Guinea pigs are large quantities for the quality and number of food provided. In addition, many fruits, vegetables and plants are not at all suitable for the full nutrition of this animal. In this article we will talk about what you can and what you can not feed the guinea pig, as well as consider the peculiarities of feeding these pets at home.
General rules for feeding
A competent diet of the guinea pig affects not only its livelihood, but also for the general condition, mood, activity of your pet. Nutrition should be not only nutritious, complete trace elements and vitamins, but also balanced.
Below you will be able to familiarize yourself with the list of guidelines for the preparation of a guinea pig.
- The main rule is systematic and timeliness. Highlight a certain time in the afternoon in which you have the ability to feed your pet. It is necessary so that he is accustomed to the time frame and knew when it was him that food will be given again. An animal organism with time is adjusted for such a schedule, and the pet will learn how to use food rationally.
- Guinea pigs belong to those pets that are not able to estimate the number of food treated. In other words, do not know the feelings of measure. That is why one of the basic rules of feeding is to control the number of products. On a day it is worth giving a strictly defined dose of feed and no more, even if the animal gives it all forces to understand what else wants. Personal individuals often suffer from obesity, which can lead to the problems of the cardiovascular system.
- Another important rules in feeding the guinea pig is that Food must be diverse and change from time to time. . It concerns both fruits, vegetables and feed varieties. However, this does not mean that it should be immediately replaced by some kind of food to others. New food should be administered gradually, with consistent addition to the main diet. If the old feed ended in full, just give the animal to the new feed along with those fruits that the pet has already eaten before.
- When buying for animal new types of fruit carefully Make a pet after feed. If the pig has vomiting or diarrhea, constipation - this product is not worth added.
- No need to overdo with the number of treats in the menu, Otherwise, the animal can get used to them and refuse other food. Moreover, many of the delicacies are not allowed to give more often 1 time per week.
- No spoiled, shredded or mold-covered products (Let even cut in the place of rotting) - only fresh, healthy and high-quality food from proven suppliers.
- A pet must always have access to a water source. It should be clean, it should not swim food, hay or excrement of the animal. To achieve this, you should buy special drinkers for the cell, which the animal will not be able to just pollute. Water change regularly, every day before feeding food. In the warm period (spring, summer), the animal will use much more water than in winter. In winter, the required part of the moisture of the pig is obtained from fruits, vegetables and greens.
- Always watch To feed feeders or food tanks were clean and washed. Out the food only in washed and rubbed containers, otherwise the animal may accidentally eat already spoiled food.
- Before inclusion in the diet of a new fruit or vegetable It is advisable to consult with the veterinarian. And even better, if the veterinarian has already examined your guinea pig and knows that she can, and what is impossible.
- Variety is good, but you must remember the harmony between vegetables and fruits . You should not add to the diet, for example, Bulgarian pepper and banana, it can cause diarrhea in an animal.
- Fully refuse feeding the guinea pig by any marinated, salty, fried or boiled products. The same applies to ordinary human food from the table. All these foods contain a huge amount of elements harmful to the body.
- One of the most important rules sounds so - not a single day without feed . The digestive system of this animal is arranged so as to constantly process food. If the load on the ghisp should not be provided within 18-20 hours - the animal will almost certainly die.
How many times a day give food?
Most of the diseases of the guinea pig are associated with the selection of the correct diet, and here it is not only about correctly selected products, but also on the regularity of feed feed. Inexperienced breeders are often faced with the problem of obesity of their pet. Sometimes it happens because of the banal overeating and the desire for the owner to pamper a guinea pig. As a result, the pet will suffer either from obesity and gastrointestinal diseases, or from a rigid diet necessary to restore the balance in the digestive system.
If the owner prefers feed his pet with grain or granulated feed, then The frequency of such feeding should be reduced to 2 meals per day.
Such regularity is suitable for adult individuals with a formulated digestion system, young individuals should be breeding more often.
