So What Can Guinea Pigs Eat?

Guinea pigs (or cavies because they are known as) are exciting, cute, popular animals for a lot of people. If you're contemplating finding a cavy you'll have to know what their dietary requirements are in order to provide the proper guinea pig care and guinea pig food that these animals need.

Firstly, guinea pigs eat a selection of things - it is possible to not just give them one food type for the whole of their life, they require variety.

Perhaps the most obvious food that they need is grass - all things considered guinea pigs in the wild is likely to be eating this food type for the majority of the time. Lawn has a great deal of fibre in which can be an essential aspect in the guinea piggie's diet since it helps to keep the digestive tract healthier and the colon fully functional. Cavies are grazing animals, like sheep and cows, so in the wild they'd digest lots of grass; this must be replicated in-your pet's diet. Ideally your pig must have the possibility to eat grass every single day, however when the grass is wet, avoid eating it, or only feed it in small amounts, as it may cause some cavies to become ill. Be mindful of where you obtain the grass from, it should be chemical-free (no weedkiller should have been applied around it, on it or near it, or other similar products). The grass should also maybe not be from the area where other animals may have damaged on. Remember this grass can be your pet's food and should be good-quality. When picking lawn check that you have not picked another plants a lengthy with it - as these may be poisonous.

Hay - It is a good alternative to grass in the cold weather when grass may be too wet to give to your guinea pigs. Hay should often be easily available for your pig, through the year, while more should get in replacement of grass. Again, like lawn, hay contains a large amount of fiber and is an important area of the pig's diet. Their pets timothy hay is fed by a lot of owners, since it is soft and is usually grown especially for guinea piggies.

Many guinea pig experts encourage serving some type of dry or supplementary food that has been designed especially for them. This is because it contains a great deal of nutrients, vitamins and minerals that the pet might not get with other foods. It is important that the food given to any guinea pig is especially for cavies, and therefore contains Vitamin C. Unlike other animals, including rabbits, cavies can not make their very own Vitamin C and so have to eat it to acquire enough. If there is a Vitamin C deficiency, the cavy will most likely deal scurvy which in some cases could be fatal. There are lots of various kinds of dried guinea pig foods, both most common being the muesli type and the form. Both have their advantages: Muesli-like dry food gives the pig more variety and many enjoy it more than the pellets, however some pigs will leave a particular part of the muesli food - if this is the case your pet could be missing out on an important vitamin or mineral, so the pellet design food should be given as each pellet is probably to contain all, or most of the vitamins that the muesli variety has.

Fruit and vegetables - vegetables are better for cavies than fruit, as the latter can be too rich and give diarrhea to the guinea pig, Overall. There are of course some fruit and veggies that ought to never get while they could poison and seriously harm your dog. Many owners also say as this again can result in diarrhea, while guinea pig-safe root vegetables (such as carrots) look like great for most guinea piggies when given daily in small amounts), that you ought not supply everyday to vegetables. Many owners be satisfied with feeding their pigs new food about 3, four to five times a week. The new foods directed at your dog shouldn't be the same each time; guinea pigs prefer variety and tend to be more likely to get all the vitamins they require with a wide range of foods. A list of a number of the common safe fresh foods are: carrots, broccoli, cabbage (only in small amounts), cucumber and kiwi (both in small amounts), kale and celery. Cavies also like baby tomatoes and beetroot (although this may spot fur and cause their urine to show a red color ).

Some fresh fruit and vegetables to prevent are: rhubarb, lettuce (even though small levels of Romaine lettuce appear to be OK with most pigs), organic beans, peaches, potatoes, grape and cauliflower. This is because, specially in the event of cauliflower and lettuce, gas production can be caused by these foods in the digestive tract.

Some owners feed small levels of brown bread toast and apple twigs once per month as it could help in keeping along the pig's teeth down.

Created sweet what can guinea pigs eat should be restricted to special occasions. Why not take to natural treats including dandelion leaves (not the flowers) and small portions of carrots? Many cavies will probably recognize these treats far more compared to sugary ones.

More information is available here.

You must always make sure your guinea piggie features a abundant supply of fresh water available.

Remember you should never feed your guinea pig meat as they are 100% vegetarians and have to be given the correct guinea pig food to be healthy cavies.