Pellets I need information.

[iPiggyLover]

Please do not insult me or "flame me" if this has been asked before. I tried searching but did not find anything. I am here to learn, and make my piggies happier.

I have been reading that some pellets are better then others. I understand that Sweet Meadow, Oxbow, and Kleenmama are the best.

Personally, I have no stores that sells any of those nearby. I have no problems buying online. Except for the fact that they charge me 96 dollars for shipping over to canada. (Might haven't found a good site yet.)

What I want to know is what is so bad about other brands. I understand that some ingredients are not good for guinea pigs. It was mentioned in other threads, but I don't quite understand what is bad in it. I would love to know which ingredients are bad for them and why. (Sorry if it is a stupid question, I am trying to get the most information out of this possible.)

Then I heard that mixes aren't good either. Plain pellets are better. My question here, is it okay to buy mixed pellets and take out all the dried food out of it. Then I would just keep the pellets and no other added foods.

Here is the only two options I have near me. Hartz bonanza gourmet diet for guinea pigs (mixed). Well actually that's mostly about it. There are also hartz plain pellets. I can also go to my local pet store which sells pellets for guinea pigs. But it's not any specific brand, and it says on the label that you can use it for rabbits too. Not to mention that I never buy anything from pet store anymore. I don't encourage them. Right now I am feeding them hartz bonanza gourmet. But I hope there isn't anything in it that could kill them.

I do want to feed them what is best for them, but since the shipping prices are crazy and there is nothing good around here. Seems like that's my only option for now. I am taking a 3 hour drive to go to a larger city this friday, and I will try to find something better there. If I do, I will buy in large quantity so I don't have to travel very often to get some.

On another hand, I used to have the pet stores one (until I realized that buying from pet stores was bad. People learn from their mistakes, I did.) and when I switched to bonanza hartz, suddenly one of my guinea pigs who would never eat any pellets started eating some.

Some people have also said that their guinea pigs have preferences. And will not eat some brands of pellets. (That could be an issue if I pay 150 dollars for a bag of oxbow, that includes the shipping. And end up with none of my piggies eating it.)

Thanks for all your future answers. Sorry for the long post as well.

 

[SFailed186]

Then I heard that mixes aren't good either. Plain pellets are better. My question here, is it okay to buy mixed pellets and take out all the dried food out of it. Then I would just keep the pellets and no other added foods.

The pellets are still low quality regardless of if you take the seeds out. It would be pointless to buy a low quality mix versus a low quality plain pellet. I do not mean that offensively.

On another hand, I used to have the pet stores one (until I realized that buying from pet stores was bad. People learn from their mistakes, I did.) and when I switched to bonanza hartz, suddenly one of my guinea pigs who would never eat any pellets started eating some.

You can still buy supplies from pet stores. That is the only thing that SHOULD be bought from there. Just do not buy pets from there, of course. If you can get Oxbow pellets at a pet store, then do it. The reason that they are eating the pellets now is because it is essentially junk food. Would you rather eat a chocolate chip cookie or tofu? The cookie of course, and the same goes with the piggies regarding pellets.

 

[iPiggyLover]

The pellets are still low quality regardless of if you take the seeds out. It would be pointless to buy a low quality mix versus a low quality plain pellet. I do not mean that offensively.


You can still buy supplies from pet stores. That is the only thing that SHOULD be bought from there. Just do not buy pets from there, of course. If you can get Oxbow pellets at a pet store, then do it. The reason that they are eating the pellets now is because it is essentially junk food. Would you rather eat a chocolate chip cookie or tofu? The cookie of course, and the same goes with the piggies regarding pellets.

Thanks. I understand you do not mean anything offensively.

The pet store is not selling any good quality pellets anyway. It looks more like rabbit pellet then anything else. There's even sunflower seeds in their pellets mix.

Both the hartz and pet shop pellets look almost the same. The hartz one looks a bit cheaper, but it doesn't have all sorts of ingredients that the pet stores one have. It seems mostly fit for rabbits, and they told me it was "okay" to give it to my piggies. Well "okay" doesn't do it. If it's meant for rabbits, it's not meant for piggies.

I'm feeding them hartz until I can find better, as soon as I do I will take it out. But they don't seem to be pigging out on it at least. They eat some once in a while. They're not over eating this. But like you said, if it is junk food. It is junk food.

Feed me chips and ice cream all day, and see how fat I will get. I guess it's the same for them.

They actually eat more hay then anything else. And I give them fresh veggies every day. I just hope these low quality pellets won't kill them or anything.

 

[true secret]

I'm not sure where I found this website but Canadian Pet Connection sells Oxbow product and they are located in Canada (Oakville Ontario) so shipping should be quite decent depending on where in Canada you live. I would check them out.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

I'm not sure why you think you'd get "flamed" for asking a question. I wish people wouldn't add statements like that to their posts.

