Pellets Switching to healthier pellets from former ones

[ladycavies]

Before I adopted my two year old female cavies (2) I bought some Oxbow Timothy pellets. They were formerly eating an alfalfa based Kaytee food with lots of colored pieces. It looks like they are not eating the new pellet food as readily of course. (They love their veggies!) Should I buy a small bag of their former food and keep switching over more slowly? It has been two weeks and I only gave them the former food until it was gone (3-4 days). Thanks.

 

[guineapiggirl1]

Guinea Pigs should not have sudden diet changes, and you should have slowly switched your piggies over, mixing in the food each day, adding more of the new and less of the old.

 

[pinky]

No. If you mix them both, they'll probably pick out the other pieces so I would continue to only give them the Oxbow Cavy Cuisine. It's kind of like offering your children a bowl of ice cream and vegetables so they get used to the vegetables.

 

[Cogni]

I agree with Pinky. It doesn't hurt to go cold turkey on junk food. Veggies are different as they have extremely different chemical make-up, water content, etc., and a lot of a new veggie could cause a tummie upset.
The piggies may take a while to eat the new pellets, but that won't hurt them. Pellets are the least part of the diet by weight, although unlike veggies they are high-calorie food (concentrated protein from hay).
My piggies took about a week to get used to proper pellets as opposed to the junk pellets their previous 'caretaker' had given them. (she gave me a big bag of it to take with them, but I put it in the trash. ) If that is all they get for pellets, they will eventually eat them--same principle as when you give them green peppers for the first time. It took a long time for the my boys to eat their peppers--2 weeks or more as I recall-- but now they come running when they hear the 'green pepper song'.

 

[ladycavies]

I did indeed mix the two foods from the start but as I saw that only the "goodies" in the previous food were relished by Truffles and Popcorn, I increased the percentage of quality food. I just didn't think spending $8 or so on a new bag of older food was worth it. Oh boy do they ever love their lettuce, a couple carrots or a little cucumber. Truffles, an abyssinian, comes right up to the edge when she hears me coming waiting to see what is offered. Popcorn is the shy one and waits in her pigloo. After I set the crock of 'salad' down, she moves the pigloo around until she can just peek out and grab something and takes it back in to finish eating. Thanks for all of your answers! The new thing this week was a thin slice of banana. Yum!

 

[kathlaaron]

I agree with Pinky. It doesn't hurt to go cold turkey on junk food. Veggies are different as they have extremely different chemical make-up, water content, etc., and a lot of a new veggie could cause a tummy upset.


The piggies may take a while to eat the new pellets, but that won't hurt them. Pellets are the least part of the diet by weight, although unlike veggies they are high-calorie food (concentrated protein from hay).
My piggies took about a week to get used to proper pellets as opposed to the junk pellets their previous 'caretaker' had given them. (she gave me a big bag of it to take with them, but I put it in the trash. )

Yes, veggies are different, and I learned that it is best to just start with the basics, everyday food like: Two types of lettuce ( no iceburg though), green peppers, and cilantro. Then introduce each new veggie slowly, like every 4 days or so, and before long they will be enjoying a variety of fresh veggies and fruit.

I found this site after I had purchased a bag of junky pellet food brand ( Kaytee Fiesta I think it was called) and a member on here told me to throw it out, and gave me some really good brand choices to choose from. Lucky for me, they hadn't been on the "junk food brand" long enough to get too attached, as I immediately went out and got them Oxbow Cavy Performance Cuisine pellets, (only for piggies under 6 months old).:melodrama

 

[ladycavies]

I'm pretty sure that was the same brand that came home with my girls.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

It's better to switch cold turkey instead of a gradual change. It gets them off the crappy foods faster. It also discourages picking out the bits and leaving the pellets.

 

[longlostcurls]

Hi all. I was looking for any advice on whether the pellets I am feeding my girls is ok. In my country we don't have much options so I don't really have the option to change it but if it has to come to it I will order the food online but only if I can find a place that ships directly to my country because shipping prices can be a bit expensive. I will post a picture of the food I use. It does have a few small orange peices in it and my biggest girl is not overweight. She is about 10 months old and weighs 2lbs 2oz. She is an abby. She has a very large cage so has plenty of exercise.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Kaytee pellets are pure garbage.

Acceptable brands are Oxbow (cuisine and performance only), KM's and Sweet Meadow.