is my piggie eatting to much?

[kjkuntz]

I feed my gp in the moring the gp food that has veggies in it and the alfalfa. Then by the time i get home about 5:00 pm i need to fill his bowl again and give him his veggies for the day. And before I go to bed his food is almost gone again. Is he eating to much or is it because he is a young pig still?

 

[AmiableAnimals]

Does he have unlimited timothy or other grass hay available to him at all times?

 

[kjkuntz]

I give him alfafla at this time i am try to find the best place to get timothy hay. But yes he has unlimted alfalfa to him all day. I give that to him the morning with his food he eats that then eats his food as well. That is way i am concered that he is eating to much.

 

[Slap Maxwell]

How many cups of pellets and veggies are you giving him?

 

[kjkuntz]

I give him one cup of pellets with veggies in it in the morning. Then when i get home from work I give him about a cup of veggies. unless my husband gives him some before I get home or before we leave for work.

 

[Slap Maxwell]

He needs a maximum of 1/4 cup of pellets a day. I would increase the veggies a little bit, too.

 

[kjkuntz]

Ok thanks. so you would not be worryed that that he is eatting to much. He just needs more veggies?

 

[AmiableAnimals]

How old is he? If he is a baby, he should have unlimited pellets.

Timothy or another grass hay is ESSENTIAL. It is the MOST IMPORTANT part of the diet. Alfalfa hay is fine as a supplement for a baby but you simply must have grass hay or fresh grass available at all times. You can order the best hay (my pigs prefer the bluegrass when they can get it) from (broken link removed)

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

What kind of pellets are they? Plain? What do you mean veggies in it?

How old is he? How big is his cage? Does he have a friend?

Sometimes they over-eat if they are bored. He needs exercise too.

 

[emithebug]

I thought young pigs needed unlimited alfalfa? Right now, my pigs have unlimited alfalfa, unlimited pellets, and lots of veggies. They might be eating a bit too much, but they certainly do exercise a lot! I always hear them running around their cage in circles when I'm asleep =D

 

[AmiableAnimals]

They need alfalfa pellets. They can have alfalfa hay, but the MUST have unlimited *grass* hay. That is very important.

 

[kjkuntz]

The pellets that I feed my gp is from alfapet. It is called guniea pig buffet supreme blend. It includes vitamin c. It has bannas chips, pumpkin seed,split peas, carrots,oats,corn,milo, sunflower seed, sfflower seed, wheat, alfalfa and soybean meal. That is what is listed on the back of the box. I am not sure how old he is becasue I (yes unfortunately) got him from a pet store. That because when I was looking to get one from a shelter that was resused there were none in my area and I do not know how safe it to travel with a new gp over 2 hours. No he does not have a friend yet. I gave him more fruit and veggies today and he seems to have slowed down on eatting. He runs in his cage all the time and I take him out for lap time and to play at least once a day depending on my hours at work. Some times I have to work 10 or more hours.

 

[charliesmommy]

Those pellets don't sound like they're very good for your pig. You should switch to something like Oxbow Cavy Cuisine, which is a high quality timothy hay pellet. Any pellets with other stuff in them like the banana chips, pumpkins seeds, split peas, carrots, oats, corn, seeds, etc. that you mentioned are not good for cavies. The seeds present a choking hazard and also are unhealthy, as are the other add-ins. Stick to a plain pellet without anything added in. Also, watch the fruit: they need mainly high-quality lettuce such as romaine, with some other vegetables added in. The fruit has a lot of sugar that can lead to health problems.

 

[Piglet]

Adult pigs should not receive unlimited pellets. Like Slap said, only feed 1/4 cup a day because they are fattening. Pellets are only a supplement to their diet, so they should be receiving less of that and more vegetables.

Your pig needs 1 cup of fresh vegetables daily. Leafy ones are the best - endive, romaine, lolla rossa, cilantro etc Ball peppers, parsley, watercress, lambs lettuce and rocket are also good to feed

Fruits should be given in moderation because they contain a lot of sugar. Feed them 2-3 times a week.

For more details go to www.guinealynx.com/nutrition.html

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

It is fine to travel with a gp. I've driven two hours with them sometimes when transporting. Those pellets are junk. Get plain ones.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Plain pellets only, the other crap in that mix you are feeding can cause a choking hazard and make your pig fat.

 

[charliesmommy]

Pigs are great travelers. My first cavy, Charlie, is originally from Wisconsin. He made the 7-hour trip to Ohio just fine. I transported him in a pet-store cage, which gave him room to move and allowed me to attach a water bottle and give him food easily. It was also easy to fit in the backseat and carry, and while he didn't have a lot of room to move around, it was better than a pet carrier.

 

[kjkuntz]

The way it sounds I if I need better food foor my gp I will be spending a whole lot more on food since I will have to order the food off line because in my area the food that I have given my gp is the only stuff that I can find. And what the box says is that it is the best for guinea pigs to eat if it is a supplement to there diet they are not getting the much of the other stuff anyway and it has the veggies in it. Yes it may be dried and you have to give them the fresh veggies all the time anyway. And by the way the person that wrote in about gp traveling thanks for the info. That is good to know so when I go to get another gp. That is the only reason I got my gp from a pet store. I realy did want to get one from a shelter that was resuced.

 

[charliesmommy]

Are you saying that you're going to keep feeding your cavy the food with all the other stuff added in? I'm kind of confused...

 

[Slap Maxwell]

If you don't want you guinea pig to get fat, and you don't want it to choke, you need to get a plain pellet feed.