What veggies can I feed my guinea pigs?

Question

I feed them fruits in a while and the veggies I usually feed my guinea pigs are romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, and carrots. They don't like parsley, cilantro, and cucumbers. And I'm not feeding them tomatoes right now because I heard there is a chemical in them so its bad. What other veggies can I feed them? They seem really bored with the same veggies everyday

Answer 1

go to guinealynx.com it tells you all the fruits vegetables and plants that they could eat.

Answer 2

Hi, if I were you, I wouldn't feed them too much lettuce, as too much = diarrhea but a little bit is okay. Guineapigs like most veggies: carrots, sweet potato (DO NOT FEED NORMAL WHITE POTATO!), brocolli, beans, cauliflower, brussels. They also like most fruits, don't feed citrus, feed them apple, banana peel, grapes, strawberry. They also like a bit of dried fruit. Hope I helped.

Answer 3

Most veggies are fine for guinea pigs - although they vary in what quantities are suitable.

Stuff to completely avoid include iceburg lettuce (other types are fine), potato and onion.

Check out this link for the BEST info on guinea pig feeding - it has everything you need to know.

For your specific question read the "sticky" thread "Everything you need to know about a cavy's diet!!! READ ME- Nutrition Charts & Info "

This has a full colour coded list of all suitable veggies and fruits, how often they can be given, and why.

When you try out a new food don't expect them to eat it straight away. My piggies were on their 4th bell pepper before they even tried it - now they eat it every day!

Answer 4

Their diet is lacking. They cannot get sufficient nutrition on leafy greens alone. You need a variety, including foods which they can gnaw on to help their teeth get worn down.

A guinea pig should eat approx. 1 cup of vegetables/fruit a day. Usually, you should feed your pig twice a day - once in the morning and once at night. Only feed half a cup each feeding, so they get a total of 1 cup per day. You should feed a range of different vegetables and fruit so your piggie gets all the nutrition it needs. Each meal time, each of my guinea pigs get the following:

A slice of carrot

A slice of cucumber

A slice of capsicum

A small slice of apple

Half a cherry tomato

A few slices of celery

The idea of feeding veggies and fruits is to give your pigs Vitamin C. Like us, they don't make their own and need it provided in their food. I throw in a few celery leaves (high Vit C), or lettuce leaves (as a treat) when I have them. The capsicum is pretty much ESSENTIAL as it's loaded full of vitamin C, which your guineas need as their current diet lacks it severely. I find a nice big slice gives your pig enough Vit C for the day. Make sure you slice in long bits, not little chunks, as long bits encourage them to chew straight on, not gnaw at the side of their mouth which encourages bad tooth growth. The tomato chemical rumour is not true. They are very healthy for them, and half a cherry tomato is typically enjoyed. Fruits are alright in moderation, just a little slice. Orange is great because it's full of Vitamin C as well.

Here is a very detailed list of good and bad foods you can feed your guinea pig. It really is up to you and your pigs to see what they like. This is the link: http://www.caviesgalore.com/forums/showt...

I think you have to register to see it, but just register quickly and have a look - it will really help you.

It's really up to you what veggies you feed. Just make sure there's a variety and there's not too much or too little of it. Pellets are also recommended to feed, to provide your pigs with fibre. I give them a small handful of Oxbow's Cavy Cuisine every day.

NOTE: Make sure they have a CONSTANT supply of hay, as hay should make up 80% of their diet. This is what most people overlook. Veggies and fruit should not be your pigs main diet. They are merely a supplement to hay. Timothy hay is best (Oxbow sells some in bags) but any grassy hay is good. Don't overdo it on the lettuce - it's not nutritional and can cause loose stools if fed in excess. Any other questions, shoot me an email. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Here ya go:

http://www.petinfopackets.com/guineapigs...

http://www.guinealynx.info/nutrition.htm...

