Diet Pellets???

Pellets are the easiest way to ensure that they get their needed vitamins and minerals. They can do without them, but you have to be more careful about what veggies you're feeding them to make sure they're getting what they need.

CavyOwner said:

I've seen some websites say that guinea pigs are perfectly fine eating only hay and veggies, as long as they have enough, and others say that they need pellets to be happy. Is unlimited hay and a lot of veggies okay, or do they need pellets to be healthy?

Click to expand...

I feed kms hayloft brand found online. It's made in small batches at a time so it's fresh and not old from being on the shelf losing it's potency. There are simply some vitamins and minerals that aren't in veggies or protein. Even vegetarians don't eat only vegetables because you don't get all you need from it. That's my thought on it. A balanced diet is important for health.

I think pellets are important for balanced nutrition. Nutrients in food vary based on variety of food, where it's grown, how long it's been in transit or in the store, and how long it sits in the cage before it's eaten.

I think they need pellets for sure. Though hay and veggies are more important than them, pellets are still important, too. Pellets are the only thing that guarantees your piggy is getting all the nutrients they need--- everyone already explained great reasons

Some guinea pig sites may be anti pellet because many pellets are poor quality and bad for your piggy. Bad pellets are those that are corn based or have anything mixed in with them like colored pellets, dried fruit, or seeds. These are unhealthy, and seeds are actually dangerous. But Oxbow and KMS pellets are both great! Mine eat Oxbow.

This link can help you out, too: https://www.guineapigmanual.com/guinea-pig-eating/

I used to feed only hay and vegetables, as a good pellet was simply not available in the time in Australia. When doing this you need to be super careful to give a good nutritional variety but still not over feed vegetables (as feeding too many vegetables will mean they eat less hay and hay is by far the most important thing for them to eat).

It was quite stressful which is why when oxbow became available in Australia I began feeding them pellets. I would not suggest skipping pellets unless you only have bad pellets available in your country.