Hartz is one of the lowest quality brands out there. Hartz products are known to kill animals.

It would be better to buy better quality brands in a petstore than to buy the lowest quality out there.

If you are in Canada and don't have access to the better brands such as KM or Oxbow, try to find Proform or Martins pellets. They are of decent quality but keep in mind that they must be limited to no more than 1/8 cup in pigs over 6 months because they are alfalfa based. But they are a heck of a lot better than anything made by Hartz.

Ingredients in pellets that are bad:
Corn
Oils
Seeds, nuts, dried veggies and other bits and bobs (pose a high choking hazard and cause obesity)
Beet Pulp
Animal Products or by-products
Preservatives like BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin
Rice bran or rice flour
Vegetable fiber
dried bacterias to act like probiotics

 

[iPiggyLover]

I'm not sure why you think you'd get "flamed" for asking a question. I wish people wouldn't add statements like that to their posts.

Hartz is one of the lowest quality brands out there. Hartz products are known to kill animals.

It would be better to buy better quality brands in a petstore than to buy the lowest quality out there.

If you are in Canada and don't have access to the better brands such as KM or Oxbow, try to find Proform or Martins pellets. They are of decent quality but keep in mind that they must be limited to no more than 1/8 cup in pigs over 6 months because they are alfalfa based. But they are a heck of a lot better than anything made by Hartz.

Ingredients in pellets that are bad:
Corn
Oils
Seeds, nuts, dried veggies and other bits and bobs (pose a high choking hazard and cause obesity)
Beet Pulp
Animal Products or by-products
Preservatives like BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin
Rice bran or rice flour
Vegetable fiber
dried bacterias to act like probiotics

It is very common that on the internet, some people are rude and will flame you for posting a question that could be considered stupid. I was not talking about anyone in particular. I know most people in this forum have red the rules and understand everything. I also know that mostly everyone is helpful. I didn't mean any harm in that statement, I just don't want to create any fights over questions. That's why I stated that I wanted to learn.

Now on to your post, it is extremely useful. I would love for something like this to be stickied. Most posts stickied are about veggies and hay. But there isn't anything about pellets.

I will write down all of this, so when I leave town I will look for something better. I will also remove right away all of the dried fruits and veggies in their current pellets. I wouldn't want them to choke on it.

The only thing I can think of that there is in the Hartz ones. As I am looking at the ingredients. Is seeds and nuts and dried veggies, and whole corn. Other then that there is nothing else. I can remove the seeds and veggies.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

The pellets are still low quality regardless of if you take the seeds out. It would be pointless to buy a low quality mix versus a low quality plain pellet. I do not mean that offensively.


You can still buy supplies from pet stores. That is the only thing that SHOULD be bought from there. Just do not buy pets from there, of course. If you can get Oxbow pellets at a pet store, then do it. The reason that they are eating the pellets now is because it is essentially junk food. Would you rather eat a chocolate chip cookie or tofu? The cookie of course, and the same goes with the piggies regarding pellets.

The money from live animal sales and supplies goes to the same place. Often the stores make more money from supplies - the animals are a 'loss leader' to draw people to the store and impulse buys. If a store sells animals, you should not buy anything from there at all.

You remember that big to-do with melanine in dog and cat food that killed all those pets? Poor ingredients and eating unhealthy things is harmful to humans and animals alike. Hartz is really bad.

I wouldn't take advice from the pet store.

There are a lot of websites that sell oxbow at a low shipping cost but not sure if the fees are higher for Canada. Have you looked at petfooddirect and dr fosters and smith?

 

[Paula]

Starting off a post with "do not insult me or flame me" is sometimes a surefire way to inspire folks to do exactly that, so in the future you might consider simply asking your question in the most straightforward and least pretentious way you can.

Now, onto your question. If the only option I had for pellets was anything made by Hartz, I wouldn't feed them pellets at all. Since it sounds like you'll (hopefully) be able to get better quality pellets in the near future, I'd hold off on feeding them pellets in the mean time, and instead make sure they have a wide variety of veggies.

 

[iPiggyLover]

Starting off a post with "do not insult me or "flame me" is sometimes a surefire way to inspire folks to do exactly that, so in the future you might consider simply asking your question in the most straightforward and least pretentious way you can.

Now, onto your question. If the only option I had for pellets was anything made by Hartz, I wouldn't feed them pellets at all. Since it sounds like you'll (hopefully) be able to get better quality pellets in the near future, I'd hold off on feeding them pellets in the mean time, and instead make sure they have a wide variety of veggies.

I will not start a post that way again. I did not think it would do any harm.

