Diet: Am I giving them too much veg

[cudley n pepper]

I give my pigs(I have 2) two lots of fresh veg a day once in the morning and once in the evening, I seem to give the same variaty each day is this ok, they have 1 large lettuce leaf (cos) I can not find this romain lettuce anywhere,
1 cherry tomatoe sliced
1 slice of red pepper
1 slice of green pepper
1 slice of yellow pepper
a few baby spinich leaves or parsley
around 6 slices of thin sliced carrot
6 slices of thinly sliced cucumber
a finger sized celery cut into small bits
and a corn on the cob which they love
a couple of times a week I will give them a piece of fruit (no not a full one maybe a slice each) either bananna orange apple or strawberry, They do also have their guinea pig mix which is in there cage all day.
The reason im asking this, is I have just been on another guinea pig site and just seen a picture of a guineas picnic, which is a treat to her pigs once a week, her pigs treat is my pigs daily meal twice a day
they do leave some of these veggies I must say but not much and I just throw them away and give fresh again in the evening, any advice would be greatly appreciated

[princesspoppy]

Ly is the expert on this but personally speaking thats a lot of veggies. I offer 3 types of veg twice a day.And only fruit 2 times a week max. I would leave out banana and spinach an i wouldn't offer parsley everyday. You could substitute that with cilantro. I think cucumber can be giving every other day. Can you find maybe some red leaf lettuce or butter head ? Maybe give red pepper every 2 or 3 days. Heres Ly's diet colored diet sheet.
http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ants-list.html

[1frankie7]

I saw that pignic too The one I saw was on Jackie's Guinea Pigs and I do not recomend using guinea pig mix but plain pellets

5 Star pellets include
oxbow cavy cuisine or cavy perfomance for cavies under 6 months
Kleenmamas hay loft pellets
sweet meadow.

Okay pellets include
martins(which I feed)
mazuri 5664.

avoid these brands
kaytee
Ecotrition
Hartz
nutriphase

and that is alot of veggies but I dont know if its too much?

I only give one cup of veggies per day per pig.

[JD In Van]

You should never give pigs corn first of all. The husks are alright. Fresh corn no.

You're giving way too much cucumber, carrot and red pepper (none of these are daily foods), too much spinach/parsley (these are a couple times a week max foods, you can cut them out completely if your pigs are over 6 months) and not nearly enough leafy greens. They need a cup a day EACH of leafy greens. And then their veggies on top of that.

A good trick is to get a couple of 1/2 cup sized ramikin (sp?) bowls, the kind they use for small soufles and creme broulle. Then tear up the lettuce/cilantro/whathaveyou and cram them both full to the brim. Like pack it in there. One for each pig 2 x day.

Then put a couple veggies on top. Peppers at every feeding (I personally give them a couple slices of one color at a time) and then what ever else you're throwing in there.

There's some sample menues at the top of the nutrition section that you should definitely check out.

[akstrohm]

First of all, I'm assuming your amounts are per pig.

They each need at least 1 cup of veggies split into two feedings per day. More veggies is fine.

Romaine lettuce is the same thing as cos lettuce. They need more of a variety of lettuces and other leafy greens. Look for green leaf, red leaf, escarole, endive, etc. They need several leaves of lettuce per day, not just one.

Aim for 1/8 bell pepper per pig per day or more. I'm not sure how big your slices are--so maybe you are already doing this. This is important for vit C. Feed more green pepper than red--red is high in sugar.

I would cut out the spinach all together since it is very high in oxalic acid. Parsley should be limited to just a few times a week. Cilantro is a good leafy green to feed daily. You can feed it in pretty high amounts.

6 slices of carrot is too much. They should each get at most the equivalent of one baby carrot per day. Carrots are high in sugar, vit. A, and oxalic acid and are more of a treat type veggie. 6 slices of cucumber is also too much. They should have cucumber in much smaller amounts only a few times a week. It is mostly water. Celery should also be fed only a few times a week. Corn on the cob silk and husks can be fed daily, but the actual corn should be fed much more sparingly.

I think you have a good selection of veggies (although there are others you could add--green beans, pea pods, zucchini, broccoli), but you need to feed them in smaller amounts and rotate them. You can up the amount of greens you are feeding to compensate.

When you say a guinea pig mix, do you mean the pellets with seeds and colored bits? Guinea pigs need a plain, high quality pellet. Good brands include Kleenmama, Oxbow, and Sweet Meadow. Pet store brands like Kaytee and Hartz are not good. They should get only 1/8-1/4 cup timothy-based pellets per day if they are over 6 months. They also need unlimited grass hay. Hope this helps!

