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Diet Am I feeding at the right times?

Heather_GP

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Okay, so I've seen a couple of people mention about breakfast so I wasn't sure whether that meant veggies in the morning and also at night or whether it meant pellets.

Currently, frank will be given a small handful of Excel Pellets in the morning as I don't want to over feed him - If I should be weighing out at least 30g, then tell me I'll see to it that it's done.

He has timothy hay all day and water, so that's no problem!

Then he gets his veggies everyday normally about 9pm, although I will probably start doing that earlier when I go back to Uni as he'll be living with me in a non-smoking environment, wahey!!!!

His basic daily veg is this:
1 Slice Green pepper (1/8 Pepper)
1 Slice Yellow Pepper (1/8 Pepper)
2-3 Leaves of baby gem lettuce
3 small chunks of carrot

Sometimes I add stuff like cucumber and other things to change it up a bit and add other stuff, according to recommended guidelines of the happycavy website I think it is?

Basically my question is... Shall I be giving him more veg? Should he have veg in the morning to? Or is there something he should have for breakfast?

Also because Frank was ill he lost weight, what weight should I get him back to that isn't overweight?

Thanks!
 

Photolove3

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I don't know if there's a "correct" time for veggie time but I give me piggies their veggies in the morning around 9am (they're munching as I type). They usually wake me up for them. Then after I clean their cages is when I add fesh pellets and hay and new water. I'll also top off hay and water at night before bed or any time they need it.
 

sallyvh

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What your doing sounds fine. As long as his veggies equal about 1 cup you're good.

Many people split the veggie feedings into two portions, one in the am (breakfast) and then one in the pm. If you only want to give him his veggies in the evening then that is your choice and he should be fine with it!
 

GuineaGirl1

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Being at school, I feed my guinea pigs usually in the afternoon after school or in the evenings. There bowl is always topped up, so they can't get hungry. I then give them their vegetables in the evening. But I agree , I think there isn't really a correct way... go with your instincts. :)
 

Heather_GP

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Frank used to wake me up at 6am for his pellets, couldn't cope with that so I weened him off it haha!
I hoover up his poop and any stray hay every morning and then he gets his pellets and fresh water!
Think I'll just bring his veggie time forward to about 5-6pm :)
Thanks for the advice, seems I do my feeding and cleaning the same as you just opposite times :)!!!
 

Soecara

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It doesn't really matter what time you feed them, just so long as you have a routine (and unlimited amounts of hay). I feed my pigs all of their veg in one portion every night before I go to bed at around 10pm.

Don't really worry about him getting overweight, it is very hard for a guinea pig to be truly overweight if you are feeding them the correct diet and they are housed in the correct sized cage. If you are worried he isn't very active then you can do things like change up the layout of the cage, but by far the best thing to help keep a guinea pig active is a cage mate.
 

Heather_GP

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Life's been a bit hectic, however I enquired with a local rescue about finding him a friend last night and I'm now just awaiting a response, definitely be nicer for him and better for me as I won't feel so awful about leaving him alone when I go to uni or out for hours at a time :) && then he'll be more active!! Tbh, I just want him to be happy, so if what I'm doing is right then that's all good.

At about 9pm he goes crazy for his veggies and he doesn't hush until he gets them haha !
 

NinjaAlena

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Oh that's great you're getting him a friend! Just warning ahead of time that some pigs just won't get along no matter how hard you try, especially males. If your pig is older I would recommend trying to adopt a baby male. They'll usually get along better as your pig now will want to be a fatherly figure :) and make sure you research on how to do intros. As for my feeding, my two boars get 1/4 cup pellets at around 7:30, have unlimited hay. Then they each get a small baby carrot, a slice of pepper, a slice of cucumber and a cherry tomato at around 9:00 pm. I hope everything goes well for you and your piggy!
 

Heather_GP

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Thanks [MENTION=29536]NinjaAlena[/MENTION] for sharing your routine which is rather quite similar to mine :)!
Haha, Frank sticks his nose up at cherry tomatoes... Will not touch the things! If I give him a grape on the off chance I have to cut it in half or he'll snub it haha... He's a Picky boy!
Also thanks for the advice on bonding, the rescue where I'm getting him from is arranging a visit with me and she's going to check if he has been neutered (fingers crossed!) and then she does bonding sessions and will hopefully bond him with a lady pig! She used to do a boar dating service but currently all the boars she has are very dominant so that's on hold! If he hasn't been neutered then I will just ask that if she gets any baby male pigs or if one of the female rescues that come in pregnant have males if I could adopt one of them ! :)

Thanks again!!
 

Christin Barnes

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Yes a long as he is getting one cup of veggies it's fine. I give my piggy his 1/8 cup of pellets in the morning as well as hay and he usually munches on the pellets throughout the day unless he tips them over XD. When I get home in the afternoon I check his hay and water and refill if needed. Around dinner time (after 5pm or so) I give him his "salad" which is the full cup of veg. The majority is green leaf lettuce and some bell pepper and then some variety veggies I have that week. I'll leave his salad in there for maybe 2 hours to make sure he's done and then I take out his bowl to be washed and refill his hay for the night.
 
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