Guinea pigs are natural herbivores that spend their time foraging and grazing together in small herds. Their diet should consist of high quality timothy or orchard hay as well as pellet food plus vegetables to satisfy their dietary requirements.
Vegetables should be chopped into bite-size pieces to make them easy for people to consume and mixed well before serving.
Contents
Vegetables
Guinea pigs cannot produce their own vitamin C and must get it through diet alone. A good vegetable mixture for your guinea pig should include leafy greens such as kale or parsley, romaine lettuce (not iceberg lettuce as this lacks essential vitamins), dandelion greens, zucchini/summer squashes/zucchinis/cucumbers/carrots with their tops attached and cilantro as well as fresh fruits like orange slices or grape tomatoes without leaves/stems attached! You could also include fresh fruit like orange slices/grape tomatoes (remove leaves/stems off) once or twice weekly!
Note, though, that fruits should only make up a minor part of their diet and shouldn’t replace vegetables in any mix. Fruit degrades quickly and isn’t nearly as nutritive. You should also try not giving all their food at once as this could lead to overeating and lead them to reject certain items over others – instead feed your guinea pigs their pellets along with portions of the vegetable mix at regular intervals throughout the day.
Mixing
Before giving your guinea pigs food that looks appetising, try mixing up fresh vegetables and treats yourself to encourage them to try new things. As they become used to the taste of certain foods, their likelihood of repeat consumption increases dramatically.
Before feeding vegetables to your guinea pig, be sure to mix them carefully so the vitamins and nutrients can spread throughout. This will ensure they get a varied and rounded diet for better overall health.
Keep an eye out when offering fruits or treats as treats for your guinea pig, as too many are high in sugar content and could contribute to obesity and tooth problems. Instead, provide these as occasional treats such as alfalfa cubes or carrot tops. Also watch how much calcium you give as too much can lead to bladder stones.
Cooking
Homemade guinea pig food provides more vitamins and minerals than pet store offerings due to fewer processes that strip nutrients out, making homemade products both more cost-effective and healthier for their inhabitants.
Break your vegetables up into smaller bite-size pieces so your guinea pig can more easily consume them and prevent spoilage. Always wash all vegetables prior to use.
Guinea pigs require fiber to maintain a healthy digestive system and raw vegetables help file down their teeth. Hay is the best source of fibre, though you can add fresh or cooked vegetables as an additional source.
Assemble 20 grams of guinea pig pellets into a bowl and puree them until it turns into a powder, before mixing in one carrot and several bunches of chopped parsley (finely diced). Mix thoroughly to form a paste-like mixture; liquidize as necessary until you achieve an acceptable broth consistency before feeding directly via syringe to your guinea pig.
Treats
Many guinea pigs enjoy the crunch of treats, and they help prevent their teeth from becoming overgrown. It is best to spread out their feeding so they don’t develop an unhealthy feeding binge-eating habit. Instead of purchasing commercial treats that may contain lots of sugar, creating no-bake treats at home can be easy: simply combine ingredients such as rolled oats, sunflower or pumpkin seeds (or both), coconut flakes, nuts (like almonds or walnuts), honey/agave nectar then press into cookie cutter shapes or form small balls before baking on low heat in an oven on low heat for best results.
Remember that guinea pigs are herbivores, so it’s essential that each meal includes a variety of veggies to meet their dietary needs. Be wary of foods high in sugar or oxalic acid such as rhubarb, spinach or potatoes as these may increase oxalic acid production. When feeding your pet use a heavy bowl that won’t tip over easily!
