Diet-So confused

[bloomingamaryll]

I adopted a pig last week and the woman who gave her to me was so vague about her diet. I don't know what to do? She is 2 years old and I'm feeding her a 1/4 cup of food each evening and a handful of t. hay. When I visit in the morning with her I provide about 2 inches of carrots or a few leaves of spinach as well.

She never eats all of her food. Am I feeding her right? Should she be given unlimited quantities of hay, carrots, veges, or her regular food. What's a serving size for a guinea? She appears healthy and active.

If you asked me, she looks fat. She has a double chin. I don't think they exercised her much. Can she run around on tile floors?

[pigsforlife]

It is essential that your guinea pig is provided with unlimited amounts of timothy hay (or anyother grass hay) as hay not only files their teeth but helps with their digestive system. She should also be getting 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup of a good quality plain pellet, combined with fresh produce twice a day. I recommend either Kleenmama's Hayloft :: Home or Oxbow Pet Products | Welcome .

You are not feeding her enough fresh produce and not enough variety. Lys Nutrition Charts are excellent, the charts are colour coded to show how often foods should be fed http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...arts-info.html . I would start by adding some of the vegetables (highlighted in yellow) to your guinea pigs diet. You can then extend by adding vegetables and feeding them according to the charts.

Also, start weighing her weekly. Draw up a spreadsheet (I used Excel) and record her name and how much she weighs, update this each week when you weigh her. This way you can control her weight loss/gain. This site has more information Guinea Lynx :: Weigh Weekly!

[ctinaw]

First - you should read this http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...arts-info.html

It's a handy chart Ly made that gives you an idea of what veggies are ok and how much of them is ok. Some veggies you may want to limit - ie, carrots are very sweet and full of sugar (compared to other veggies like zucchini) so you would limit them more than you would zucchini.

Lettuce *not iceberg but any other lettuce* seems to be a good main staple, green peppers are another favorite - a couple baby carrots is fine too. Read those charts for more basic ideas - there are definitely some veggies to avoid or limit!

I feed my pigs 1 cup of veggies per pig (so 2 cups for 2 pigs in my case), per day. I usually feed them at night - though some piggie owners like to feed in the morning and evening or throughout the day. It's up to you and your schedule, as long as they are at least getting a full serving once per day.

I believe a serving size of pellets is 1/4 cup per day - so you can give that to her in the morning each day. Make sure you're usuing a quality pellet. The only pellets people seem to trust around here are Oxbow and Kleenmama's. They are both available online or at some petstores (in the case of Oxbow - KM's you can only buy online).

Timothy hay should be provided in UNLIMITED quantities. It's very important that they have an unlimited supply of hay both for digestion and to wear down their back molars. Kleenmama's and Oxbow also sell hay for your pigs - and it's a better value than buying the small bags in petstores.

She should be able to run on tile floors though you may want to put some towels down for traction and to absorb any peepee's.

Since you recently got her - I'm curious what cage you have her in? This site has great examples and instruction on building your OWN C&C cage - they are super easy to make and cost much less than buying a small junky store cage. Check the photos section for examples, and ask lots of questions - many people here will help you out!