

And hay. 24-7, have a high quality grass hay available. This is so important for your guinea pigs.

I think each person works out what to feed their pig based on what is available and what their pig likes. Go easy on carrots and fruits but bits are certainly okay.

[Ly&Pigs]

I think your charts give a new way of looking at foods and reiterate some guidelines that are handy to follow

Thanks for the compliment Lynxipoo. Means a lot coming from you.

[Blindy]

is cilantro the same thing as coriander?

[JarBax]

Yes cilantro is the same as coriander!

[jabberwock]

Is celery leaf pretty much the same as celery nutritionally? (ie 2-4 times a week). The last lot of celery I bought was very leafy! (the pigs won't eat the sticks but they will eat the leaves).

[JarBax]

My girls love the leaves too (will also eat the stalk) - sorry have no idea about them nutritionally.

I have often wondered if satsuma/clementine/tangerine skin/segments would be akin to orange skin/flesh. We eat loads of these, less oranges - and I wouldn't mind sharing - occasionally!

[Percy's Mom]

Yes, the celery leaves are about the same nutritionally, and there is far less chance of choking on strings with the leaves, so you don't have to chop them up.

Satsumas/clementines/tangerines can be treated like oranges, and you're likely to find they have smaller segments and fewer seeds, so they are easier to feed your pigs.

[sweetjay6891]

I love the chart. I printed it out and it's hanging on my bulliton board to admire!

[Miss. Hanzi Pig]

Thanks for the chart, its really helpful !
I was wondering though, I have some white cabbage & I was wondering if you can feed this to pigs because its not on this chart. It looks alot like iceberg lettuce so im not sure.

[Ly&Pigs]

I'm not fond of cabbage in a pigs diet as it's very gassy. I wouldn't feed cabbage more than 1 leaf per pig once per week. There are many other veggies that are more nutritious than cabbage.

[Miss. Hanzi Pig]

Okay thanks !

[JarBax]

I was wondering if it would be appropriate to post a 'recommended weekly menu'? (there have been a couple of threads with weekly lists recently.)

If there was a 'basic' list/lists, it would give folk an idea of quantities and variety - in a different format to the chart.

[Ly&Pigs]

I can work on some sample menus.

[JarBax]

That would be brilliant Ly, I'm sure lots of people will appreciate them!

[Blindy]

Sample menus would be great Ive tried to find one for a long time!

[Naomi]

what about carrot greens? I buy carrots with the greens attached and they love them.

[Ly&Pigs]

If memory serves me correctly, they are high in calcium so best fed once or twice per week.

[SoCalCavies]

Ly, I did a search before asking this question, but couldn't find an answer.

I have amended the great GL Excel sheet to include some veggies I normally feed that weren't included, but I'm stuck on Escarole. Do you happen to have the Sugar, Vit C, Phos, Cal, etc. content for it? The stuff I buy is genuine Escarole. In other words, it's not curly or Belgium endive. It also looks very different.

Thanks in advance!

(FYI: I finally weighed all my food for an entire week and was able to plug everything into the spreadsheet and WOW! Was it eye-opening! I found out that one day I fed my pigs only 25mg's of Vitamin C! Yikes! Thank you so much for all the work you've done. I can't wait to include other calculations in that spreadsheet [like Vit A totals and sugar totals, etc.] I sure wish we knew more about oxalic acid content though. No one seems to know much on that. ??)

[hlover100]

I know cavies can have basil and mint, but can they have herbs like yucca, meadowsweet, vervain, valerian root, chamomile and chives? Also can they have garlic and grapes or grape seed extract?