[akstrohm]

Originally Posted by JD In Van

You should never give pigs corn first of all. The husks are alright. Fresh corn no.

This isn't true. Fresh corn is fine in small amounts.

I second your recommendation to check out the sample menus. They are very helpful.

[JD In Van]

Originally Posted by akstrohm

This isn't true. Fresh corn is fine in small amounts.

I second your recommendation to check out the sample menus. They are very helpful.

Really? It's a seed.
A whole corn on the cob a day is still way too much regardless.

[Paula]

Originally Posted by JD In Van

Really? It's a seed.
A whole corn on the cob a day is still way too much regardless.

Fresh corn is fine, maybe once a week or every other week, as a treat. Probably would be best to go with half a cob per two pigs. Husks are thought to be fine daily, although I've not actually been able to find nutrition info on corn husks so I'm not entirely certain on that one.

[akstrohm]

It is a seed, but it's not a choking hazard like seeds in pellet mixes since it isn't dry. It is still high in fat, which is why it needs to be relatively limited. And yes, a whole corn on the cob every day is way too much. My pigs prefer the silk and husks to the kernels anyway.

[Ly&Pigs]

Originally Posted by akstrohm

Romaine lettuce is the same thing as cos lettuce. They need more of a variety of lettuces and other leafy greens. Look for green leaf, red leaf, escarole, endive, etc. They need several leaves of lettuce per day, not just one.

Ditto.

Originally Posted by cudley n pepper

1 cherry tomatoe sliced
1 slice of red pepper
1 slice of green pepper
1 slice of yellow pepper
a few baby spinich leaves or parsley
around 6 slices of thin sliced carrot
6 slices of thinly sliced cucumber
a finger sized celery cut into small bits
and a corn on the cob

Tomato can be fed daily but beware of mouth sores as they are acidic.

Red and yellow pepper contain a lot more sugars than green. Each pig needs about 1/8 of a pepper per day. I wouldn't feed all three colors every day but rotate them so you are feeding mostly green and then yellow a couple times a week and red about once a week.

Spinach is not a good veggie in my opinion. Better left out of the diet. It's super high in vitamin A and oxalic acid. If you do want to feed it, only once or twice a week in very small amounts. Parsley is high in calcium. Better fed only twice a week. As was mentioned, cilantro is a good alternative and can be fed in pretty good amounts.

Depending on how thick the carrot slices are, I'd cut that down to about 2-3 slices each.

Cucumber, about 2 1/4" thick slices (you can cut them in half) per pig but no more than every other day.

Celery is better fed every 2-3 days as well. You can alternate days of feeding cucumber and celery.

Corn on the cob can be fed but it's sugary and starchy and should not be fed more than about once a week, 1/2 an ear per two pigs. Husks and silks are fine daily.

I'd ditch banana as it can cause bloat. You don't want to feed fruit more than twice a week.

Please also get rid of the guinea pig pellet mix as mixes pose a high choking risk, cause obesity and have a high potential to cause other health problems.

Originally Posted by 1frankie7

avoid these brands
kaytee
Ecotrition
Hartz
nutriphase

And I just wanted to mention that there are a lot more than just these 4 brands that need avoided. There are actually many brands to avoid.

[cudley n pepper]

Thanks guys I am going to change their menu as of today with lots more leafy greens and ditch the mix, I was at first debating wether to ask this or not as I know its probably been asked loads before but I am so glad I did

[akstrohm]

Originally Posted by cudley n pepper

Thanks guys I am going to change their menu as of today with lots more leafy greens and ditch the mix, I was at first debating wether to ask this or not as I know its probably been asked loads before but I am so glad I did

There is a forum search function you can use for questions that you think have already been asked. It's in the bar with "my profile", "blogs", "faq", etc.

Feel free to post a revised menu when you get it worked out.

[poopysmom]

I agree with whatever that has been said, but just a slight correction,

Corn or Maize actually belongs to the GRASS family and shares similarities with Oats, barley, wheat, etc.

So, in terms of botany, Corn is a grain, NOT a Seed. Also note that most seeds are docotone, while corn like wheat and barley, are monocot.

Ta.

[1frankie7]

Originally Posted by Ly&Pigs

And I just wanted to mention that there are a lot more than just these 4 brands that need avoided. There are actually many brands to avoid.

I know there are way more than that but I just rememberd those ones.