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Diet A Few Questions On Diet

Matt Bush

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Hi everyone!

Our new piggies are getting more adventurous with eating now fortunately, and I'm looking to get them on a more specific schedule.

They are about 5 weeks old.

- Unlimited Timothy Hay
- Unlimited Oxbow pellets formulated for young guinea pigs (until six months old)

They have had all these foods so far and are eating them

- Baby carrots
- Romaine lettuce
- Red & green bell peppers

I am a bit confused on all of this diet stuff. I understand the importance of Vitamin C for young piggies, and am relieved both are now chowing down on this.

1) I see it suggested here that you should feed one cup of vegetables, per piggies per day. With them being only 5 weeks old, should it be any less?

2) I'm not a cook exactly, and don't really know what one cup would be, because of the mass difference between bell peppers and something like romaine lettuce. I do have a small scale though, and could weigh things

3) I heard bell peppers were so important so first I bought red. Then I saw they were high in sugar so I bought green. Then I saw yellow actually had much more vitamin c. Lol! I'm guessing i'll stick with yellow now.

I feel like the bell pepper should be a cornerstone of the diet with the vitamin c and all. Is a 1/4 bell pepper a good amount for 2 young piggies? Or should it be more?

4) I understand iceburg lettuce is bad for them. So we got romaine. But then I see some comments on that not being the greatest either. They do love it. Should I switch to something else leafy?

5) I understand baby carrots are okay but in moderation. I'm giving them a total of half a baby carrot, split between the two of them. That's like 1/4th baby carrot per day. Hopefully that's okay. My kids love carrots and enjoy "eating the same thing" as them. I see talk about a baby carrot being okay but not every day. If it is that small a portion daily, is that ok?

6) I'm excited to introduce other things, but as suggested here spacing it out a bit. Baby tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.

7) We aren't a huge vegetable family, and ideally wouldn't have 10 different vegetables in the fridge at all times. I'm wondering if we could have it be somewhat simple, though of course still with some variety.

Am I okay to give them romaine lettuce, bell pepper, and 1/2 baby carrot daily?

Thank you for the help! I realize there is information in the chart, but I'm wondering about more specifics.

Matt
 

PiggyGrandma15

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The food chart that can be found with a quick search of "fruits and veggies" (sorry, posting from my phone and don't have the link handy) is really a great resource on how often foods can be fed. But I also like to keep in mind OUR preferences for some variety in our diets. They've gotten squash and pumpkin and even a couple cranberries since they came home the beginning of last month. The last week, ive kept it more to the peppers. We mix it up with colors of the peppers, because they all have slightly different flavors. Our girls get about a full pepper a day (2 sows, but I split it between 2 meals), but perhaps I'm over feeding those. They also get about a cup (again split up) of leafy lettuce. Red / green leaf is the best, nutritionally speaking. Occasional addition of carrot / cucumber / tomato, but those are considered treats in this house for them. I cannot wait until spring when our CSA starts again. They will really get a variety of greens!

Welcome, and good luck.
 

peachyteen

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I would suggest switching to red or green leaf lettuce, and not giving carrot every day.

Generally we give 1-2 leafs of green or red leaf lettuce, 2 thin slices of cucumber, a piece of broccoli, and 1/2 a baby bell pepper (sweet bell peppers, sold in bags of 10 or so). This is what each pig gets every day. We go through 1 head of lettuce, 1 cucumber and 1 head of broccoli in about a week to week and a half. The peppers vary for how many are in the bag and how good they are. We usually spend around $7 per trip on the piggy veggies.
 

bpatters

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Yes, baby pigs should be given less than a cup of veggies per day.

You may not be a cook, but please don't tell me that you don't know what a measuring cup is!

Iceberg lettuce has zero nutritional value. Romaine is fine for some pigs, but causes others to excrete a lot of excess urinary calcium which can contribute to bladder stones. If a pig being fed romaine leaves large white calcium spots where the urine has dried, then stop the romaine and switch to red or green leaf lettuce. If you don't see white spots, don't worry about the romaine.

I never consider the color of the peppers. I usually buy green because they're cheaper, but when the colored ones are on sale, I'll buy those.

