How to feed Guinea Pigs
HAY
Guinea pigs should be fed a diet of fresh Meadow Hay or similar. Hay should be 80% of their daily diet. As grazing animals, they need to eat all day and enough should be provided to satisfy their needs.
It is vital for good gut and general health and to keep the all-important grinding back teeth ground down evenly. Too much fresh feed can cause digestive problems, but hay is the one food group you really can't do without, even in unlimited amounts. Be careful that the hay is not too dusty and there is no mold.
FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES AND QUALITY PELLETS
Fresh vegetables and good quality pellets should make up the remaining 20% of the daily diet. Green vegetables ought to be provided daily, like cabbage and Cos Lettuce. There are many vegetables that are good for guinea pigs to eat, and I recommend researching the best ones for you to give. Get rid of any decaying food after a couple of hours or so. Leaving them in the cage is a frequent cause of diarrhoea.
Please remember that your guinea pig’s food supply should NOT be mainly vegetables, but they do need veges daily.
As fruit holds a lot of sugars and acids it is best to feed as a treat, say once a week. Foods high in calcium can lead to the formation of bladder stones.
As for pellets you may want to consider vitamin C-fortified pellets. However, any good quality pellets with no seeds, muesli or dried fruit should suffice. We use Topflite Super Premium Rabbit and Guinea Pig Nuggets, this is a high-quality New Zealand made pellet that is high in fibre and fortified with vitamins A, D, C and E, as well as natural antioxidants and prebiotics. Introducing new pellets to a guinea pig should be done slowly over two weeks.
GRASS
Fresh wet grass that has not been sprayed with chemicals is one of the best green foods for guinea pigs and counts as a vegetable. Fresh grass varies in quality over the course of a year, especially in its water and nutrient content.
Introduce fresh grass gradually on an unaccustomed gut. Never feed grass trimmings from a lawnmower, this is due to the fact that other wild plants such as buttercup which is poisonous may be mixed into the ordinary grass, contaminating it.
What most people are not aware of is that fresh growing grass is actually high in vitamin C and fibre and has other nutrients.
Tintola Bettie was a beautiful pet sow who lived to be over 12 years old, which is very rare for a Guinea Pig to live that long. She was from our own breeding but never bred with. She won Best Pet in Show at Taranaki Cavy Group many years ago.
Guinea Pig Facts
Guinea pigs are social companion animals that require daily interaction. They communicate by making various sounds that have different meanings and "popcorn," or jumping in the air, when happy.
The average lifespan is 4 - 7 years, but it is not unheard of that they can live longer.
Chew on objects to maintain all their teeth, which grow continuously.
Guinea pigs need their nails clipped about every two months.
Guinea Pigs start being sexually mature at about the age of 8 weeks, so it is a good idea to separate male and female babies before then. We take baby boars away from mother and sisters when fully weaned at 4 weeks old, as we have done for over 30 years with no issues.
Breeding Guinea Pigs should start at 6 months old and be over 600g in body weight. Female Guinea Pigs should have her first litter before she is 1 year old for health reasons, otherwise she should never be mated with.
The average breeding life of a sow is usually 3 years, depending upon how frequently she is bred, and how fat she is allowed to become or how small of a cavy she is. Sows who are bred constantly will not have a long reproductive life. You should give sows a good break of a few months between litters, if you must breed them.
We recommend the following websites:
Topflite We use Super Premium Rabbit and Guinea Pig Nuggets, but they do have other varieties, and they are made in NZ!
Harringtons We used this years ago. If you are after a more affordable Guinea Pig pellet containing some Vitamin C, we recommend this product from the UK.
Happy Cavy has a food list that you could follow with lots of great advice.
Independent Cavy Clubs has a good Cavy Care section to read and more useful facts. Find cavy clubs across NZ.
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