No Pellets, then?

[Paulo]

Hi All, i am new here and new with cavies, but decent experience with other pet animals. I have a question here, i was always very reluctant to feed pellets, as difficult to know what is in them.
I would like to find a 100% natural diet, but i cannot see anything on that, always the pellets. Cavies dont naturally eat pellets in the wild, then, what can be fed in a natural way? Wild rice? some beans? (i am clear about fruits and vegetables) I would like to approach this side of the nutrition for pet animals and avoid commercial pellets ( i was very sucessful doing this with birds). Any idea? (on top of the above, pellets are not a alternative at all for me, as i am in Africa the only pellets available are for rabbits)
Thanks to all

Paulo

[Mastershroom]

Pellets themselves aren't necessarily bad...there are cheap brands without much nutritional value, but a high quality pellet will provide cavies with good nutrition, including vitamin C, which is very important for them. That said, it is possible to feed a no-pellet diet.

Hay is the number one most important thing for cavies to eat. It provides nutrients, prevents their teeth from overgrowing and keeps their digestive tracts regular. Grass hay (like timothy, orchard grass, bluegrass, brome, etc.) should be fed to them all the time, and replaced if they eat it all or soil what they have.

Other than hay, fresh leafy greens are good, notably red or green leaf lettuce (not iceberg lettuce). Bell peppers and the occasional carrot are also good. You don't want them to have too much calcium, as it can cause stones.

[CavyMama]

Pellets are made from compressed hay. So they are indeed natural. Guinea pigs would find hay or especially grasses in the wild.

With that said, pellets are the least important part of the guinea pig diet. Hay is first, then veggies, then pellets.

Rabbit pellets would not work for guinea pigs. Rabbits can make their own vitamin C so their pellets are not fortified with vit c.

Rice and beans are not okay for guinea pigs to eat. So avoid those as part of the guinea pig diet.

As long as they get unlimited access to hay, a pellet-free diet is okay.

[bpatters]

The rabbit pellets won't do, as the main thing the pigs get from pellets is stabilized vitamin C. If you can't find plain timothy pellets, then you can do without, but you have to make sure they've got a good balanced vegetable diet. Google "HAFF diet" and you'll get some hits. HAFF stands for hay and fresh foods.

But if you can find a good source of pellets, they're natural, as they're mostly hay, with just enough binder to keep the vitamins and minerals in them.

[Paulo]

How about oats? or any muesli mix? can be given? maybe not as staple but once a week?

[madelineelaine]

guinea pigs really shouldn't have any time of grain or seed.