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FOOD AND DRINK

Guinea pigs are designed to eat! They are experts at it! In fact they do little else!

As rodents, it is essential that they keep their evergrowing teeth in check by eating plenty of very high fibre foods that take a lot of chewing. It is also essential that they have a daily intake of vitamin C. Like us, they cannot manufacture their own and a diet deficient in it leads to severe health problems and ultimately a very painful and unpleasant death.

The vital components of a guinea pig's diet are:

Most commercially available guinea pig foods contain at least the basic nutirtional requirements, but they don't all contain sufficient fibre or vitamin C and some contain harmful artificial ingredients, such as colourants and preservatives.

At Cavy Haven we feed and strongly recommend 'Burgess Excel Guinea Pig Nuggets'. This is a pelleted complete food containing high levels of fibre and protected vitamin C. It also contains prebiotics which are beneficial in keeping the gut flora in good order. The all-in-one pellets prevent selective feeding and therefore ensure a fully balanced diet.

We changed over to this brand of food in 2002 and have found a vast improvement in our guinea pigs' health and vitality ever since. we have had no occurences of liver or kidney problems* and almost no incidents of intestinal upsets such as bloat or diarrhoea.
*Previously, we had been feeding another market leading mixture food, and although the animals liked it, they almost all had a tendency to pick our their favourite bits and leave the rest - thus not getting a fully balanced diet. We also experienced quite a few cases of kidney and / or liver disease - we now know that this can be caused by the artificial colourants used in these colourful foods!

We also ensure that our animals always have an abundant supply of fresh clean hay, plus fresh water in regularly cleaned bottles, and a generous daily portion of a variety of vegetables and fruits. We also feed a daily generous handful of 'Graze-On'. This is one of the brands of pure dried grass. Another brand which also comes in large bales is 'Readigrass'. If you prefer smaller quantities, then Burgess Excel Forage and/or Burgess Excel Herbage is available from most pet shops in 1kg compressed bags. See our Links page for their website.

In the warmer drier weather of course we put our piggies out in a run to mow the lawn for themselves, but in wetter seasons this is not possible so the dried grass is the next best thing

Guinea pigs should not be fed on rabbit food as it does not contain sufficient vitamin C - if any.

AROUND THE GARDEN

A lot of garden plants are harmful to guinea pigs - especially those that grow from a bulb so be very careful to ensure that your pets can't nibble at your flower beds. Daisies and buttercups are bad too so, if your lawn has a lot of them on it then it is a good idea to get rid of them before letting your piggies feast.

However, grass, clover, goundsel, and dandelions are especially relished along with strawberry and rasperry leaves. Sow Thistle and Shepherd's Purse are among a few wild plants that are good for guinea pigs.

As a general safety rule - if in doubt - don't feed it! There is a very extensive range of fresh foods that are safe to feed so there is no need to take risks.

It is not a good idea to pick grasses, dandelions etc from the roadside where they will be covered in exhaust fumes & road debris, or from alongside or in farmers' fields where they may have been exposed to chemical fertilisers, pesticides etc.

HAY

It is imperative that guinea pigs have ready access to a good supply of fresh clean dry hay to eat at all times. This will be be eaten in surprisingly large quantities. The very best option is to buy imported hay (eg. Oxbow Western Timothy Hay) because it is heat treated before import which destroys all microscopic undesirables such as parasites and fungal spores. British hay is not treated in this way and, because of its very nature and where it is grown, it will almost certainly contain high levels of microscopic contamination of this kind. Domestic guinea pigs are extremely prone to fungal infections and to infestations of mites - aquired from their hay.