What can feed a guinea pig?

Guinea pigs are big choices for the quality and quantity of food provided. In addition, many fruits, vegetables and plants are not suitable for the complete nutrition of this animal. In this article we will talk about what you can and what you can not feed the guinea pig, and also consider the features of feeding these pets at home.

A competently prepared ration of the guinea pig affects not only its livelihoods, but also the general state, mood, activity of your pet. Food should be not only nutritious, full of micronutrients and vitamins, but also balanced.

Below you can find a list of recommendations for preparing a ration for a guinea pig.

• The main rule is systematic and timely. Set aside a specific time during the day on which you can feed your pet. This is necessary so that he gets used to the time frame and knows exactly when he will be given food again. The animal's body will eventually adapt to such a schedule, and the pet will learn to use food rationally.
• Guinea pigs are among those pets who are not able to estimate the amount of food processed. In other words, do not know the sense of proportion. That is why one of the basic rules of feeding is to control the amount of food. On the day, it is worth giving a strictly defined dose of food and not more, even if the animal makes every effort to understand that he wants more. Overfed individuals are often obese, which can lead to problems of the cardiovascular system.
• Another important rule in feeding a guinea pig is that food should be varied and change from time to time. This applies to both fruits, vegetables, and food varieties. However, this does not mean that you should immediately replace any feed with another. New food should be introduced gradually, with the sequential addition to the main diet. If the old feed has ended completely, simply feed the animal a new feed along with the fruits that the pet has eaten before.
• When buying for the animal new types of fruit carefully track the condition of the pet after the feed. If the mumps has vomiting or diarrhea, constipation - this product is definitely not worth adding.
• No need to overdo it with the number of treats on the menu, otherwise the animal may get used to it and refuse other food. Moreover, many of the delicacies are not allowed to be given more often 1 time per week.
• No spoiled, stale or moldy products. (even if cut off in the place of rotting) - only fresh, healthy and high-quality food from reliable suppliers.
• Pet constantly must have access to a water source. It should be clean, food, hay or animal excrement should not float in it. To achieve this, you should buy special drinkers for the cage that the animal cannot just pollute. Water is changed regularly, every day before serving food. During the warm period (spring, summer) the animal will consume much more water than in winter. In winter, the necessary part of the moisture pig receives from fruits, vegetables and herbs.
• Always make sure to keep the feeders or containers for food clean and washed. Apply food only in washed and rubbed containers, otherwise the animal may accidentally eat food that has already deteriorated.
• Before including in the diet of a new fruit or vegetable It is advisable to consult with a veterinarian. And even better, if the veterinarian has already examined your guinea pig and knows what it can and cannot do.
• Diversity is good, but you must remember the harmony between vegetables and fruits.. You should not add to the diet, for example, together with Bulgarian pepper and banana, it can cause diarrhea in an animal.
• Completely refuse to feed the guinea pig with any pickled, salted, fried or boiled foods. The same applies to ordinary human food from the table. All these products contain a huge amount of elements harmful to the body of the guinea pig.
• One of the most important rules is - not a single day without feed.. The digestive system of this animal is designed to constantly recycle food. If there is no load on the gastrointestinal tract within 18-20 hours, the animal will almost certainly die.

Most of the diseases of the guinea pig is associated with the selection of the correct diet, and here we are talking not only about the right products, but also about the regularity of the feed. Inexperienced breeders often face the problem of obesity of their pet. Sometimes this happens because of the banal overeating and the owner’s desire to pamper the guinea pig with various goodies. As a result, the pet will suffer either from obesity and gastrointestinal diseases, or from a strict diet necessary to restore balance in the digestive system.

If the owner prefers to feed his pet grain or granulated food, then the frequency of such feeding should be reduced to 2 meals per day.

As for the number of grains in one serving, it should be at least ½ tablespoon. Food is placed in the feeder, where it remains until the animal eats it all. You should not immediately clean it, these animals are prone to postponing food for a rainy day, so they can finish the remains a bit later. The advantage of such food is that it does not spoil, and therefore is safer for the guinea pig than juicy and fresh products.

The composition of this feed should also include small slices of fruit and vegetables. If we talk about apples or carrots, then it should be ½ spoons of grain, plus a small circle of carrots (up to 20 grams in weight). You can make an approximate schedule: During the daytime, you give your animal a juicy and fresh food in the form of fruits and vegetables, and in the evening add grains and cereals to the ration.

Dry feeding is more often used in the nutrition of young, active and not yet mature guinea pigs - it is easier for their bodies to process cereals and grains, and the digestive system should get used to solid foods in advance. If we are talking about sedentary individuals, then it is necessary to reduce such feeding to a minimum and give priority to food with fiber. The same applies to the diet of adults or older individuals.

Adults, as well as during cold periods, when there is a lack of vitamins and nutrients, it is recommended to include in the diet just juicy food. The regularity of food in this case should be at least twice a day, at the same time, the menu should not remain static - try to supplement it with other fruits and vegetables whenever possible.

