Guinea Pig Diets

Guinea pigs are herbivores. They develop food preferences very early on life and do not like change in food types, appearance or presentation easily.

Guinea pigs loves routine with their diet and you should strive to keep the same routine as much as possible. If you are planning to change their diet you should tread carefully and do it gradually.

The most important aspect of a diet for guinea pigs is their requirement of Vitamin C. Apart from satisfying their Vitamin C requirement the only other major requirement is tons of hay.

Hay is critical to help guinea pigs to help wear down their continuously growing teeth and helping with their digestive system by keeping bacteria in their intestinal tract that ferments in healthy food.

Most guinea pigs will eat a variety of food through their lifetime from fruits, vegetables and high-fiber grasses. As a pet, guinea pigs will likely be fed pellets and dry guinea pig mix to help with their diet.

What Should I be Feeding my Guinea Pig?

The preferred basic diet for guinea pigs is to have tons of low-calcium hay, or Timothy, supplemented with small amounts of high-fiber Timothy-hay based pellets. You should try to give your guinea pig Vitamin C supplements every day, at least 10mg.

You can give your guinea pig Vitamin C through foods like fruits or vitamin supplements. You can find Vitamin C in basically every fruit and leafy green vegetable. Some good vegetables for guinea pigs are bell peppers, broccoli and asparagus.

You should limit their fruit intake as fruit typically contains high amount of sugar. Sugar can lead to an imbalance of bacteria in their system as well as weight gain. Too much sugar can lead to life-threatening diarrhea. Some good vegetables for guinea pigs are bananas, tomatoes and apples.

You should be giving your guinea pig clean water every day and as much as they need. You should look for a water bottle with sippers and avoid water bowls or dishes.