Pellets What pellets to get in my area?

I'd order online from (broken link removed). Figure out the cost per pound of their pellets (pellets + shipping) and compare that to the cost per pound in the stores around you. I think you'll find them very comparable, and maybe even cheaper. And they're about the best pellets going.

I live in Houston, and they're always within a nickel a pound of the pet store stuff -- sometimes few pennies more, sometimes a few pennies less.

I agree with the above suggestion of Kleenmama but even with the break down of costs, the shipping can make it cost prohibitive for some people.
An alternative is:
Small Pet guinea pig food: Oxbow Essentials Food

Has Oxbow food and various types of hay that are good quality. If you stock up and order $49 worth, it's free shipping. The Oxbow food and hay often goes on sale. I've been happy with them when I used them in the past.

If you absolutely cannot order on-line and have to buy from your local stores, I'd go with Kaytee Timothy Complete:
Kaytee Timothy Complete Guinea Pig Food - Guinea Pig Diet and Guinea Pig Food from petco.com

It's not as good as Oxbow or Kleenmama but it's better than most of the mixes they will sell there. Don't get anything with little colored bits or seeds in it.

When you go a trip out of your area in the future, check ahead with local pet stores and they may carry Oxbow and you can stock up while you are there.

even with the break down of costs, the shipping can make it cost prohibitive for some people.

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That's only true for people on the east coast. I'm 2,000 miles from KMS, and the costs of KMS and local pet store pellets, including Oxbow, are almost exactly the same.

Most bulk, boxed hays are about the same so I order what I can get the best price on. Pellets are another story. My guinea pigs LOVE KM timothy pellets. I buy 50 lbs at a time a repackage them in gallon reseal bags. I store them in a covered Rubbermaid tub in my lower level where it stays cool.

bpatters said:

That's only true for people on the east coast. I'm 2,000 miles from KMS, and the costs of KMS and local pet store pellets, including Oxbow, are almost exactly the same.

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I'm saying it can be cost prohibitive for the up front costs of $50+ for hay and pellets when they can get a bag for $15 locally. Yes, the cost ends up being the same/cheaper in the long run, but is someone only has $15 now instead of $50 then it's cost prohibitive for them. That's my point.

I agree that KMS is great and I use their hay and pellets, but I can get it locally thru a local rescue so don't have to pay shipping "up front" and can still get 10 lbs of food for just $16 instead of having to spend $25 with shipping.

But @RubyRain, what you were saying is that the shipping makes the cost prohibitive, not that you have to have the money upfront for an online order. Those are two different issues. Most people would be way ahead of the game to save up and buy the online product rather than dole the money out in little bits at the local store. But if that's the way they want to manage their money, so be it.

If you actually look at the cost of KMS pellets themselves, they're way cheaper than anything you can buy in a local store.

What most people don't consider is that you also pay shipping on anything you buy in your local store. It's just that they add the cost of the item plus their shipping costs plus the profit they want to make to arrive at the sticker price they put on the item. It's for their convenience, and for the convenience of the customer.

With a business like KMS, she has no idea what's going to shipped where or when or by what method, so she can't add the shipping until she knows where the item is going.

RubyRain said:

I'm saying it can be cost prohibitive for the up front costs of $50+ for hay and pellets when they can get a bag for $15 locally. Yes, the cost ends up being the same/cheaper in the long run, but is someone only has $15 now instead of $50 then it's cost prohibitive for them. That's my point.

I agree that KMS is great and I use their hay and pellets, but I can get it locally thru a local rescue so don't have to pay shipping "up front" and can still get 10 lbs of food for just $16 instead of having to spend $25 with shipping.

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You're in CA so shipping is probably a lot cheaper for you than it is for me. I paid about $64 for 50 lbs of pellets and I'll bet if you ordered 25 lbs, it would only be about double what you pay for a single bag now.

I actually just checked to see how much shipping is for 25 lb. pellets because I would like to switch from Oxbow due to the fact that I have a sludgy pig.....$25. YIKES! That means $55 for it...I live in FL though so it's not too surprising.

RubyRain said:

I agree with the above suggestion of Kleenmama but even with the break down of costs, the shipping can make it cost prohibitive for some people.
An alternative is:
Small Pet guinea pig food: Oxbow Essentials Food

Has Oxbow food and various types of hay that are good quality. If you stock up and order $49 worth, it's free shipping. The Oxbow food and hay often goes on sale. I've been happy with them when I used them in the past.

