What diet should my piggies have?

Guinea pigs eat for around 16 hours a day, so you need to make sure they are eating the right stuff!

Their teeth, all 20 of them, grow throughout their lives. They therefore need to be kept ground down with an abundance of abrasive food like hay.

Guinea pigs will thrive on a varied, quality diet consisting of:

80% hay/grass
10%-15% vegetables/herbs (approx 50g)
5%-10% pellets
(Approx 1 tablespoon – 2 tablespoons if under 6 months old)

Try to vary your vegetables to feed 3-7 different ones daily and/or a fresh herb. Please ensure this includes one that is HIGH in vitamin C.

Veg that can be fed daily

1 slice of any colour bell pepper
1-2 chunks of celery
1 chunk of cucumber
1-2 sprigs of fresh herb (vary)
1 slice of spring greens
1 leaf of romaine/cos or gem lettuce
1 treat veg of your choice

Example plate

Treat of choice

Water Cress
Chard
Spinach (feed in moderation)
Carrot Tops
Mangetout
Dandelion
Kale (feed in moderation)
Broccoli
Sprouts
Tomato*
Orange / Mandarin*
Strawberries*
Melon
Corn on the Cob
Parsnip
Courgette
Apple*
Pear*
Blueberries*
Green Bean
Carrot (Small Piece)

You must ONLY feed one of those marked with a * each week.

Hay, hay, hay!

Do not underestimate how much hay your piggies need to eat to stay healthy.

Hay should be green and sweet smelling, avoid anything that looks dusty or smells mouldy as this can cause your piggy to become ill.

Hay racks and balls might look nice and tidy to us humans but many of them are potentially dangerous (piggies can get their heads stuck) and do not provide enough hay for your daily supply.

The easiest way to offer hay is in nice big piles, you can even fill cat litter trays with it so that it is easier to clean and refill.

The bulk of your feeding hay should be made up of either meadow or timothy.

However, there are some really nice treat hays available. These are great for encouraging fussy eaters of helping add weight on to underweight or poorly piggies.

Please do not feed alfalfa to adult piggies as this can lead to calcium build up and associated health issues.

Water

Piggies vary greatly in how much water they require. Always make sure they have a clean and fresh supply.

Don’t forget to clean your water bottles and/or bowls.

Pro Tip—Shake some dry rice inside your water bottles to remove any algae that your bottle brush can’t reach.

Do not add anything to the water. Vitamin C deteriorates in sunlight. It can also alter the taste of the water and piggies may get dehydrated if they don’t like the taste and don’t drink. If adding a probiotic as instructed by a vet please offer this is a separate bottle.

Dry Food

Please use a high quality nugget based food, such as Burgess Excel or Science Selective.

DO NOT use muesli as this will encourage selective feeding. This can attribute to weight gain and other health issues.

Dried forage

Adding some dried forage to your piggies hay is a fantastic form of enrichment and a nice healthy treat.

By encouraging a piggies natural foraging behaviour we can increase both their mental and physical wellbeing.

Some safe forage suggestions are:
Apple Leaves
Mulberry Leaves
Nettle
Marigold Flowers
Dried Cucumber
Camomile
Plantain
Rose
Cornflowers
Blackcurrant Leaves
Green Oat