Buying guide for Best guinea pig food
Inexperienced guinea pig owners often grab the first pack of guinea pig food they find at the pet store and stick with it but feeding your pets a balanced diet requires more care and attention than that. The correct diet will help your guinea pigs live longer and healthier lives, so doing your research is a must. These fluffy little herbivores require a delicate balance of plant-based nutrients that some commercial guinea pig foods don't deliver.
It's important to choose the right food for guinea pigs, also called cavies. Although muesli foods are common, they aren't the best choice for most guinea pigs. Instead, what they need is a combination of grass hay and pellets, plus a range of fresh vegetables and some fresh fruit. It's vital that any commercial food be fortified with the correct vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C.
Key considerations
Types
You'll find two main types of guinea pig food on the market: pellets and muesli. We go over them more below, but for the most part, mueslis are best avoided. Your guinea pigs also need an adequate supply of grass hay.
Pellets: These guinea pig foods consist of uniform pieces, all of which contain the same ingredients and have the same balance of nutrients. This is important because your guinea pigs should receive the same balance of nutrients whether they eat the whole bowl or leave half. These foods are generally made from a mix of hay, grains, and legumes and are fortified with all the vitamins and minerals your guinea pigs need. These pellets might seem boring, but you should also be feeding your cavies a range of fresh vegetables and fruits.
Muesli: These guinea pig foods include a mixture of pellets, corn flakes, pieces of dried fruits and vegetables, dried legumes, and other similar morsels. Although these types of foods might look varied and interesting, they aren't the best choice for most guinea pigs. Most cavies will eat their favorite bits and avoid the rest. Since their favorite pieces tend to be fruits, vegetables, and flaked grains rather than the fortified pellets, many guinea pigs end up not getting all the nutrients they need.
Grass hay: In addition to pellet food, guinea pigs need a large supply of grass hay, such as timothy hay, orchard hay, or meadow hay. Alfalfa hay and legume hay should be avoided for day-to-day feeding because they're too high in protein and calcium. Hay is extremely important for your guinea pigs’ digestion and should make up about 80% of their diet. Always buy your hay from a reputable supplier and choose second- or third-cut hay over first-cut hay, which contains too many stems and seeds and is a little tough for most guinea pigs. Make sure to feed hay in a feeder rather than putting it on the floor of the cage to avoid soiling.
Nutrients
It’s vital that you choose a guinea pig food that contains the correct balance of nutrients for healthy cavies. Check the guaranteed analysis. A quality guinea pig food should contain between 12% and 16% crude fiber, 18% and 20% crude protein, and 2% and 5% fat.
Also, pay attention to the vitamin C content. Guinea pigs can't produce vitamin C, so they must consume between 30 and 50 milligrams of vitamin C daily. Ideally, a decent chunk of this should come from their pellet food, but some of it can come from fresh food too. Foods rich in vitamin C to feed your guinea pig include bell peppers, asparagus, squash, and zucchini. Broccoli, kale, cabbage, and other cruciferous vegetables contain vitamin C in significant amounts but should only be fed around once a week.
Did You Know?
Guinea pigs need a constant supply of roughage to chew on to keep their teeth worn down and prevent serious dental issues.
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Features
Quantity
When buying guinea pig food, you need to consider what size package to buy. Most owners buy small to medium packs of food containing around 1 to 5 pounds, which is perfect for a pair or small group of cavies. You can, however, buy bulk bags of 25 pounds or more, which is cheaper if you have a large number of guinea pigs in your care.
Fortification
We've talked a little about vitamin C, but guinea pig food should be fortified with a range of other vitamins and minerals to make sure your cavies are getting everything they need from their diet. We'd recommend checking the package, but if you choose a quality food, it should be adequately fortified.
Did You Know?
Guinea pigs are highly social animals and should always be kept either in pairs or small groups.
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Guinea pig food prices
Inexpensive: Small packs of guinea pig food generally cost around $5 to $10.
Mid-range: Expect to pay around $10 to $20 for a medium package of quality guinea pig food or grass hay.
Expensive: If you choose to buy guinea pig food in bulk, you can pay anywhere from $20 to $50. This usually costs significantly less per pound than smaller packs of food, so it's a great choice if you have a large guinea pig family.
Did You Know?
If you're switching your guinea pigs from muesli to pellet food, they may seem less keen at first, but they'll soon get used to it. You should also feed a range of fresh foods, which will add some variety back into their diet.
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Tips
- Keep a good supply of food on hand. Guinea pigs should have a constant and unlimited supply of hay, along with around 1/8 cup of dry food and 1 cup of fresh food per animal per day.
- Make sure your pets always have access to water. You can supply this in a bowl or in a small animal water bottle if they tend to knock over the water or contaminate it.
- Avoid commercial guinea pig treats. These tend to be stuffed with poor-quality ingredients. Your guinea pigs will be happy with fresh fruit or veg as a treat.
- Switch to new foods gradually. To avoid upset stomachs, switch your guinea pigs to new food over the course of about a week, gradually decreasing the amount of old food each day and replacing it with more of the new food.
FAQ
Q. Can my guinea pigs eat anything other than commercial food?
A. Yes, guinea pigs can and should eat a range of fresh fruits and vegetables alongside their commercial food and hay. Guinea pigs love most fruits, such as berries and apples, but these should only be fed as an occasional treat due to the high sugar content in fruit. Vegetables should make up the bulk of their fresh food diet. Leafy greens and lettuce are great. Just avoid iceberg and similar types of lettuce because it can cause digestive issues. Almost all vegetables are safe for guinea pigs to eat, including zucchini, cucumber, carrots, and bell peppers.
Q. My guinea pigs eat their own poo. Is this normal?
A. It might seem gross to us humans, but it's perfectly natural and normal for guinea pigs to eat their own poo. They actually produce two types of feces: caecotrophs and the hard, dry pellets that you clean out of their habitat. The former is soft and still contains undigested nutrients, so guinea pigs eat them (usually straight out of their own behind) to gain more nutrients from them.
Q. Are there any foods that I shouldn't feed my guinea pig?
A. It should go without saying that any foods other than hay, commercial food, fruit, and vegetables are off the menu. You certainly shouldn't be feeding your guinea pig any unhealthy human foods like cookies or chips. Although guinea pigs can graze on fresh grass and eat quality grass hay, you should never feed them clippings from your lawnmower. Iceberg lettuce and other light lettuces can lead to diarrhea in guinea pigs, so these are best fed sparingly or avoided altogether. Rhubarb leaves and stalks are poisonous to guinea pigs, so never feed those. Cabbage, broccoli, and other cruciferous vegetables can cause excess gas to build up and lead to bloat, so only give small amounts of these to your pet. Nuts and seeds are too high in fat for guinea pigs, and any alliums, such as onions and garlic, are toxic to cavies. If in doubt about a particular food, look it up or consult a knowledgeable small animal vet.