If you absolutely cannot order on-line and have to buy from your local stores, I'd go with Kaytee Timothy Complete:
Kaytee Timothy Complete Guinea Pig Food - Guinea Pig Diet and Guinea Pig Food from petco.com

It's not as good as Oxbow or Kleenmama but it's better than most of the mixes they will sell there. Don't get anything with little colored bits or seeds in it.

When you go a trip out of your area in the future, check ahead with local pet stores and they may carry Oxbow and you can stock up while you are there.

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Review:

Kaytee Timothy Complete is the best pig food for the price. Oxbow is WAY to overpriced ($15.00 for 5 pounds)

piggiepigpigs75 said:

Review:

Kaytee Timothy Complete is the best pig food for the price. Oxbow is WAY to overpriced ($15.00 for 5 pounds)

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Kaytee is bad. The only ones that are recommended are KM, Oxbow or Sweet Meadow.

Kaytee Timothy Complete is crap guinea pig food. I'd let mine go pelletless if that were my only choice of pellets.

bpatters said:

Kaytee Timothy Complete is crap guinea pig food. I'd let mine go pelletless if that were my only choice of pellets.

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Then please post a sticky advising members how to go about a pellet-less diet when they can't get or don't have access to the recommended food.
I posted that as the lesser of the evils if Wal mart and Petco were the only options to purchase food.

But WalMart and PetCo aren't the only options, by a long shot. Drs. Foster and Smith, Sweet Meadow Farms, KMS Hayloft, and others sell online. Some local feed stores have good pellets, although it can be a hassle to find out what's in them. Guinea Lynx has information on pelletless diets, and there's information here as well -- they're sometimes called HAFF (hay and fresh food) diets.

Cheap pellets are a false economy. Sure, you may save a couple of bucks on a bag of pellets, but the first time you have to have a guinea pig operated on to remove stones caused by too much calcium from the pellets, you'll pay many more dollars than what you saved.

When you consider the small amount of pellets they eat per day, it's not a big expense. It's a lot cheaper than the vegetables.

porkchophamster said:

I actually just checked to see how much shipping is for 25 lb. pellets because I would like to switch from Oxbow due to the fact that I have a sludgy pig.....$25. YIKES! That means $55 for it...I live in FL though so it's not too surprising.

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Are you sure you calculated right? There are two shipping options. I think it would be around $45 to Orlando; $20 for the pellets and less than $25 for shipping.

Oops! Yep...$45 not $55. Math was always my worst subject lol still expensive though unfortunately I wish Sweet Meadow had 25 pound bags. I don't have space for 50 lbs. The 10 lbs is also a little more expensive than the Oxbow with shipping. Do you know if Sweet Meadow helps with sludgy pigs? I am willing to spend the extra money if it will help.

You're preaching to the choir with me folks! The OP is a new member and THEY said wal mart and Petco were their only local stores. We then offered on-line options too.

But the issue is that some members can't order on line so telling them all other food is crap is not very constructive.
That's why I asked @bpatters to post guidelines for a pellet less diet instead just saying a food is crap and not to feed it.
Offer some specific instructions and make it a sticky so others can benefit.

You have to remember that not everyone here is experienced with gpigs or old enough to follow all our advice. The more info we can post, the better.

RubyRain said:

You're preaching to the choir with me folks! The OP is a new member and THEY said wal mart and Petco were their only local stores. We then offered on-line options too.

But the issue is that some members can't order on line so telling them all other food is crap is not very constructive.
That's why I asked @bpatters to post guidelines for a pellet less diet instead just saying a food is crap and not to feed it.
Offer some specific instructions and make it a sticky so others can benefit.

You have to remember that not everyone here is experienced with gpigs or old enough to follow all our advice. The more info we can post, the better.

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It would be wrong to not let someone know that what they're feeding their guinea pigs is crap. The OP asked for online information. I originally thought that ordering online would be really expensive but after reading comments from those who ordered and calculating it out, I realized it's cheaper in the long run than buying from a store. I think the comments were constructive.

Just for fun, I figured out the cost of pellets in Orlando. The online ones would be considerably cheaper in Cape Girardeau.

5 pounds of Oxbow Cavy Cuisine at Petsmart, $3.00 per pound
5 pounds of Kaytee Timothy Complete at Petsmart, $2.01 per pound
5 pounds of Kaytee Timothy Complete at Petco, $1.80 per pound
25 pounds of KMS timothy, $1.824 per pound (including shipping)

Are we seriously saying that someone can't afford 2.4 cents per pound more for some of the best guinea pig pellets around?

Incidentally, the cost of KMS pellets in Cape Gireardeau is $1.71 -- 9 cents cheaper than Kaytee Timothy Complete from Petco.

I rest my case.