piggy feedback

Post Reply
sozansound2

Post   » Sat Nov 09, 2019 12:27 am


Hey all,

Recently i have recovered from a big invasive surgery that, if not found on time, would ultimately have killed me. My mother had been taking care of my two little ones: Burrito -male and Honey -female. I adopted them and had been in charge of them since. i showed my mother on how to care for them in case for some reason i could not. glad i did :) I was recovering for 6 months in total and back in action.

What lead me to make this is that, for the first time, my male piggy ended up hurting his eye. It was the first time i had to take one of my pigs to the vet for a concern. i had already had my suspicions on how it happened but i didn't want to take any risk. Because of all that happened, i started questioning on my ability to care for them. if i am feeding them enough, how well am i doing it, am i doing something wrong. I have been unable to lift a finger for a while so i feel it was natural for me to think that way. on with the questions.

1. I took a visit to the veggies chart before i adopted my pigs (and other necessary research of course) and choose some rather save things to give. Thing is is i had been giving them these same specific things every day up until i started deteriorating and gone on hiatus. Then my mother took over, She was also giving them the same things as well. Veggies are as follows:
-green/red leaf lettuce (mainly green)(half a leaf for both)
-baby carrots (1 per pig)
-green pepper(very few as i was starting to add it around the time i had to go to the hospital)(my mother did not know about this one)
-1 table spoon of timothy hay pellets
-unlimited timothy hay
-occasional cilantro at times but not as often(only when we would use them to cook we would give them 2 per pig)
-water
I want to give them variety but the more i look at the chart, the more i get concerned. I don't want to accidentally replace one veggie with another and now what i give them for that day is high in calcium. I have looked everywhere to see how much calcium/sodium is too much in grams. Regardless, i feel like i need a road map on things to give as i don't want to cause damage to my pigs in the long run. I did check the example given on what to give but that is based on mostly grass. were i live, grass does not grow allot around here and i do not trust the ones in my backyard as this is an old house i live in. Any suggestions/examples on things to give to mix it up? Any feedback on how i handled in feeding my pigs? is what i currently give high/low in something that anyone is concerned?

2. this is a pellet question. i had always given them timothy hay pellets from smart pet select as it was the most convenient since i also buy timothy hay from them. I was wondering if anyone knows if that is a good pellet source. I had looked at their nutrition facts but it did not give the usual gram amount most nutrition facts would give. only percentage in between and i never had experience with them. their website to see the nutrition facts for their pellets is https://shop.smallpetselect.com/product ... a-pig-food

3 I remember seeing around people saying baby carrots(or carrots in general) are not good to give every day. more every other day due to the sugar it contains. On the chart, it says it is ok to give 1 per pig per day. I have not been able to find any were how much sugar is too much ether. Any insight?

3.5 another carrot question. no matter what carrot you buy, every carrot has vit c? you probably thinking why would i ask this. well the baby carrots i buy does not have vit c listed in the nutrition facts. it does have vit a. i started getting nervous my pigs was not receiving enough vit c. very concerned about this.

i apologies if this is the wrong forum section to post this on.

I appreciate any and all replies as it can help me become a better piggy owner. I am sure my pigs would be very grateful.

Have a good day

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Nov 09, 2019 8:06 am


sozansound2, your topic belongs under Cavy Chat. I will move your thread shortly, but wanted you to be aware that it will be moving, so that you can find it again.

In the meantime, there are a number of links under the Guinea Lynx Care Guide that will help answer some of your questions on diet. You can start here:
https://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html and
https://www.guinealynx.info/pellets.html

On the chart, it says it is ok to give 1 per pig per day
I'm not sure where you read that. Guinea pig nutrition is not an exact science. The key is variety, but also feeding unlimited hay and a fortified pellet to make sure that all nutritional needs are met. Most of us here feed a variety of lettuces along with vegetables that are relatively high in vitamin C and lower in calcium. I personally feed mine green leaf, Boston lettuce, zucchini, celery (strings removed), shredded carrot, 'grape' tomatoes (this is a small tomato that is less acidic than regular tomatoes), a small amount of cucumber, cilantro, all of the bell peppers (green, red, yellow, orange), bits of fresh green bean, corn husks, etc. I rotate the veggies around, so that they get a good mix on any given day.

To help determine how much vitamin C is in various vegetables, you can use the chart at the bottom of this page:
https://www.guinealynx.info/chart.html

User avatar
Catie Cavy
Supporter 2011-2020

Post   » Sat Nov 09, 2019 8:40 am


On the carrot question, I know people do not process the sugar in carrots the same way we process sugar in a candy bar. Part of this is because carrots have fiber and candy bars do not. Carrots also have necessary nutrients. For this reason, dieticians recommend people eat about 1-1/2 servings of fruit a day but they do not recommend 1-1/2 servings of candy. I’m not a dietician but my educated guess is that 1 baby carrot a day is fine.

On the vitamin C, as long as you are feeding green peppers daily, I wouldn't worry about the amount of vitamin C in carrots. They are probably getting enough from the peppers.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Nov 09, 2019 9:51 am


And if you look at the chart page sef posted, you will see that on a per calorie basis, carrots are not high in sugar anyway.
https://www.guinealynx.info/chart.html

We often point people at:
https://www.guinealynx.info/fave.html

sozansound2

Post   » Sat Nov 09, 2019 12:03 pm


That you for the info and suggestions. They help allot more than you think.

I decided to ask about the carrots because there was allot of mixed opinions on them. Just wanted to see what most think about them.

Sorry about the wrong post as well. Noted

User avatar
Renonvsparky

Post   » Tue Nov 12, 2019 11:13 pm


Try carrot greens. Radish greens (only the greens!) And beet greens are pretty good to mix things up. Italian parsley too. I don't give the aforementioned greens to my guinea pigs every single day, but every few days just to give them a variety.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Nov 13, 2019 9:07 am


Just a quick note to say carrot greens are very high in calcium (if that is a problem, do not feed them).

Post Reply