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Diet Advice on keeping veggies fresh

LyssaAnnette

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Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as to how to keep veggies fresh longer? We purchase a spring mix of greens for our Guinea Max and after a few days I find a few leaves are slimy and not fresh looking at all. I also see a bit of redness appear on the lighter leaves. I hate having to throw over half of the veggie package away but I don't like feeding the less than fresh greens. Thank you in advance.
 

PrincessAngel

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Can you buy it in smaller amounts? What kind of packaging is it in? I've found that if it's in a non breathable container and the lettuce is moist it rots faster. I buy heads of lettuce and prep all my veggies into individual meals, and even though I keep it in Tupperware since I dry the lettuce it will last a week or more, another problem might be that your spring mix is not very fresh to begin with and you may want to try heads of lettuce or look for packages with a farther off use by date.
 

LyssaAnnette

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I haven't searched for a smaller package but perhaps I can look in the ready to go section. I recently bought a bag of spring mix greens and it was with the other salad mix packages but they were all larger bags. I will check for a single serving salad section next! The expiration dates are not exceptionally close and are usually at least a week out. I will definitely also look into heads of lettuce. Thank you for your advice!
 

Brie Marie

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Put them in the freezer and just defrost them when ur ganna feed ur piggies. My piggies love frozen crisp cilantro. Carrots are a little more harder. So those have to be defrosted but freezer keeps them good
 

Painter

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Our 2 pigs Elmer and Nellie eat a bag a day , we go to the store 2 to 3 times a week just for them , I have never loved a pet more ... They do deserve the freshest food they can get , we serve Elmer carrots with his spring mix and Nellie loves green peppers , funny though Elmer hates green peppers and Nellie is not crazy about carrots , I'm enjoying there company as I text this , there cages are in our living room, they are truly part of our family , I'm a C&C cage lover, but I trim about 2 inches off the top of the chloroplast so they can see out better, Mike
 

Princess_Piggie

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Once you've washed them, leave them out to dry completely, then put them in a zip lock bag with a couple of pieces of kitchen towel in the fridge and they stay crisp and fresh for up to a week!

Just to clarify though, do you feed other veg as well as your spring mix?
 

LyssaAnnette

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Thank you everyone for the great advice! I forgot to include it but yes, we do feed other veggies. In addition to the spring mix we feed carrot, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, and green bell pepper. We also do occasional cucumber and small fruit pieces such as a blueberry or small strawberry. Those are not often though and strictly a special treat. Currently, we only have our sweet Max. We welcomed him recently from a family rehoming on Craigslist. He has been a solitary piggie while with his previous family but we are looking to find him a friend. I'm sure we won't have a fresh veggie problem once Max gets a new friend to share with! In the meantime I will try drying the leaves out before bagging. Thank you!
 

Painter

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If you leave anything out to dry, it will wilt and become unusable quite quickly. And, I certainly don't recommend freezing veggies.

Unless one is buying spring mix from a really questionable source, I don't wash it for my family, and certainly not my cavies. I buy large containers from Costco and immediately repackage it. I put it into ziplock baggies with a folded piece of paper towel or a napkin, and it stays fresh for up to a week. You may get differing opinions, but I don't place any stock any those green bags which are supposed to keep veggies fresh. I found that my method worked as well or better.

I prepare all my cavy veggies ahead of time whether it is peppers, green beans, dandelion greens........or whatever with the paper towel and baggie method. It has significantly cut down on the waste. As an aside, I don't cut a large amount of pepper in advance as they can become slimy in a few days. They are better left whole and prepared in small batches.
 

Painter

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I agree , we only cut up what we can use in 36 hrs ... Nothing wrong with a little productivity , Mike
 

LyssaAnnette

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I prepare the other veggies such as carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes the day of. The main issue I have had is the lettuce. It just doesn't last very long and looks limp, feels a bit slimy, and all together unappetizing... Just yesterday I bought a head of green leaf lettuce instead of the usual already prepared Spring Mix. I am hoping the wrapping in a paper towel and storing in ziploc help!
 

C. Cole-Chakotay

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I have some Tupperware Fridgesmart sets and love them. I buy heads of lettuce for my girls and store them in the Fridgesmart sets. The lettuce usually keeps nicely for 7 to 9 days.
 

