- Image by palindrome6996 via Flickr
New guinea pig owners maybe be afraid to feed their guinea pigs anything besides the seeds from a pet store, but there are actually a variety of foods that you can feed to your pet.
Veggies and Fruits
Guinea pigs can benefit from a diet high in vegetables and fruit. Daily, guinea pigs may eat lettuce, cherry tomatoes, carrots and bell peppers. Seedless grapes and squash are okay to feed your guinea pig a few times a week. Food such as radishes and sweet potatoes can be fed to your pet once or twice a month. Use these two foods sparingly as guinea pigs lack the ability to pass gas.
Banned Foods
The following items can be toxic to guinea pigs. Never feeds these foods to your pet. Dangerous snacks include: apple seeds, holly, baby’s breath and rhubarb.
Hay
Guinea pigs love to munch on hay. You can feed unlimited amounts of hay to your pets. Eating a lot of hay is healthy for their teeth and digestive track. Grass hays are the best type and many brands can be found in any pet store.
How Guinea Pigs Eat
Guinea pigs differ from both humans and other pets such as dogs. Humans typically need three full meals a day and snacks. Dogs can only have a limited amount of food in front of them as they will keep eating even if they are not hungry. Guinea pigs are constant munchers. They never eat full meals, but rather nibble all day long. They will not eat if they are not hungry. It is important to remember that guinea pigs also lack vitamin C. They are born with this deficiency, so it is important to make up for it in their diet. This can be achieved by adding vitamin C drops to their water bottle. Pet stores also sell yogurt dipped snack pellets rich in vitamin C.
