Guinea pigs need four main items:
Water, Hay, Pellets, and Daily Fresh Vegetables
Unlimited Fresh Water
Fresh water, whether it be in a bottle or bowl, needs to be available 24/7. Bottles tend to be easier to maintain than bowls, as the piggies can dirty bowls quickly.
Unlimited Fresh Hay
Timothy or alfalfa hay needs to be available 24/7 as well. Guinea pig teeth are always growing! So in order for them to keep their teeth from overgrowing, they need to constantly chew on hay. Timothy or alfalfa hay is great for fiber and is vital to help them regulate their digestive system.
Alfalfa hay is recommended for guinea pigs 6 months old or younger and for pregnant guinea pigs because of its high calcium levels. Young guinea pigs and pregnant guinea pigs need more calcium in their diet than others to help them develop and grow.
Timothy hay is recommended for guinea pigs older than 6 months because they do not need as much calcium. Too much calcium in their diet can lead to urinary tract problems. Signs of too much calcium can include white urine and/or urine that dries to leave a white powder.
Young guinea pigs and pregnant guinea pigs can eat Timothy hay. They just need more calcium from other sources like kale to assist in growth.
Alfalfa hay is recommended for guinea pigs 6 months old or younger and for pregnant guinea pigs because of its high calcium levels. Young guinea pigs and pregnant guinea pigs need more calcium in their diet than others to help them develop and grow.
Timothy hay is recommended for guinea pigs older than 6 months because they do not need as much calcium. Too much calcium in their diet can lead to urinary tract problems. Signs of too much calcium can include white urine and/or urine that dries to leave a white powder.
Young guinea pigs and pregnant guinea pigs can eat Timothy hay. They just need more calcium from other sources like kale to assist in growth.
1/8 cup of Pellets per Guinea Pig per Day
Timothy-based pellets are an essential part of their diet. It provides Vitamin C and other nutrients they need for a healthy life. Remember to store extra food in an air-tight container! Vitamin C depreciates over time in open air/sunlight. So keeping pellets out for long periods of time cause the pellets to become less nutritional. This is also why fresh vegetables are an important part of their diet as they can help to make up for the lost vitamin c in pellets.
They can eat too many pellets! Usually an 8th of a cup per day is recommended, but do read the package. Too many pellets can cause obesity.
We recommend plain pellets with no "extra" pieces in it. Guinea pigs just pick those bits out and leave the pellets that have the nutrition they actually need.
Note - Guinea pig pellets are not the same as rabbit pellets. Rabbits don't need to eat Vitamin C so rabbit food does not contain the Vitamin C that guinea pigs need.
In short: Rabbits can eat guinea pig pellets, but guinea pigs cannot eat rabbit pellets.
They can eat too many pellets! Usually an 8th of a cup per day is recommended, but do read the package. Too many pellets can cause obesity.
We recommend plain pellets with no "extra" pieces in it. Guinea pigs just pick those bits out and leave the pellets that have the nutrition they actually need.
Note - Guinea pig pellets are not the same as rabbit pellets. Rabbits don't need to eat Vitamin C so rabbit food does not contain the Vitamin C that guinea pigs need.
In short: Rabbits can eat guinea pig pellets, but guinea pigs cannot eat rabbit pellets.
Fresh Vegetables
Guinea pigs need at least one cup of fresh vegetables every day. This needs to include a variety of veggies. For example, we might feed our piggies spring mix one day. This has green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, baby spinach, etc. And the next day we might give them romaine lettuce, carrots, spinach or bell peppers. Spinach and bell peppers (not hot peppers) are great with providing Vitamin C. Kale is great with providing calcium.
Some veggies are dangerous to guinea pigs in large portions everyday like spinach or kale. They can only be fed a few times a week. for more detailed information about which veggies to feed, click here.
Some veggies are dangerous to guinea pigs in large portions everyday like spinach or kale. They can only be fed a few times a week. for more detailed information about which veggies to feed, click here.