Mel_Tinkerbell

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Edited by bpatters: Do not use this list. There are several inaccuracies in it. This one is much better: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List

@Mel_Tinkerbell, please do not copy and paste lists that come from other websites. If you want to refer to another site, just post the URL. If you're posting a smaller amount of information, please include the source. Thanks.


Guiny pig can eat almost every vegetables

Hi! Here is a list
Good foods

Red/Green/Yellow/Orange Bell Pepper
Broccoli
Carrots
Baby Carrots
Kale
Romaine & Other Varieties Lettuce (not iceburg lettuce)
Fresh Dandelion Leaves (from garden)
Fresh Dandelion Flowers (from garden)
Fresh Grass (from garden)
Fresh White Clover (from garden)
Turnip
Celery
Chinese/Red/Savoy Cabbage
Tomato
Parsley
Cucumber
Apple
Pears
Seedless Grapes
Seedless Tangerine Pieces
Orange Pieces
Pumpkin
Corn on the Cob
Banana
Blueberries
Blackberries
Strawberries
Raspberries
Green Beans
Spinach
Baby Sweet Corn
Melon
Radish
Peas
Cauliflower leaves
Yam/Sweet Potato
Seedless Raisins (cannot be raw)

[emoji815]Avoid These[emoji815]!!

Coconut Very fattening
Avocado Very fattening
Nuts Very fattening
Seeds Choking hazard
Rhubarb Poisonous
Lentils Poisonous
Onions, Garlic Poisonous
Tomato Stalk/Leaves Poisonous
Iceburg Lettuce Water content too high
Sugary Fruit Juices/Squash Too sugary but sugar-free or unsweetened are fine
'Junk Food' Cake, Crisps, Sweets, Popcorn etc Very fattening and sugary
Anything Cooked - All the veggies you give your piggies HAVE to be raw
Potatoes - Yams and sweet potatoes are acceptable to feed guinea pigs
Most Dairy - No milk, cheese etc
Prepared Food - All foods must be raw
Jams, Jellies - guinea pigs are strict herbivores
Meat - guinea pigs are strict herbivores
Mushrooms
Dry Beans
Tea, Coffee, Fizz etc
Hot Peppers, Herbs, Spices

And with their morning feast, make sure its just one cup per piggie so that they don't get bloated. And although they need it for vitamin C, don't give them too much fruit because it is highly sugary, and some are a little too acidic.

Hope I helped! :)
 
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Kiyisha

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For a minute I thought I was the only one who wen't overboard on feeding my pigs lettuce, but it's nice to know I'm not alone <3 I never have lettuce go bad unless its on a big sale and i bought more than needed, like this week xD

I go through about a head of green leaf once every 4 days or so? i have 2 boys, i am very generous with their veggies, though very stingy with the high calcium ones ;)
 

LyssaAnnette

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Thanks for the list! I will have to print this out to keep with the nutrition guide as well! Max is single right now which may be why we don't use up veggies as often... Hoping that will change soon!
 

wheeklink

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When we had a pigsitter for a wee while, I bagged their veggies and lettuce up in sandwich-sized plastic sealed bags and had them all in a big bowl in the fridge so she did not have to do any prepwork. All she had to do was open a bag and dump it in for each pig. This made caring for them easier and more pleasant for her. They were cut-up veggies and lettuce [spring mix]. But as an aside, I was surprised when I got back and there were still a few bags left (paranoid, I made up too many)--how fresh they were and how long they lasted all nice and crisp after I got back. I am tempted to do this in future when I get a large amount of lettuce and have saved the sandwich bags (rinse with water, turn inside out, dry so as not to waste) for this purpose. It helps the kids because they don't have to make up the salads. They just grab a bag and so are more willing to help out with feeding them.
 

Mel_Tinkerbell

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I'm glad that this helps [emoji5]️
 

LyssaAnnette

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Thanks ladies! I already have the nutrition chart printed and handy so I will continue to follow that as a guide.
 

Princess_Piggie

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Agreed.......the list is riddled with inaccuracies. You may want to check your source and do some research of your own.

You'd think "tea, coffee, fizz etc" would be pretty obvious ones to avoid....I dread to think what kind of owner would think hot drinks with high caffeine content might be suitable!
 

Guinealea

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Hey, I'm sorry if anyone has already mentioned this, but I use Blue Apple in my refrigerator and it has been an absolute miracle for keeping our produce fresh:
https://www.thebluapple.com
 
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