Are you wondering how to create the perfect meal plan for your guinea pig? What is crucial for larger rodents and what is better to avoid? Everything about guinea pig nutritional requirements can be found in the following interview with the breeder Andrea Kroftová.
Let's start with a more general and basic question. Why is hay so important for guinea pigs?
Guinea pigs are herbivores, therefore hay is an essential building block of their diet. Hay has two main functions. First, it's used to grind the ever-growing teeth - they grow up to 1.5 mm a week. Second, it's a source of fibre, which is important for fermentation processes during digestion. In case of deficiency in fibre, the movement in a guinea pig's bowels slows down and the peristalsis comes to a stop.
What about the dosage?
In order for the fluff ball to thrive, there must be constant access to loose hay. It's best to keep it in a hay rack. To give you an idea, an adult guinea pig eats up to 150 grams of hay for every kilogram of its weight a day.
So what should an ideal diet plan for the small furry ball look like?
Apart from good-quality hay, there should be fresh water, which we mustn't forget about. Water in a bowl gets dirty quite quickly, therefore we use water bottles, which we refill every day.
Guinea pigs also need fresh grass and vegetables. We don't have to force them to eat it as they love both of them. However, do be careful what vegetables you give them. They definitely mustn't be spoiled or frozen and always wash them before serving. Root vegetables such as carrots, celeriac, parsnips or beet are ideal. Unsuitable ones are those that are too watery or cause bloating.
During the green season, vegetables can be fully replaced by grass. The amount is important as well and it shouldn't replace the amount of consumed hay. Everything that the animal is offered should follow the golden hygiene rule: whatever they don't eat in one day should be thrown out.
What, besides vegetables, can the owner treat his pet with?
Fruit can also be used as a treat. To make the diet more varied we can also add a small amount of fresh or dried herbs such as dill, basil or mint. I don't recommend overdoing it with feed mixes in the form of pellets. One teaspoon a day is ideal. Guinea pigs are quite picky and can end up eating too much starch and protein, and not enough fibre, and suddenly we have a problem. When choosing a mix, it's important to read the ingredients, and other than fibre and protein we should also look at the content of calcium, phosphorus and natural (stabilised) vitamin C. Packaging in a protective atmosphere and transparent foil goes without saying. Also woody branches such as apple, pear or currents I can only recommend as a treat.
Is it necessary to adapt the nutrition to the guinea pig's life stages?
Every animal has its specific needs in different stages of its life and they also change according to the environment in which we keep it. Outdoor guinea pigs require more food than their friends who are of the same age but live indoors. A growing individual needs more protein and calcium than an adult one. Also pregnant or lactating females need to gain more weight. In this case, however, we must monitor the pellet intake and the content of protein and sugar. They increase the risk of toxaemia.
Can I use food supplements as an extra treat for my pet?
Vitamin C intake in feed is essential for guinea pigs as they cannot synthetize it. In order for its body to work correctly, a guinea pig needs approx. 10-20 milligrams for every kilogram of its weight. Guinea pigs in stressful situations, growing, sick or lactating females need an increased dosage of vitamin C. If necessary, we can use multivitamin drops for guinea pigs as a supplement. If the guinea pig doesn't have the possibility of an outdoor enclosure and natural sunlight, adding vitamin D is recommended.
Every one of us has for sure encountered diarrhoea in our fuzzy friend. Usually, there’s nothing to fuss about, the body reacts to food that it isn’t capable to digest or that didn’t do it good. However, it is good to know, when we are capable of...
I have been sharing with you my experience with dogs and other animals for quite some time now and it occurred to me to wander a little bit into history as well, but into an interesting one! I’d like to introduce you to several well-known dog...
Allergy is a disproportionate reaction of the immunity system to common stimuli. It cannot be cured, but we can suppress its manifestations. In the last years, allergies in pets and dogs especially are on the rise. Currently, about 10% of house-dogs...
Today, we are going to take a look at the Feline Infectious Peritonitis - FIP, an utterly exceptional virus illness that always has a fatal end. Most of the cats get into contact with the viruses that cause FIP in their lifetime, even though the...
We can divide dog owners into two groups. The ones that allow the dog in bed and those that feel that this is no option. Let’s take a look at what such bed sharing with a dog actually entails.
If you like going on treks with your fuzzy friends, geocaching is something precisely for you. This way, you will liven up your trips and maybe you even discover places that you wouldn’t have found otherwise. I and my pack can’t get enough of it.
Contrary to dogs, cats have a strong bond with the place where they live. That’s why moving is very stressful for them and this stress may cause a number of diseases. It’s a good idea to plan everything well, so that you could make the situation of a...
Even though the dogs went through long years of domestication, they still retain fundamental instincts as we do. They might not be as strong as in wild dogs, but they still play a very significant role in the life of a dog and in their behaviour. So if...
Even though it’s been a long time since our four-legged furry friends lived a feral life, they still have the laws of the pack rooted deep down inside them. It is not acquired behaviour, the need to live in a pack is determined by genetics. And if...
It is no news that the dog isn’t only a pet and that it can also help saving human lives in various catastrophes. But have you ever thought about what it means for dogs to become rescuers? You haven’t? Well, then it’s the right time to set off together...
The usual pregnancy period in female dogs is indicated at about 58 – 65 days, the average is 63 days. In case of the nutrition of a pregnant female, possible changes in diet can be likened to the changes in diet of pregnant women. Pregnant female dogs...
The most frequent reason why your dog starts to gain weight is simple, as in most of people: they consume more energy than they spend. Some owners wave their arm at a well-intended warning that their pet has gained weight, stating that the dog is...