Answer 6

Large, unlimited amounts of fresh hay should be offered daily. Young guineas should be introduced to hay as soon as they can eat on their own. Mixed grass hay or Timothy hay is preferred because it is lower in calories and calcium than alfalfa. It is also higher in fiber

¼ cup per day of pellets (no added dried anything!) for adult guinea pigs. Unlimited pellets for guinea pigs younger than 6 months

TRY TO FEED 3 VEGETABLE SERVINGS PER DAY. BE SURE ONE IS SOME TYPE OF LEAFY GREEN. PLEASE, NO MORE THAN 1 SERVING OF ANY GIVEN VEGETABLE!!

  

A variety is necessary in order to obtain the necessary nutrients, with one each day that contains Vitamin A, indicated by an *. Add one vegetable to the diet at a time. Eliminate if it causes soft stools or diarrhea.

Limit fruits to 1-2 tablespoons per 2 lbs. of body weight (none if dieting) from the list below of high fiber fruits. USE FRUIT ONLY ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK. Sugary fruits such as bananas and grapes should be used only sparingly. Guineas have a sweet tooth and if left to their own devices will devour sugary foods to the exclusion of healthful ones.

(!)=Use no more than twice a week. High in either oxalates or goitrogens and may be toxic in accumulated quantities over a period of time.

(*)=Use no more than twice a week.

Vegetables:

  

Alfalfa, radish & clover sprouts

Basil

Beet greens (tops)*

Bok choy

Broccoli (mostly leaves/stems)* - 1 FLORET &  STEM

Brussels Sprouts - 1 Sprout

Carrot & carrot tops* - 1 CARROT

Celery – 2 INCHES, cut in 1 inch pieces

Chard (red or green)* - 1 LEAF

Cilantro – 6 - 8 STEMS AND LEAVES

Clover – 10

Collard greens* - 1 LEAF

Cucumber – 1 SLICE

Dandelion greens and flowers (no pesticides)* - 6 LARGE OR 10 SMALL

Endive*

Escarole

Green peppers – 1 SLICE

Kale (!)* - 1 LEAF

Mint

Mustard greens* - 1 LEAF

Parsley* - 6 - 8 STEMS AND LEAVES

Pea pods (the flat edible kind)*

Peppermint leaves

Radichio – ½ CUP

Radish tops – 3 LEAVES

Raspberry leaves

Romaine lettuce (no iceberg or light colored leaf) or red/green leaf - 2 LEAVES

Watercress*

Wheat grass  

Fruits - 1 CUBIC INCH:

Apple

Blueberries

Papaya

Peach

Pear

Pineapple

Plums

Raspberries

Strawberries Melon

Orange (including peel)

Tomato

  

Absolutely NO Chocolate (Poisonous!!!), cookies, crackers, breakfast cereals, bread, pasta, yogurt drops or other "human treats." There is research to suggest these items may contribute to fatal cases of enterotoxaemia, a toxic overgrowth of "bad" bacteria in the intestinal tract.

Remember to monitor your piggy when introducing new foods, and only introduce one new food at a time. Good luck!

Answer 7

Please do NOT feed your guinea pigs anything from the cabbage family, such as cabbage and lettuce! It can cause galstones in guinea pigs, along with many other problems. My cousin's guinea pigs got galstones and died it surgery. =(

Here are some things you can feed them:

~ FRUIT ~

Orange

Rockmelon

Watermelon

Pear

Apple

Grapes

Pineapple

~ VEGETABLES ~

Celery

Cucumber

Corn

Carrot

Peas

Beans

Broccoli

~ PLANTS ~

Dandelion

Sorrel

Clover

Plantain

Grass

Burnet

Parsley

Coltsfoot

Chickweed

Crosswort

Dock

Groundsel

Mallow

Nipplewort

Trefoil

Vetch

Watercress

Yarrow

Adult guinea pigs need to eat 80 grams of dry food, such as hay and mix, and 100 grams of fresh food, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, each day.