The volume of such food is better to adhere to the following scheme - the rate for the average individual is 20-30% by weight of the animal. In this case, if your mumps weighs, for example, 800 grams, the fruits and vegetables in the feed should be at least 160-200 grams.

At the time of pregnancy or lactation, the body of a guinea pig is in an extremely vulnerable position.

This is especially true of lactating females with calves. During this period, discard a large amount of dry food. For them, more suitable fresh, green and the most juicy food. Feeding parsley, seeds and sage during such periods is better to reduce to zero.

The fact is that the body of guinea pigs does not contain a special enzyme I-gluconolactone oxidase, which is involved in the synthesis of vitamin C from glucose. It is because of this circumstance that your pet is unable to obtain this incredibly valuable vitamin from regular food. Your task throughout the animal's life is to regularly provide it with ascorbic acid.

With a lack of vitamin C in the body of an adult individual, the following pathologies may occur (most often manifested as symptoms of scurvy):

• slow motion, visual lameness (although the animal did not fall), decrease in activity;
• lack of appetite, external lethargy and indifference to what is happening;
• diarrhea, swollen joints;
• under the skin and in the secretions there is blood;
• bleeding and loose teeth;
• the animal looks disheveled, the wool is crumpled, it may even fall out.

In the summer, the diet should be replenished with plenty of fresh greens, plants, leaves and stems, not to mention fresh vegetables and fruits. Most of these fruits contain ascorbic acid. As to the cold winter period, it is necessary to gradually add synthetic ascorbic acid to the diet. Pregnant females, elderly individuals and young animals need an increased dose of vitamins, as well as an increased amount of food.

For an adult, you need at least 15 mg of vitamin C per kilogram of body weight per day; for pregnant women and young animals, you should be given approximately 40-45 mg per pound of weight every day.

The greatest amount of vitamin C is found in the following vegetables, plants and fruits: tomatoes, broccoli, apples, nettle, burdock, as well as raspberry and currant branches (always with leaves), dandelion, basil, mint, parsley, cabbage, kiwi. Do not forget that many of these plants should be given in strictly limited quantities.

Almost all of the listed fruits and vegetables can be found in open access in the summer and autumn, which is why we should give preference to these products in the summer, rather than synthetic vitamins.

Be careful when choosing a place to collect all the necessary herbs (in case you do not trust the herbs from pet stores). Try to select areas away from factories, roads and industrial plants for their collection. The greatest danger is in the grass collected in parks and city lawns. Typically, these plants are treated with harmful chemicals from parasites, which, among other things, will negatively affect your pet.

There are only two problems in such capsules:

• you will not recognize their composition due to the fact that the mixture is not uniform, it is impossible to determine the composition, as well as to identify the presence of sawdust and dust that sellers like to add to capsules;
• capsules are designed for long-term use, they can be stored for a long time in one particular place, and ascorbic acid, after 3 months from the moment of production, begins to gradually break down and lose its beneficial properties.

When buying ready-made feed mixtures should always check the date of their production.To keep the food fresh and not spoiled, it should be stored in a dark, dry place with a low humidity level. It is in such conditions that ascorbic acid will slow down the processes of decomposition.

There are a number of products, the use of which affects the health and well-being of the guinea pig most favorably. With a balanced and varied diet, your animal will always remain healthy, active and cheerful.

In their natural habitat, guinea pigs are especially herbivorous, and therefore, as already mentioned, the main part of their diet is food of plant origin.

She is a finished or own prepared mixtures of cereals / legumes, seeds, capsules from plants, as well as dried fruits.

Depending on the quality and cost of the feed, it may contain many nutrients, including broccoli, wheat, peas, granules, millet, oats, and some dried fruits. All these vegetables and plants are incredibly useful, and in dried form, in addition they help the animal in grinding off the incisors.

Such feed can be purchased at pet stores or cook yourself. In the latter case, you will be confident in the composition of the feed. However, it is worthwhile to monitor the balance of such feed and the content of protein, fat, carbohydrates and fiber appropriate for your animal.

It is an indispensable element of the food of any rodent, including the guinea pig. It provides the animal with a rich source of fiber, essential for the healthy functioning of the digestive system. In addition, hay is often used as a flooring in the home of pets.

Ensure that there is always a small amount of hay in the cage. Remove spoiled, rotten or dirty hay immediately, otherwise the animal may simply be poisoned. When buying hay, make sure that it is fresh, dry, without areas affected by mold and fungi. Moreover, a pleasant grassy smell must be present. Also, make sure that there are no thorns and parts of the plant in the hay that can harm the mouth or intestines of the animal.

Even if you are sure that the grass you collected (when harvesting hay yourself) is useful and there are no dangerous plants there, you should look at it again at home.

It is recommended to buy purchased hay in a microwave or oven on average power for no longer than 1-2 minutes, so you exclude the presence of harmful parasites and bacteria.

The most useful for guinea pigs is hay from legumes, as well as from alfalfa and some cereals. This applies to dried stalks of plants such as nettle, plantain, burdock.

This is in the first place grass, some species of garden and meadow plants. To influence the diet more favorable, all food of this type should be extremely fresh, without musty, rotten or spoiled food.