That up to the amount of grains in one portion, it should be at least a ½ tablespoon. Food is placed in the feeder, where it remains until the animal does not eat it all. You should not immediately remove it, these animals are prone to postponement of food on a "black day", so they can do remnants a little later. Plus such a meal is that it does not deteriorate, and therefore safer for guinea pigs than juicy and fresh products.
The composition of such food should also include small slices of fruit and vegetables. If we talk about apples or carrots, then it must be ½ spoons of grain plus a small carrot circle (up to 20 grams weighing). You can create an approximate schedule: In the afternoon, you give animal juicy and fresh food in the form of fruits and vegetables, and in the evening, put the grain and cereals into the diet.
Dry feeding is more often used in the nutrition of young, active and not yet faster guinea pigs - their body is easier to recycle cereals and grains, and the digestive system should get used to solid food in advance. If we are talking about sedentary individuals, it is worth bringing such feeding to a minimum and give the priority to food with fiber. The same applies to both the diet of adults or older individuals.
For a weakened organism, it can be difficult to process only dry feed. In addition, such food and absence of mobility is a sure sign of obesity.
Adult features, as well as in cold periods, when there is a lack of vitamins and nutritional elements, it is recommended to include juicy food in the diet. Regularity in this case should be at least twice a day, At the same time, the menu should not remain static - try to supplement it with other fruits and vegetables if possible.
In volumes, such food is better to adhere to the following scheme - The norm for the middle individual is 20-30% of the mass of the animal. In this case, if your pigs weigh, for example, 800 grams, fruits and vegetables in the feed should be at least 160-200 grams.
At the time of pregnancy or lactation, the body of the guinea pig is in an extremely vulnerable position.
The regularity of food supply should not be changed so that the animal does not lose a lunch and dinner schedule, but the dosage should be increased twice.
This is especially true of nursing females with young. During this period, give up a large amount of dry food. For them, fresh, green and maximum juicy food is suitable. Feeding with parsley, seeds and sage at such periods is better reduced to zero.
Vitamins and Minerals
The fact is that in the body of guinea pigs does not contain a special enzyme I-glucconolactone oxidase, which is involved in the synthesis of vitamin C from glucose. It is because of this circumstance, your pet is not able to get this incredibly valuable vitamin from ordinary food. Your task throughout the life of the animal is to regularly provide its ascorbic acid.
With a lack of vitamin C in the body of an adult, the following pathologies may occur (most often manifest as symptoms of zing):
- Movement of movements, visual lameness (although the animal has not fallen), reducing activity;
- lack of appetite, external lethargy and indifference to what is happening;
- diarrhea, swelling of the joints;
- under the skin and in the discharge presents blood;
- bleeding and drop-down teeth;
- An animal looks out, wool crumple, may even fall out.
Ignoring each of these symptoms can lead to the death of your pet.
In the summer, the diet should be replenished with a large number of fresh greenery, plants, leaves and stems, not to mention fresh vegetables and fruits. Most of these fruits contain ascorbic acid. As to the cold winter period, it is necessary to gradually add synthetic ascorbic acid to the diet. Pregnant females, elderly individuals and young people need a magnified dose of vitamins, as in the increased amount of feed.
For an adult individual, at least 15 mg of vitamin C per kilogram of weight daily, for pregnant women and young should be given by about 40-45 mg per kilogram of weight also every day.
The largest amount of vitamin C is contained in the following vegetables, plants and fruits: tomatoes, broccoli, apples, nettle, burdock, as well as branches of raspberries and currant (necessarily with leaves), dandelion, basil, mint, parsley, cabbage, kiwi. Do not forget that many of these plants should be given in strictly limited quantities.
Almost all of the listed vegetables and fruits can be found in publicly available in summer and autumn time, which is why it is necessary to give preference to these products in the summer, rather than synthetic vitamins.
Carefully treat the choice of space to collect all the necessary herbs (in case you do not trust herbs from pet stores). Try to choose distant from factories, roads and industrial enterprises of the zone for their collection. The greatest danger is in the grass collected in parks and from city lawns. Typically, such plants are treated with harmful chemicals from parasites, which, among other things, will negatively affect your pet.