Right now, I have almost no options. Since I have no idea what the pet store food is about. They don't provide a list of ingredients. I feel bad not feeding them anything. Though they have hay, and fresh veggies. Can't believe I paid 8 dollars for basically a bag of poop =(. I thought I was doing better by not buying from a pet store. Not I am not sure if the local pet store had anything else then the rabbit/guinea pig pellets they had. But I doubt it. And I wouldn't buy it anyway, I'd rather get some shipped.

I looked up the canadien site, the shipping is better then the other one. For a 50 lb bag, it's around 100 dollars.

I have no idea if I should feed them whats left of the pet store food or just not feed them anything. And to be honest I highly doubt there will be anything in that city I am going. They might have something in the pet stores there... But I really don't want to buy from them. It breaks my heart just thinking that I would be forced to buy in a pet store. I think I would rather pay the huge shipping price. I will check out most stores down there. My hopes aren't high on Oxbow or KM though. I'll order online if I can't find any.

 

[iPiggyLover]

I hate double posting, but it won't let me edit.Can a mod merge my two posts? Here are the ingredients in the Specific Hartz product I bought today.

Product name: Hartz Bonanza, Guinea Pig Gourmet Diet.

Nutrition facts:
Crude Protein Minimum 16.0%
Crude Fat Minimum 4.0%
Crude Fiber Maximum 15.0%
Moisture Maximum 12.0%
Vitamin C Minimum 200 mg/kg

Ingredients: Wheat Middlings, Whole corn, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Dehydrated Alfalfa meal, Milo, Wheat, Oat Groats, Sunflower seed, Ground Corn, Soybean Hulls, Flaked corn, Yellow split peas, Trapper Peas, Ground wheat, Dehydrated carrots, Soybean Oil, Cane molasses, Safflower Seed, Pumpkin Seed, Calcium carbonate, dehydrated papaya, raisins, Peanuts, Lignin, Sulfonate, salt, dicalcium phosphate, Dehydrated banana, Yucca schidigera Extract, corn gluten meal, artificial Flavor, dehydrated apple, brewers dried yeast, asorbic acid, L-lysine, Potassium chloride, DL-methionine, Citric acid ( a Preservative), Magnesium Oxide, choline chloride, Vitamin A supplement , Vitamin D3 supplement, Vitamin E supplement, Niacin, calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, Folic acid, biotin, vitamin b12 supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganous oxide, Manganese sulfate, Zinc sulfate, Zinc oxide, Copper sulfate, ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Calcium iodate, Sodium selenite, Cobalt carbonate, Dried saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation Extract, Dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation Extract, Dried enterococcus faecium fermentation Extract, Dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation Extract, Dried aspergillus niger fermentation Extract, Dried bacillus subtillus fermentation Extract, Color added (Yellow # 5, Yellow # 6, Red # 40, Blue # 1, titanium dioxide)

Incase someone wants to know why to stay away from Hartz products. It contains lots of seeds. Ground corn, and whole corn. Also has colouring.

My piggies loves this very much sadly. It seems like they enjoy junk food. I doubt this would kill a Guinea pig very fast, unless he chokes on a dried fruit. But I just red that it is not recommended. I know guinea lynx has a thread with lots of guinea pig products and all their ingredients if you guys are looking for a certain product.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Ingredients: Wheat Middlings, Whole corn, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Dehydrated Alfalfa meal, Milo, Wheat, Oat Groats, Sunflower seed, Ground Corn, Soybean Hulls, Flaked corn, Yellow split peas, Trapper Peas, Ground wheat, Dehydrated carrots, Soybean Oil, Cane molasses, Safflower Seed, Pumpkin Seed, Calcium carbonate, dehydrated papaya, raisins, Peanuts, Lignin, Sulfonate, salt, dicalcium phosphate, Dehydrated banana, Yucca schidigera Extract, corn gluten meal, artificial Flavor, dehydrated apple, brewers dried yeast, asorbic acid, L-lysine, Potassium chloride, DL-methionine, Citric acid ( a Preservative), Magnesium Oxide, choline chloride, Vitamin A supplement , Vitamin D3 supplement, Vitamin E supplement, Niacin, calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, Folic acid, biotin, vitamin b12 supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganous oxide, Manganese sulfate, Zinc sulfate, Zinc oxide, Copper sulfate, ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Calcium iodate, Sodium selenite, Cobalt carbonate, Dried saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation Extract, Dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation Extract, Dried enterococcus faecium fermentation Extract, Dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation Extract, Dried aspergillus niger fermentation Extract, Dried bacillus subtillus fermentation Extract, Color added (Yellow # 5, Yellow # 6, Red # 40, Blue # 1, titanium dioxide)

I've highlighted everything wrong in this pellet. Some are cheap fillers, others are bad products in pellets.

