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Diet Hay and Pellets Quality

Dhruv Jain

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cat22

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The hay and pellets are great choices. But you NEED vegtables in there diet. They do not make they own vitamin c, so leafy greens, bell peppers, celery, tomatoes, and any other safe veggie or fruit are great treats. Don't feed them iceberg lettuce, for it causes gas and may bind there tummies. Piggies are amazing pets, enjoy!!
 

Beatrix187

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I wouldn't get the pellets, there is nothing on the guaranteed anaylsis about the calcium maximum, which means it probably has a lot. And too much calcium can cause bladder stones. Which may need surgeries and can be expensive. Even deadly sometimes. When looking for pellets make sure the pellets have timothy hay as the first ingredient, alfalfa hay for guinea pigs under six months, and then check the guaranteed anaylsis, and make sure the calcium maximum is no more than .60%. And make sure there are no colored bits in the pellets, and no seeds or nuts. It must be simple looking.
And for the hay it doesn't say which type, so you may need to contact the company and see what they say. NO alfalfa for piggies over 6 months. Timothy hay, orchard grass, and bluegrass are great choices. Orchard and bluegrass are great for people who have hay allergies.
They will nedd about a cup of veggies every day. No more than that. Some staples I like to have are green leaf lettuce, green bell pepper, carrots, and tomaotes. Look at this chart, it will help you to create your own veggie menu https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List
Andgood for you you don't trust pet stores. They have terrible breeding conditions and a lot of bad unhealthy food for guinea pigs.
 

Dhruv Jain

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I wouldn't get the pellets, there is nothing on the guaranteed anaylsis about the calcium maximum, which means it probably has a lot. And too much calcium can cause bladder stones. Which may need surgeries and can be expensive. Even deadly sometimes. When looking for pellets make sure the pellets have timothy hay as the first ingredient, alfalfa hay for guinea pigs under six months, and then check the guaranteed anaylsis, and make sure the calcium maximum is no more than .60%. And make sure there are no colored bits in the pellets, and no seeds or nuts. It must be simple looking.
And for the hay it doesn't say which type, so you may need to contact the company and see what they say. NO alfalfa for piggies over 6 months. Timothy hay, orchard grass, and bluegrass are great choices. Orchard and bluegrass are great for people who have hay allergies.
They will nedd about a cup of veggies every day. No more than that. Some staples I like to have are green leaf lettuce, green bell pepper, carrots, and tomaotes. Look at this chart, it will help you to create your own veggie menu https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List
Andgood for you you don't trust pet stores. They have terrible breeding conditions and a lot of bad unhealthy food for guinea pigs.

Thanks, I got your point. I will try to make a menu using the tips. So much work has to be done before get a guinea :) I like it in it's own way though.
Another question, Do i give them normal untreated water or RO purified water?
 

Beatrix187

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Thanks, I got your point. I will try to make a menu using the tips. So much work has to be done before get a guinea :) I like it in it's own way though.
Another question, Do i give them normal untreated water or RO purified water?

I wouldn't give them tap water, it could have high calcium amounts. I would suggest reverse osmosis water, or distilled, but some people don't think its okay for guinea pigs. You can get them for really cheap by the gallon at your local grocery store. Try to avoid the ones with added minerals, they can have excess calcium too.
 

pigger123

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Those pellets look pretty good, but I agree that the calcium level is a concern especially considering the third ingredient is alfalfa meal, which is high in calcium. I would look for different ones if you can find any that are better.

That hay is apparently timothy, but it's only 300 grams. You can expect a pair of guinea pigs to go through at least 600 grams of hay per week, and possibly much more especially if they waste any. It would be definitely be more practical to buy larger amounts of hay if you can.

I personally think it's a bit excessive to buy special bottled water for your guinea pigs. Tap water should be perfectly fine unless your water is particularly hard or your guinea pig is very prone to bladder sludge.
 

HollyLeaf

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Just to add my two cents, I heard about the tap water being bad for them thing, but I have to disagree. Our rabbits lived their whole lives on our tap water, as well as my hamsters, and nothing bad happened. And the pigs started out on tap. I tried switching to distilled from the store when I heard about tap being bad, but I noticed they wouldn't drink nearly as much and the water would smell very bad after a short while. I switched back to tap, and the bottle stopped smelling and they drink a lot more now. Not wasting money on water from the store again. Food costs enough as it is without having to purchase water too. But I say do whatever you prefer. Or I guess what the pigs prefer.

Its kind of a debated subject. Everyone has their own opinion on the matter.
 

bpatters

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Some tap water is ok, some is not. Your local water utility should be able to tell you what the mineral content of the water is. Calcium is the main concern. If it's at a low level in your water, tap water is probably ok. If it's high, I'd use something else.
 

Dhruv Jain

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I wouldn't give them tap water, it could have high calcium amounts. I would suggest reverse osmosis water, or distilled, but some people don't think its okay for guinea pigs. You can get them for really cheap by the gallon at your local grocery store. Try to avoid the ones with added minerals, they can have excess calcium too.

We have RO system in our home as water here is very hard and you can say that it's untreated ground water.

Those pellets look pretty good, but I agree that the calcium level is a concern especially considering the third ingredient is alfalfa meal, which is high in calcium. I would look for different ones if you can find any that are better.

That hay is apparently timothy, but it's only 300 grams. You can expect a pair of guinea pigs to go through at least 600 grams of hay per week, and possibly much more especially if they waste any. It would be definitely be more practical to buy larger amounts of hay if you can.

I personally think it's a bit excessive to buy special bottled water for your guinea pigs. Tap water should be perfectly fine unless your water is particularly hard or your guinea pig is very prone to bladder sludge.

Will find a bigger packet. I just wanted a review. Don't worry, we got RO in our house so that won't be an issue

Some tap water is ok, some is not. Your local water utility should be able to tell you what the mineral content of the water is. Calcium is the main concern. If it's at a low level in your water, tap water is probably ok. If it's high, I'd use something else.

They can't tell. It's not from a main reservoir but an under ground resource due to water issues.

Just to add my two cents, I heard about the tap water being bad for them thing, but I have to disagree. Our rabbits lived their whole lives on our tap water, as well as my hamsters, and nothing bad happened. And the pigs started out on tap. I tried switching to distilled from the store when I heard about tap being bad, but I noticed they wouldn't drink nearly as much and the water would smell very bad after a short while. I switched back to tap, and the bottle stopped smelling and they drink a lot more now. Not wasting money on water from the store again. Food costs enough as it is without having to purchase water too. But I say do whatever you prefer. Or I guess what the pigs prefer.

Its kind of a debated subject. Everyone has their own opinion on the matter.

Yea, i will do what piggies prefer but i know the quality of water is bad here. It even make our hair rough!. Now i quickly have to get started on the cage and these stuff and get myself 2 piggies :)
 

melgo66

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Hi Dhruv,

Below is a breakdown on what to look for when determining if you have good quality Timothy Hay or not...

Good quality: Bad quality:
Green in color Brown or yellow in color
Smells sweet & fragrant Little or no smell
No sign of dust or mold Dusty and/or mold spots (black or white specks)
Pliable fibrous stalks Stalks break or crumble to the touch
Contains only hay Contains foreign matter such as stones, dirt, earth and other plants

(source: smallpetselect.com/rabbit-hay)
 
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