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A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Guinea Pig

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Guinea pig owners around the world are lucky because finding the food supply for your pet guinea pig has never been easier. Pellets can be found at just about any local pet store and fruits and vegetables are abundant in grocery stores. The only problem with inexperienced owners is that they are unsure about appropriate foods, food ratios and feeding procedures that make up a healthy guinea pig diet. In fact, i’ve been asked many times simple questions such as: can guinea pigs eat apples?

A guinea pig’s diet should contain an appropriate balance of hay, fruits and vegetables, pellets and vitamin C. Failure to do so may cause several health problems such as constipation or diarrhea. However, its fortunate that providing a healthy diet is simple to do.

For hay, it seems like the general consensus recommendation is Timothy Hay. This should make up the majority of their diet. And not only do guinea pigs love this hay, but it can be used for multiple purposes. For example, a lot of owners use Timothy hay as bedding for their cage as well. So you can never overbuy, as i’m sure you’ll find many ways to use it. However if you do plan to use this as their bedding, it might be smart to have a hay rack to let your guinea pigs know not to eat the soiled bedding hay.

These little critters absolutely love fruits and vegetables, probably more than anything else. But you must always do your share of research beforehand, otherwise you run the risk of poisoning them. Fruits and vegetables should always be treats or as a complement to hay. Never make this food group the primary food of their diet because it will more than likely lead to diarrhea. But if you do accidentally feed your guinea pig too much, simply decrease their intake of fruits and veggies and increase their intake of Timothy Hay. Timothy Hay is great for their digestive system and does a good job curing a diarrhea problem.

My personal recommendation for pellets are KMS and Oxbow, but of course do your own research first. When looking into pellets, try to find a brand with around 15% fiber, 20% protein and contains Vitamin C. If you opt to go with a brand without vitamin C, just look for tablets and feed them 15mg Vitamin C per day. You can crush up the tablets and add it into their hay rack, or mix it with water and let them drink it. Don’t put the crushed up vitamin C directly in their water bottle because it’ll produce a funky taste after a while and deter them from getting their daily hydration.

Guinea pigs are known to be creatures that rely on habit. If you feed that at a certain time, they will expect to be fed at the same time the next day and so on. If you don’t, you will most likely hear them wheek at you, reminding you that it’s time to eat! And its fine to test out different treats with them, as long as you stick to the same core meal every time.

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  1. Tashia's Avatar
    We love our Guinea Pigs!! Thanks for helping new owners know the steps for optimal feeding of their Piggies.

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