The first ingredient in a good pellet will be hay, not meal but hay such as alfalfa hay or timothy hay.

 

[iPiggyLover]

I've highlighted everything wrong in this pellet. Some are cheap fillers, others are bad products in pellets.

The first ingredient in a good pellet will be hay, not meal but hay such as alfalfa hay or timothy hay.

Thank you. For the fun of it, me and my girl friend actually sat down and took out all the dried food out of it. We now have a quarter of a bag left of pellets. (Just to show how much fillers there is.)

I will order some oxbow. If my piggies don't like it, they will have to get used to it. I'm ordering a 50 lb bag now.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

There's still a lot of filler in the pellets themselves.

 

[Sirene]

I will order some oxbow. If my piggies don't like it, they will have to get used to it. I'm ordering a 50 lb bag now.

I'm sure they will love it! I switched my pigs to Oxbow Cavy Cuisine after they'd been eating bulk-buy pet store mixes for 2 years with their previous owner, and they love it. I'm currently feeding them Sweet Meadow, and they love those even more (too much, since they now beg specifically for more pellets by wheeking and gnawing on the bowl once they've eaten their rations ;-)), but obviously shipping would be insane for you on those. Good luck with the pellets - and switching cold turkey should be fine, you don't need to do it gradually.

 

[iPiggyLover]

I'm sure they will love it! I switched my pigs to Oxbow Cavy Cuisine after they'd been eating bulk-buy pet store mixes for 2 years with their previous owner, and they love it. I'm currently feeding them Sweet Meadow, and they love those even more (too much, since they now beg specifically for more pellets by wheeking and gnawing on the bowl once they've eaten their rations ;-)), but obviously shipping would be insane for you on those. Good luck with the pellets - and switching cold turkey should be fine, you don't need to do it gradually.

I want what is best for my piggies. And I spoke to my girlfriend, and she agreed. Me and her usually pays half/half on everything. Since it was her idea to get piggies, and I fell in love with them.

It cost me 110.24$ for a 50 lbs bag. Which is around 11 dollars a month. I've calculated that my piggies eats around 5 lbs of pellets a month. It's still way more that most people pay. My first piggy which I adopted from a friend, had been eating pet food from the local pet stores. Which basically sells people rabbit food and tells them it's for piggies too. And I guess my two other guinea pigs that I got from a pet store (Shame on me, I know. My eyes are clearly opened now. My girlfriend rushed me to buy two more to have her piggie some friends.I was at that moment researching for what was best, but did not come across this forum after I bought. Still not an excuse. I love my piggies anyway!) ate some crappy food too. So I guess eating these new quality pellets will make them popcorn even more!

I can't wait Now, anyone has any idea how much I should feed them each day?

I think it's 1/8 cup per piggie per day, but I am not sure if I red it clearly. Seems like a low amount to me. That would mean 3/8 for my 3 piggies.

Thank you all for your suggestions and helpful posts. You all helped making 3 happy piggies, even happier!

 

[Sirene]

I can't wait Now, anyone has any idea how much I should feed them each day?

I think it's 1/8 cup per piggie per day, but I am not sure if I red it clearly. Seems like a low amount to me. That would mean 3/8 for my 3 piggies.

Yes, you're right. 1/8 cup per pig per day, so 3/8 cup for your 3 piggers. I *think* there is a max. of 1/4 cup per pig per day, but someone else will have to confirm that for me.

Pellets aren't the mainstay of their diet (that should be hay), so it isn't supposed to be a large amount. Hope this helps!

 

[Kipsie]

Instead of the dried fruits and stuff, it's better to feed fresh fruits.
They taste better and are healthier.
It's like, having a dried piece of shriveled-up meat for dinner, instead of a regular steak (if you're not vegetarian).

Oh, and no sugar treats either!
No oatmeal treats, honey treats, er, no treats othr than fresh fruits/veggies actually.


Congrats on getting Oxbow!

 

[iPiggyLover]

Instead of the dried fruits and stuff, it's better to feed fresh fruits.
They taste better and are healthier.
It's like, having a dried piece of shriveled-up meat for dinner, instead of a regular steak (if you're not vegetarian).

Oh, and no sugar treats either!
No oatmeal treats, honey treats, er, no treats othr than fresh fruits/veggies actually.


Congrats on getting Oxbow!

Thank you. Yes, I only feed them fresh fruits/veggies. They have unlimited hay. Right now they don't have any pellets because I am waiting on my Oxbow

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

$11 for a 5 lb bag of Oxbow is pretty normal. Petstupid sells the 5 lb bags for $12. Even the Kaytee is about the same.