They don't need 10 different veggies per day. You should come up with two or three staples that they get every day, or nearly every day, and then a few others on an occasional basis. Mine get red or green lettuce, a baby carrot, belgian endive, radicchio, a green bean, a wheel of zucchini, 1/5 of a small tomato, and some bell pepper every day. I feed a wider variety because mine were pelletless, and I'm trying to make sure they get a variety of colored veggies so they get enough vitamins.

See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List for what they can eat and how often.
 

Matt Bush

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Wow thank you everyone for the feedback!

bpatters, yes I do know what a measuring cup is lol, but I don't grasp the portion sizes. People talk about a cup per piggie (and as you suggest, a bit less for young ones), but a cup of peppers is so different than a cup of lettuce. I have seen elsewhere that leafy greens are more like 2 cups equals one, because of how fluffy they are. I will go with that idea. I know people also share that they'll give 2 leafs a day, but again I have no idea if your leafs are the same as mine. I got my romaine lettuce at walmart and the leafs are huge. Thank you for your help :)

spy9doc, your perspective is very interesting and I really appreciate hearing it. I've worried about other people filling my shoes when I'm not around, and agree to not make it too complex.

I didn't know much about proper diet for my previous guinea pig. I did what the vet told me. I just gave him hay (sadly not unlimited! he didn't tell me that! yes I have a new vet now) and pellets, and then every night a few baby carrots. He lived to be over 8 years old.

Now I understand that was way way way too much carrot. I hear how they are more of a treat.

I'm thinking of doing this...

Breakfast (around 8:30AM)- keeping it simple and splitting a large leaf of Romaine lettuce between them. I will switch to red or green leaf lettuce when we buy more. Good to know Romaine is probably okay for now (i'll keep an eye out for the white spots) but doesn't seem any reason why I shouldn't switch moving forward.

Dinner (fed around 8:30PM) - one large leaf of romaine lettuce, 1/4th green pepper, and 1/8th red pepper mixed in.

The next new food i'd like to introduce is baby tomatoes, and guess i could add that to the morning meal perhaps. 2 of them put in.

Does that sound okay? Pellets are also unlimited and it is Oxbow young guinea pig mix.

Thanks again everyone!

Matt
 

CavyChrissy

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I'm on the super simple plan! Twice a day, my 3 pigs share a regular kitchen bowl of:

-lettuce (green leaf or red leaf, 2-3 big leaves)
-chopped peppers (a small handful, usually green, but the colors if they are cheaper that week).

I just dump it in the cage, put the bowl in the dishwasher. No measuring, that's it!

Occasionally, I'll get them another veggie as a treat if I feel like it - tomato, a few blueberries. Currently they get a little wheat grass because I found a cutesy container of it in the produce section of my grocery store.

I do agree with [MENTION=19714]spy9doc[/MENTION] your pigs will get used to a schedule. Every morning mine wheek when I come down the stairs because they know I'm the bringer of veggies! They never make a peep at my husband who leaves earlier.
 

Matt Bush

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Thank you!

Yes we are fine with the schedule thing. I figure them getting the larger meal in the evening will help curb them squeaking at night.

One last question about peppers. First I got a red pepper because it was what the pet store told me. Then I came on here and learned of the high sugar amount. I understand I can give some red, but will definitely do it like 3/4ths green and 1/4th red.

But yellow is a mystery. My wife got a yellow pepper at the store, and clearly on the packaging it says "sweet yellow pepper". Are they all sweet? Or is this a special kind that has added sugar possibly somehow? Like they do with sweet corn?

Matt
 

peachyteen

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Don't feed too much tomato, it has a high acid level. I personally wouldn't feed more than 1/2 a cherry tomato every other day.
 

bpatters

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It's not that crucial. I believe yellow and red have similar amounts of sugar.
 

Matt Bush

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Thank you peachy teen, I will be careful about the tomatoes. I guess it can fit into the treat category like carrots. I'll get a small package of them and not buy them all the time.

Going by how I like em, I think i'm going to stick with green and red peppers. The yellow ones almost taste too sweet to me!

Matt
 

bpatters

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Tomatoes don't have enough acid in them any more to cause a problem to pigs. The kind we had when I was growing up might have, but everything you buy today is so bland they almost don't have any flavor. My pigs get 1/4 of a medium tomato per day, and have for years, with no problems at all.
 
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