Feeding Guinea Pigs

theghost

I'm looking after 2 guinea pigs for a few days and I need some help.

As instructed, I fill their bowl with guinea pig food every morning (not that it needs very much filling as they seem to eat very little of it) then give them some lettuce. Lunch is half a cucumber sliced up and tea is more lettuce plus some hay and some treats. I know their owners give them lettuce daily, but I'm not sure how much. Both lettuce and cucumber are devoured, as is the hay which I thought was for them to sleep in. Basically, they're getting through a head of lettuce and half a cucumber a day whilst ignoring their dry food.

Four questions:
1) Is it normal for them to eat so much lettuce and cucumber?
2) Is it normal for them to eat hay?
3) Are there any other veg or fruit they can eat?
4) Why have they stopped eating the dry food?

I know these questions are going to sound very silly to those of you who keep guinea pigs but I've never dealt with them before.

mymo

I would go easy on the cucumber and lettuce, I haven't had piggies for years, but we only gave small amounts of those. They like carrots(good tip is to put the tops you cut off for cooking in a saucer of water until they sprout, they love the green bits), apples pears, dandilion leaves(if you can get them somewhere clean and wash well), cabbage, herbs are a great treat, you can google ginea pig care and there's some great sites for advice.
They normally eat lots of hay, but the fruit and veg should be small amounts rather than the bulk of the diet.
Best of luck.

Just found this: https://www.brendaspets.ie/petcare/guinea-pig-care-sheet

Sigma Force

Dont feed them lettuce esp. iceberg romain lettuce is ok but to be honest it has little nutritional value and lettuce should not be fed on a daily basis.
Cucumber is fine but also it has a lot of water and both dont help much with their teeth because they are soft esp. the lettuce. They should be fed well washed (ideal organic) carrot, broccolie the occasional piece of apple, cauliflower.

Dry food should be fed but no cheap stuff something like Burgess (orange bag) is best ideally Burgess Excell. Dont worry if they dont eat much dry food. Hay is vital and should always be available.

There is a ton of info. on my website http://guineapigcottage.webs.com/

Perhaps point the owners in the direction of the website I have tons of info. on guinea pigs basic care etc. on it.

Scuse spelling, on a foreign computer.

theghost

Thanks for your replies. I'll cut out the lettuce and give them carrot and cabbage instead - there's always plenty of both in the house. I had a feeling so much lettuce couldn't be good for them. I'll tell their owners when they pick them up to reserve it for an occasional treat.

Cherry Blossom

Are you dumping the old food in the bowl at all? You don't need to give them more than they will eat. I'd be dumping what was left in it and washing out the bowl every day, sounds a bit like they might be just eating the fresh stuff at the top.

theghost

I've been dumping the old food. I'll just give them small amounts of the dry food from now on. Will also tell their owners to do this

theghost

Just had a text from the guinea pigs owners (my daughter and son-in-law)asking after them. Apparently the lettuce and cucumber was meant only as a treat once a day and they eat all their dried food at home. Those piggies must be laughing up their little sleeves at me. Told them about the carrots and cabbage and they're going to start feeding them these.

Once again, thanks for all your replies and advice

Vojera

Don't give too much cabbage as it can make piggies get a bloated tummy which can be uncomfortable for them (since piggies can't fart!). They do love it though.

You can also try bell peppers, babycorn, sugar snaps etc. Here is a good list explaining what pigs can have.

Stick with the dry food you've been given, changing foods too fast can upset their digestives system, but don't worry too much if they don't eat it all. The hay and daily veg are the most important parts of the diet.

planetX

my guinea-pigs always preferred greenery to fruit and veg - esp dandelion leaves and carrot-tops (they used to eat down the leaves and leave the carrots). I used to give them handfuls of fresh grass - I don't know if that's the correct thing to do, but that's what they eat when they're outside anyway.

theghost

Gave the guinea pigs some carrot today and they seemed to enjoy it. Apparently they have carrot once a week at home but won't eat it if it's given more often. Thanks for the warning about cabbage bloating them - will pass the info on to their owners.

I cut down drastically on their lettuce today (if looks could kill I should by rights have been struck down this morning when I failed to give them any for breakfast) and as a result they've eaten all their dry food. The squeaks of delight when I gave them a little lettuce as a bedtime treat had to be heard to be believed. They're going home tomorrow.