Question by Kaitlyn: would this be good meals for 2 guinea pigs, and?
ugh, im hearing stuff about “cucumber is bad cause it causes diarrhea” which is true but then others r saying its good to feed them it everyday.. and carrots r high in sugar, others say its very good for them. im so confusedd! so if ur not an expert at this, dont bother answering.
1. breakfast: entire size small dog bowl of pellets for both gps to share
afternoon snack: maybe a teaspoon of corn for both to share
dinner: quarter of a red bell pepper, a slice of cucumber, a piece of parsley and half a piece of romaine lettuce EACH.
is that too much, too little, too little greens, too much sugar, too little vegetables (since they need a cup a day) or is it good?
alot of people r saying stuff causes bladder stones, diarrhea, bloating, etc so im gunna re ask this
2. if u feed a slice of cucumber (those little slices) a day to it, will it get diarrhea from the water?
3. can parsley cause bladder stones (if they can, tell me why cause i dont think they can :S)
4. why is spinach bad?
5. why is bok choy bad?
answer all 5 of the questions, best one gets 10 points
Best answer:
Answer by Ash34
1. what I feed my two guineas is two slices of green pepper, a decent amount of parsley, two to three carrots, sometimes cucumber (two pieces) when I have it in the house (and no it does not give them diarrhea), and two slices of watermellon. I give them this in the moring and that is all the fruits and veggies they get in a day. I also always have the pellet food in their cage. I know on some websites they say only 2/3 a cup a day or something. but my guineas dont really pig out on the pellet food. they eat it when they want and they dont over eat. they really like their timothy hay, which should be in their cages at all times.
2. no the cucumber will not give them diarrhea. I feed mine two to three slices a day and they have never gotten diarrhea from it
3. i give mine parsley everyday because it is a VERY good sources of vitamine C and they dont have bladder stones. I have never heard of parsley causing bladder stones.
4. I dont know why spinach is bad
5. i dont know why bok choy is bad — bottom line is, if you wnat to feed your guinea a new fruit/vegtable, always look online before you feed them. for example i was gonna give my guineas celery when i first got them. apparently you can give them celery but you really shouldnt because some of the stringy piece may get stuck in their throat and cause them to choke and die. bad thing. so just make sure you look things up before you give them to your guineas.
Good luck with your guinea pigs, they really are fun to have and play with!
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
I feed my guinea pigs fresh, unpesticized reed grass. 4 piggies chomp down, 1500 grms in 2 days. I feed them pellets, along with the grass. Dog biscuits 20grams to keep their teeth trim. Fruits are on a minimum. Veggies, moderately. Their main source of food is grass. I want to feed them stuff which they are likely to eat in the wild.
Ok I am going to answer your questions but then please read through my other info
1)sounds like the pellets are ok, maybe a little less-your veggie list needs more lettuce like romain, red or green leaf. Switch to green bell pepper and they can have that every day-give red bell pepper only once or twice a week because it is high in sugar-
no corn too starchy-only the silks and husks are good.
2) don’t give too much cucumber, not enough nutrition, cut out the seeds and give them the outer cucumber skin and you will avoid the water issue.
3) Add some cilantro, they can have it quite often because it is low in sugar, calcium and high in C. Give parsley only a couple of times a week because it is high in calcium and can cause stones.
4)Spinach is not too good because it is very high in calcium and again this causes stones.
5)bok choy, not enough nutritional value
So remember….They can have the silks and husks but no corn!!
I do not see that you are feeding them hay! They need hay 24 hours a day-they need to have food available at all times and hay is the number one thing that they should have…so here is what you should be doing
Hay 24 hours a day
Pellets (plain high quality pellet like Oxbow cavy cusine) 1/4 cup per day per pig-put it in their dish and leave in all day.
Salads/veggies-1 cup per day per pig and you can give them salads once or twice a day (I give mine a breakfast salad and a dinner salad)
They always have clean water and hay gets re-filled all of the time-they are NEVER without hay
As far as what to feed them for salads please read through these-they will really help you out!
http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/diet-nutrition/24770-sample-veggie-menus.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html#vegs
VEGETABLES: Small amounts of fresh vegetables (about a cup a day) are an important additional source of vitamin C and other nutrients. Parsley, romaine lettuce (rather than iceberg, which has less nutritional value and may result in loose stools if given in excess), a small piece of carrot, tomato, green or red pepper, spinach, and cantaloupe are popular choices. And clean, pesticide-free grass, clover, dandelion greens, corn husks and silk, will be appreciated by your pet. Rinse vegetables thoroughly. Do not feed wilted or spoiled food. Vegetables must be introduced slowly, to avoid digestive upsets. Once introduced, you can supply a variety of them to your pet. Variety is the key to maintaining your pigs’ health. Be creative
http://www.guinealynx.info/fave.html
Variety, variety, variety — modest amounts of a variety of vegs (and a few fruits) are best
Feed primarily green leafy vegetables
Fruits should be only a small part of the diet
Don’t give too many carrots — at most, only a small carrot every other day or so
Avoid or severely limit cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower as they may cause gas
Cut up celery in small pieces so the strings don’t cause problems
Iceberg lettuce is best not offered guinea pigs; it is low in nutrients and according to some people, could cause loose stools if given in excess
Avoid starchy vegetables like potatoes
Do not feed potato skins and eyes — they can be very high in oxalic acid
Well, Cucumber doesn’t have much nutrients, theres more water than anything in there.
What i feed my guinea pig is
morning: cilantromixed with parsley ( half a handful)
afternoon: 2 slices of carrots=4 slices of baby carrots. / bell peppers/brocalli/ anything else in the house.
evening. ( ramaine lettuce.)
i also feed him whatever vegtables my dad cutes up, my guinea pig likes bok choy but don’t feed too much as it causes gas.
and guinea pig farts are GROSS. hahah
spinich is okay, theres a lot of vit c in it. don’t feed so much as it has a lot of calcium too.
the diet you have seems to lack a lot of vit c, try giving him some fruits too. ( not too much as there are a LOT of sugars in fruits. )
my guinea pig gets a slice of orange once a week.( really messy since he has white fur.) hahah
ALSO. guinea pigs are herbivores ! that means they only get grass/vegtables and other thigns that grow out of the ground.
1. sounds fine – just make sure they have timothy hay 24/7 and fresh water. as for the pellets – they should get 1/4 cup each daily.
dark greens like collard greens, spinach, mustard greens, are high in vitamins they needs but too high in calcium which will be bad for their bladder, carrots are high in sugar but it is ok to give them one baby carrot every once in a while (cut back on this if they are gaining weight), cucumber is fine, just not too much or ONLY cucumber – like one or two round slices (like you get in a salad) is ok
vary what veggies they get daily – the mix you give them is fine, but maybe give one day off of cucumbers and add a carrot, or apples
2. one slice of cucumber will be fine and they love it – too much will be bad, just like other things like iceberg lettuce is bad, it causes diarrhea
3. parsley seems to be an ok choice even though its a dark leafy green – just do not feed them a ton of it (like a couple leaves a day is ok)
4. spinach is high in calcium, this builds up in their bladder to cause stones, sludge and infections – a little will not hurt them, but i mean a little, like once or twice a month a couple leaves
there is some controversy over this since spinach and similar greens have vit c and other nutrients that are good, but i day better safe then sorry. Bladder problems are painful, expensive to take care of and can be fatal. your pig can get those other nutrients other places
5. Bok choy is fine and they love it, but again just keep some variance in their veggies – they get more vitamins this way, they don’t get bored, and you can ensure they wont get too much water from one kind
Here is a great reference website, it helps me a lot.
http://www.guinealynx.info