As a rule, these plants contain a huge amount of fiber. In spring and summer, it is easy to gather burdock, dandelion, nettle, wormwood, clover, sage outside the house.

This includes some fruits, vegetables, and berries, which contain a large amount of ascorbic acid and other nutrients.

This can be attributed as some types of berries as well as nuts, dried fruits, raspberry and currant twigs. They should be included in the diet. from time to time, and not to be there constantly. It is not necessary to oversaturate the weak organism of guinea pigs with large amounts of the same wild rose or viburnum, it will not cause anything but diarrhea.

The branches of trees and shrubs are best given in summer, in dry form they will be useless for guinea pigs. Refuse to feed the animal with branches of coniferous trees, the same applies to oak branches.

Eating vegetables and vegetable feed is extremely important for guinea pigs. From them they get the necessary vitamins, fiber, provide the body with vitamin C - an essential component for the life of a guinea pig.

Of the vegetables in the first place are, of course, fresh cucumbers, carrots and fennel, squash and pumpkin, turnips, celery (tubers) and beets, leaves of Peking cabbage. Almost each of these vegetables can be given to an animal every day, but do not forget to supplement the diet with new elements. It is forbidden to feed the pigs with the same product for a long time.

Guinea pigs are very fond of dill, lettuce, young corn (cobs). Also refer to the greens and tops of carrots, celery and beets.

These products are good for their juiciness, high content of natural fructose. However, giving them too often is not worth it - no more than 3-4 times a week.

The most harmless fruit for pigs will be apples, grapes (always seedless), pears, plums.

The berries also contain a large amount of fructose and beneficial vitamins. These are currants, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries, cherries and cherries (try to get rid of the seeds in advance so that the animal does not accidentally choke).

Nuts and some seeds contain a huge amount of fat, which is useful for guinea pigs only in strictly limited quantities - no more than 2 nuts once a week. You can add them in powdered form to dry food, then the animal is more likely to eat them.

Walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds will be useful for guinea pigs. Be sure to buy nuts for animals. Those sold in kiosks are usually heavily processed with chemicals and are not suitable for guinea pigs.

Flax seeds are best for gilts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, dill and sesame seeds will be useful in limited quantities.

In terms of nutrition, the fragile body of guinea pigs is a real gourmet, besides, these animals are exclusively herbivores, therefore their diet should include predominantly plant foods.

In limited quantities with moderate regularity, it is permissible to give them tomatoes, colored and white cabbage, Jerusalem artichoke, rutabaga, artichoke, bell pepper.

You can not give even in minimal quantities any kind of potato (fresh, sprouted, boiled), onions in any form, radish and radish, horseradish, eggplant, garlic. As you can see, all the listed vegetables have high acidity, which the animal's body will not be able to process.

In their natural environment, the ancestors of guinea pigs did not eat fruit, their constitution did not allow it, therefore the body of a guinea pig is not adapted to them. In limited quantities with moderate regularity, it is permissible to give pigs bananas, melons, kiwi, pineapple, apricots, peaches, including dried fruits.

You can not give even in minimal quantities lemons, avocados, grapefruits, lime, pomegranate, dates, persimmon. In the same avocado contains a huge amount of fat, and lemon is too high level of acidity, even for humans. It is worth noting that Some types of fruits are better absorbed in the form of dried fruits.

If we talk about berries in the diet, they are used either as a delicacy or as a fortified food supplement. In most cases, medicinal berries are added to the diet no more than once a week.

In limited quantities with moderate regularity, it is permissible to give gooseberries, blackberries, cranberries, mountain ash, sea buckthorn. A limited amount in this case is not more than 1 berry 1-2 times a week.

Greens need to be included in the hay for your guinea pig. It is not uncommon for harmful and even poisonous plants to fall into the composition of hay along with useful and nutritious grass. It is necessary to understand the list of plants, the least useful or deadly for the guinea pig.

In limited quantities with medium regularity, it is permissible to give her parsley, dandelion, spinach, St. John's wort, Ivan-tea, cilantro, wormwood, and coltsfoot. All these plants contain the minimum vitamins and trace elements necessary for the life of the guinea pig.

You can not give even minimal amounts of sorrel (due to high acidity), meadow and onions (including its feathers), motherwort, valerian, lavender, sow thistle, fern, belladonna, wild rosemary and celandine. If you collect hay yourself, then check it not only for the presence of these plants, but also for their possible inflorescences and lost roots. The best option would be to buy ready-made fresh hay from trusted companies or pet stores.

Other harmful and unacceptable products:

• some legumes (beans, boiled peas), most cereals;
• any dairy products (milk, cheese, cottage cheese), as well as products with meat content;
• many domestic plants are deadly to guinea pigs, and therefore try to prevent the animal from accidentally leaving the cage;
• Also, you can not give eggs in any form;
• foods with a sugar content that is absolutely harmful to all animals, including chocolate, candy, cookies;
• flour and bakery products (bread, bun, bread).

For information on how you can feed a guinea pig, see the following video.