Pellets Only junk food in Greece for guinea pigs!

[faye_arv]

I was very disappointed today. I live out in the country so to speak, in a rural working community by the beach. I went to the closest city that is 20 min. away to get supplies for the two female gps I will be getting this week and to my dismay none of the pet stores here had gp pellets.  I spoke to the man that I'm adopting from and he gave me the # of the pet shop he shops at and I was told they only have the type that's got pieces of fruit and other junk mixed in. They also have a pellet vita something but I think that it is like a vitamin c supplement, I have to go to the store to see it in person.

The real problem is that even on the Greek site about gps they say the same thing, there are no quality pellets here in Greece. I can get hay from local farmers even alfalfa hay, I intend to grow some from seeds as well so I'll have fresh alfalfa too.

I don't know if maybe we can order pellets from the UK, the Greek forum I mean. Maybe if we order a big enough quantity the postage won't be so big and they'll agree to send it. I'm at a loss. I'm going to see what's going on in Athens but the truth is gps aren't that popular in Greece yet, they're a new type of pet so our choices are limited.

Can you give me an online store I can order from? Also, If I give them alfalfa hay and/or fresh are the pellets necessary? Can I give them the pellet mix and not give them fruit that has sugar to balance it out? Also, the girls are eating the pellet mix right now, if I find something better should I abruptly stop the other pellets and start the new ones or slowly change brands?

I need feedback soon, I'll be getting the girls by the end of the week. Thanks a bundle!!

Faye

 

[bpatters]

Oxbow sells its products internationally -- here's the page for locations: Oxbow Animal Health | Oxbow International. I don't see Greece in there, but there are several countries around you that have stores that carry their products.

You can email them at [email protected]. They were pretty responsive a couple of years ago when someone in India was looking for pellets and hay.

Good luck!

 

[pinky]

Alfalfa should only be fed to them until they're 6 months old. It's high in calcium which will help build strong bones but it can also lead to bladder stones so you need to switch to timothy or orchard grass when they turn 6 months old.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Grass hay needs to be fed from day one. You don't start with alfalfa hay and switch. Alfalfa hay is only a supplement in addition to grass hay. With pellets you can start with either a timothy/grass based one or an alfalfa pellet and switch around 6 months.

Pellet mixes, unfortunately, aren't good for pigs. They can make pigs obese, cause them to be very picky eaters (picking out the junk and leaving the actual pellets) and can cause health issues. It's best to have a high quality plain pellet.

For veggies, start with the basic staples of lettuces (at least 2 varieties), bell pepper/capsicum (green or yellow, orange and red are higher in sugars and not great daily), cilantro/coriander and zucchini/courgette. Feed only these until the pigs eat them well then you can use my nutrition charts to add in a new veggie every 4 days or so. Keep fruits to a minimum as they are high in sugars. Fruits are best served in very small quantities only once or twice a week.

I would try emailing Oxbow at the email address that bpatters provided. Oxbow Cavy Cuisine or Cavy Performance are the good ones. The organic stuff is best avoided. Most of Oxbow's treats should be avoided as well.

 

[faye_arv]

I emailed Oxbow and they told me that they don't sell directly anymore. They gave me the emails of their companies in France and Spain. Will see what I can do with these. I went shopping and bought them the best food I could find it's by Versele-Laga called Cavia Nature. Ingredients: Derivatives of vegetable origin, cereals, vegetables (min. 12% of which 10,5% carrots, 2,5% beetroot, 1,5% parsnip and 2,5% paprika), vegetable protein extracts, fruit (min. 2% of which 18% apple, 18% banana, 45% rosehip and 18% raisins), minerals, seeds (min. 1,5% of which 92,5% linseed), yeast, FOS, herbs, algai, marigold extract, yucca-extract, MOS, grape seed extract Contents: 15,5% crude ash, 0,65% calcium,0,50% phosphorus, 0, 66% Lysine, 0,23% Methionine Additives/kg: 1200I.U. Vitamin A, 1500 I.U. Vitamin D3, 40mg Vitamin E, 255 mg Vitamin C, 10mg Copper-Cupric (ii) sulfate. Contains additives approved by the E.C. This cost me €5,50

I also bought pellets by Vitakraft Emotion Beauty with Vitamin C and Omega 6. Contains:derivatives of vegetable origin, cereals (3% puffed bread wheat), vegetables, fruits (3% dehydr. apples, parsley 3%, sugar-cane molasses, minerals, oils and fats, aloe vera concentrate. Guaranteed analysis: 14% protein, 4% oil, 13,5% fibre, 5,5% ash, 10% moisture, 53% carbohydrates, 0,70% calcium, etc. ingredients: Oat hulls, alfalfa meal, oat flour, wheat bran, sunflower meal, soy flakes, pea flakes, dehydr. apple slices, molasses, dehydr. parsley stems, puffed wheat flakes, wheat flour, cane molasses, malt sprouts, red beet pulp, apple juice concentrate powder, calcium phosphate, dehydr. aloe vera powder. This one was a little more expensive at €7,50.

I at least found alfalfa hay, so I bought that along with regular hay and some alfalfa dumbells as a chew treat.
How do these pellets sound...at least until I can find something better.

Wait to her feedback.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Neither of those pellets are very good. They don't contain hay which should be the primary ingredient in a pellet. Looking at the ingredients lists, the first one seems a little better than the Vitakraft. Vitakraft is not good at all.

I know you are in a country where it is hard to find a good pellet. Please continue to try to find Oxbow or a better pellet if possible. I wonder if Mazuri is available to you in Greece? It would be a better option than either of the ones you posted.