Fresh Food Really need help with daily veg, calling all members in the know!

[rubypig]

Hi all,

So I was doing really well with my piggies meals until things started to go out of season and everything is getting really messed up and I'm getting really confused on everything. I live in Cyprus and everything comes into season differently and there's not a lot widely available that I see recommended for GP's. I will list what I can get and if everyone or anyone could just tell me what's wise to feed them, how often etc I would rally appreciate it, I am particularly interested in things that can be fed daily etc.

Rocket
Parsley
Cilantro (coriander)
Romaine lettuce
Butter lettuce
Swiss chard (sometimes available)
Spinach
Celery
Sweet bell peppers
Carrots
Cherry tomatoes
Cucumber
Purslane

Any help much appreciated!

 

[bpatters]

Check this list for what can and can't be fed: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/diet-nutrition/22156-read-me-cavy-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html

Some pigs excrete calcium in their urine when fed romaine, so if you notice white spots where their urine has dried, switch them from romaine to another lettuce (not iceberg). Neither spinach nor parsley is a daily vegetable.

 

[rubypig]

I know what they can and can't eat but for example I read a post somewhere a while ago about spinach doing something that bothers there stomach or something so I am in two minds on what/how often. I keep there fresh meals to 1 cup a day each but making up a cup is hard with what's available as I will never give frozen or tinned of course, how does everyone else manage?

 

[bpatters]

The link I gave you was created by a moderator on this forum who did a lot of research on what pigs can and can't eat. If that chart tells you that spinach can be given 1-2 times per week, then it can be given 1-2 times per week.

You can download that chart, print it out and take it with you to the grocery store.

How can making up a cup of veggies be hard if you have access to lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots and celery?

 

[rubypig]

I've been following that fantastic chart since day one, it's been a great help!

I cut everything up quite small I guess so a few slices of cucumber, a cherry tomatoe, carrot and celery doesn't seem to add up to much for them with some lettuce! Maybe I should be feeding it less cut up, would look like a lot more in volume or maybe I am being over cautious with the portion of each veg?!

 

[sdpiggylvr]

Celery is a food to feed a few times per week instead of everyday. Carrots are sugary and more of a "treat" food, so you might want to limit that to every other day to prevent your guinea pigs from getting too chubby.

Here's the formula I use to feed my piggies their vegetables:

2-3 varieties of greens/lettuces (cilantro, romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, parsley, spinach, swiss chard, kale), add an 1/8 slice of bell pepper, and add 1-2 other vegetables (tomato, celery, cucumber, green bean, carrot, cauliflower, broccoli, peas in the pod).

Variety is key, but the daily staples that never change are lettuce and bell pepper.

Hope this helps!

 

[rubypig]

Yes that did help thank you! I'm generaly going along those lines already but I think I'll be tweaking a few things, isnt cauliflower and brokoli a little gassy for them? I stayed clear of those and stuck to the leaves only previously? I can't get kale anywhere! And peas in the pod are few and very far between! At the moment there is no Swiss chard in stores. With a country that produces so much fresh veg and fruit I am so surprised at not being able to find much variety for my GP's! They obviously can't eat things like Egg plant, hot peppers, onion and potatoes so it's very limiting!

 

[rubypig]

Can Zucchini be any variety? For example I can find the light green coloured variety?

 

[bpatters]

[MENTION=19714]spy9doc[/MENTION], the only quibble I have with your answer about the veggies is that some pigs prefer veggies to hay, and don't eat enough hay to keep their teeth ground down. I think that's the major reason for limiting vegetables, not that they will eat too many of them for their general health. Since you take the vegetables out when they're done, your pigs probably don't have a problem. But I, and I suspect most owners, just plop the veggies in the cage and leave them until they're gone.

 

[rubypig]

Well my piggies like everything I give them so I'm very lucky I guess, I don't measure out theyre meals but the little bowls I feed them in are a cups worth roughly so I eyeball it giving them a little extra actually. I don't need to take any veggies away as they are all very accustomed to the there morning and evening fresh meal and will sit at the bowl till 90% is eaten and then munch on what's left over the next hour roughly. I then collect bowls for a good wash ready for the next meal. They get a cup of pellet between 2 piggies and there's always some left so I know they are not under or over fed pellets. They have unlimited hay witch they eat continuously when they're not sleeping! I give them a fruit treat once or twice a week and odd treats of cold cucumber etc. they have kind of settled into a routine themselves without me forcing anything upon them. If I were to out down more food after there meal time they would leave it so I know there happy and I'm happy with how meal times go. The routine is, pop corning when they hear the fridge door, eat then more pop corning lollll they also love when I'm cleaning there homes, they pop corn when they go back in! I think the most thing I worry about is when I can't get a hold of a particular veg I worry that they aren't getting enough with other things I guess. I'm a piggie mother so it's natural I guess!

 

[bpatters]

A cup of pellets for two pigs is waaaay too many pellets. Adult pigs should have about 1/8 cup pellets each, certainly no more than 1/4 cup, and that only if they're underweight.

The problem with feeding extra pellets is the same as feeding too many veggies -- if the pigs prefer than to their hay, they don't eat enough hay. And hay is the most important thing in their diets -- they need it to keep their teeth worn down and their guts moving normally.

 

[rubypig]

O yes I agree but the situation is 2 boys and 2 girls in separate cages, 1 boy is still young and growing and 1 girl is very young and growing so I was advised that they need to have the pellet available. At the end of the day half is left behind so I'm only topping up half really. I am home all day as I work at home so I'm constantly with them and I know roughly how much they eat of the pellet. The adults don't eat hardly as much as the young ones so I think I could safely say they're not over eating pellets. Plus I should say the the cup I am measuring pellets with is not a cup at all, more like half a cup, its a small bowls meant for hamsters or gerbils, it was a set of 4 I thought were cute when I bought them and then found they were useful with putting it theyre pellets. I am 100% sure they eat mainly hay because they love laying in front of the hay racks with legs stretched out for most of the day when they're nt sleeping as I said. Pellets are on the bottoms floor and hay on the top floor so it's very obvious to me when they're eating.

 

[rubypig]

As you probably know, my cavy cage sits alongside my desk in my home office, so we're together a great deal of the time and I have ample opportunity to observe them. They have their own little routine at mealtimes........absolutely attack the salad plate, eat for a while, then go up to the loft for some hay and pellets, and then sometimes graze on the salad, all within about 45-60". At that point, I remove all the uneaten leftovers.

Seems like you and I are quite lucky with them having a good routine! And a vey similar routine at that. Fingers crossed it doesn't change. Do you only give the canteloupe rind? Haven't tried that wit mine, is the flesh not good?
We feed them morning and evening, and sometime a snack of their beloved canteloupe rind or some celery leaves midday and before bedtime.

Concerned that we were feeding them too much, I tried for a couple of days to cut down on the amount of food. Chester seemed to be o.k. with slightly less food, but young Maya was restless and whimpering as a result (I presume) of being hungry. She didn't quiet down until I offered more food.

Since they are both of a healthy weight and active, I've stopped thinking that they are overfed. I just permit them to eat until they are full, and we're good until the next meal. Chester hasn't been to the vet in over a year, so I'm thinking that I just may take them both in for a checkup pretty soon to be sure that there are no dental problems. Most anything else I can take care of.