The Right Foods
Feeding your guinea pig the right food is crucial to your guinea pigs
health! When picking food at a pet store, look for Food that is for Guinea Pigs only. A mixed breed bag of food (such as for rabbits, and Guinea Pigs) won't harm them, but guinea pigs don't like other food that can be for multiple rodents. Don't look for the cheapest brand, either. Look for a bag you can afford, and isn't the cheapest. Guinea pigs also need fruits and vegetables to keep in shape. A half handful of veggies and one slice of fruit per day, per pig, will be good because guinea pigs can't produce vitamin C, like humans, and unlike other animals. Vitamin C can be found in oranges, kale, green and red peppers, and strawberries. and guinea pigs seem to have a liking for them. A quarter slice of an orange will be nice for that one slice of fruit per day. You can also buy liquid vitamin C at your local pet store. Another important food item is hay. Wild Guinea Pig's used to spend up to SIX hours a day grazing on grasses and hay, such as timothy hay. Timothy Hay is very good hay and I recommend it. Guinea Pig's need water- obviously- right? So giving your Guinea Pig fresh water daily is also a very important task that you must do.
FOOD WARNINGS! *Please NEVER feed these foods to your Piggy*
-Mushrooms-
-Avocado-
-Iceberg Lettuce-
-Peppers-
-Jams and Jellies-
-Nuts-
-Dairy-
-Meat-
-Junk Food-
Evaluate, and Correct.
Know what to feed your Guinea Pig- and what not. In this paragraph I'll show you what your Guinea Pig may and may not like, along with some basic necessities!
Water- An Obvious necessity. If you feed your Guinea Pig lots of fruits and veggies, then your Piggy will drink less, but if you only feed your Piggy pellets and hay, then water is a definite!
Grass- First, make sure you know your lawn does not have pesticides. Put your Piggies out in their playpen during the Spring or Summer months and let them play! Place them in the shade, so they don't get over-heated. Make sure you have a dark place for them to sit in to keep them cool! Guinea Pigs love to eat grass so if you move the playpen around daily, they'll keep you lawn nice and short- fertilize it, too! 
Hay- Piggies love to eat lots of hay! They play in it, sleep in it, and eat it! Your Guinea Pig won't like straw, so don't try it. Piggies prefer hay over straw any day. Guinea Pigs under 6 months can be given Alfalfa hay, but for older Piggies, it contains too much calcium and can harm them. Give them Timothy Hay. Timothy Hay is very good. Give them Alfalfa Hay once a month for a treat, for protein. They must have hay 24/7.
Vitamin C- Guinea Pigs cannot produce Vitamin C, like humans, as you read in the first paragraph. So Guinea Pigs need to obtain it from their food. Because if they don't, Scurvy is a possibility. Scurvy is a disease caused by low-levels of Vitamin C. So feed your Guinea Pig lots of oranges and other food products with Vitamin C!
Fruits and Veggies- Some fruits are high in Vitamin C, and others are just treats. Give them oranges daily, as they seem to have a liking to them, and are very high in Vitamin C. Everything you give them should be about room temp., including their water. Try giving them a variety of fruits, like strawberries, oranges, seedless melon, apple, banana, peaches, etc. ( Don't Feed citrus in quantities, because they can lead to mouth sores.)
Pellets- Pellets are needed almost all times of the day because they provide lots of IF(I have no clue what that means). NEVER use pellets mixed with seeds, nuts, dried fruits, vegetables, etc. These are usually high in fat, and/ or the Guinea Pig could choke on them.
Prepare it!
Do you know how to prepare your Guinea Pig's food the
correct way? Learn how here!
- Water- Like most people, I use a water bottle. And I recommend it. Be careful, though, because water bottles can leak! Check daily to make sure your bottle is working correctly, dispensing water, and there are no leaks whatsoever. If you detect a leak, you probably should get a new one. Make sure you replace any wet bedding, as this can make them sick. Give your Piggy fresh water, and if you can, try and make it nice and cool. I do not recommend using water bowls because your Guinea Pigs bedding can manage to find its way into their. : )
- Hay- It best to put hay in a hay rack. If you have a C&C cage, you can bend a grid to form a hay rack. If you do not have a C&C cage, then I recommend going out and buying a wire one. You shouldn't be putting hay down on the floor of their cage, because of wet bedding and pee on the ground! : P
- Fruits and Veggies- Fruits and veggies should be placed in a large, plastic bowl. Then, Guinea Pigs can easily eat it out of the bowl, and you can easily dump it. : ) Piggies usually grab food out of their bowls and drag it somewhere else to munch on them, so make sure to grab those "rejects" and throw those out with the rest. Make sure you do, because fruits and veggies can easily rot in your Piggy's cage (As quick as 2 hours!).
A Healthy, balanced meal.
Hey guys! For my 4 Piggies, I give them A LOT of food! Below, is what I give all of them, followed by some treats later in the afternoon. In the picture, there is...
~lettuce
~apples
~cantaloupe
~oranges(for plenty of vitamin C!)
~bananas
~carrots
~cucumbers!
They have had LOTS more different fruits and veggies before, but are not show in this particular pic.
TIP
Here's a Tip to help you become more organized with your pet's food--
When you fill up your guinea pig's food bowl with that bag of food, it can tend to get a little messy.... so an easier way to keep things clean is to store all you food in any large, empty bottle, such as a plastic milk gallon. That way you can pour your Piggy food out easily, and a lot more cleaner!
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