I have a 6yr old guineapig and i was?

Question

wondering what is the best brand of food for him and is there any vitamins i should give him and what i wanna let him be as heathy as possibe so he can live really long and also he has lost weight since he has been getting older so is there anything would help for that? and maybe where i could get it (i live in lexington kentucky) so yeah thanks

Answer 1

Some older pigs do have a problem maintaining their weight. What do you feed him now?

I'd recommend doing 50% timothy pellets and 50% alfalfa pellets. Oxbow is a good brand for both sorts. Alfalfa does have a lot of calcium, so I wouldn't feed ONLY alfalfa pellets, but it has more calories than timothy and should help keep his weight up.

Whatever brand of pellets you use, make sure they're high-quality - try to avoid lots of added sugars and preservatives, and definitely stay away from anything with seeds in it or artificially colored crunchies.

I wouldn't recommend giving him any sort of vitamin supplement - if you feed him good-quality pellets and an assortment of veggies, he should be getting enough of what he needs. If you give him any supplement, I'd only give him vitamin C, and not the kind you add to the water.

Here's good general info on diet:

http://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html

You might want to get him to a vet for a check up, since sometimes weight loss can be caused by illnesses or even problems with his teeth. He's not a young piggie anymore, so it'd be a good idea to have him checked out.

I'd recommend weighing him weekly if you haven't been already - I use a kitchen scale. If he doesn't start gaining some weight back or if he loses more, it's definitely in his best interest to get to a vet.

About older pigs

http://www.guinealynx.info/aging.html