There are often cases of adding ascorbic acid into harvested food, an example of this is special granules or feeding capsules.
There are only two problems in such capsules:
- You will not recognize their composition due to the fact that the mixture is homogeneous cannot be determined by the composition, as well as identify the presence of sawdust and pipes that sellers like to add to capsules;
- Capsules are designed for long-term use, they can be stored for a long time in one specific location, and ascorbic acid after 3 months from the moment of production begins to gradually collapse and loses useful properties.
When buying ready-made feed mixtures, you should always check the date of their production. In order for the feed to be fresh and not spoiled, it should be stored in a dry darkened place with low humidity. It is in such conditions that ascorbic acid will slow down the processes of decomposition.
Power diet
There are a number of products that the use of which affects the health and well-being of the guinea pig is most favorable. With a balanced and diverse nutrition, your animal will always remain healthy, active and cheerful.Stern
In the natural habitat, guinea pigs are purely herbivore, and therefore, as already mentioned, The bulk of their diet is precisely food of plant origin.
Solid dry food
It is ready or own Prepared mixtures of cereal / legume crops, seeds, capsules from plants, as well as dried fruits.
Depending on the quality and cost of feed, it may contain many nutrients, including broccoli, wheat, peas, granules, millet, oats, some dried fruits. All these vegetables and plants are incredibly useful, and in the dried form, in addition help the animal in the aging of the cutters.
Such feed can be bought in pet stores or prepare yourself. In the latter case, you will be confident in the composition of the feed. However, it is already necessary to monitor the balance of such feed and the content in it relevant to your animal the number of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and fiber.
Most often, millet and oats are added to such food as the basis, they are rich in carbohydrates and proteins, and the animal itself loves them very much.
Hay
It is a mandatory element of food of any rodent, including guinea pig. It serves as an animal with a rich source of fiber required for the healthy functioning of the digestive system. In addition, hay is often used as a flooring in the dwelling of pets.
Make sure that the cell always has a small amount of hay. Spoiled, rotten or dirty hay immediately remove, otherwise the animal can simply choose. When buying hay, make it fresh, dry, without zones affected by mold and fungi. Moreover, a pleasant herbaceous smell must be present. Also ensure that the sneeles do not come across the spines and parts of the plant, which can harm the oral cavity or animal intestines.
Even if you are sure that the grass collected by you (with an independent workpiece of the hay) is useful and there are no dangerous plants there, you should again look at her at home.
Purchased hay recommend warming up in the microwave or oven on medium power no longer than 1-2 minutes, So you eliminate the presence of harmful parasites and bacteria in it.
The most useful for the guinea pig is hay of leguminous crops, as well as from alfalfa and some cereals. This applies to the dried stalks of such plants as nettle, plantain, burdock.
Green feed
It's in Peruavy Grass, some varieties of garden and meadow plants. In order for the influence on the diet to be more favorable, all food of this type should be extremely fresh, without plower, rotten or spoiled products.
As a rule, such plants contain a huge amount of fiber. In the spring-summer period it is easy to collect outside the house of the burdock, dandelion, nettle, wormwood, clover, sage.
In winter, some plants like parsley, dill or wormwood can be grown at home and occasionally give pet as a delicacy.
Juicy feed
These include some fruits, vegetables, as well as berries, which contain a large number of ascorbic acid and other nutrient elements.
Good and goodies
Here can be attributed as Some types of berries and nuts, dried fruits, raspberry branches and currant. They should be included in the diet From time to time, not to be there constantly. It is not necessary to overstat the weak body of guinea pigs in large numbers of the same ride or viburnum, nothing but diarrhea will not cause.
The twigs of trees and shrubs are better to give it in the summer, in a dry form they will be useless for guinea pigs. Refuse feeding animals with branches of coniferous trees, the same applies to the oak branches.
Vegetables and greens
The use of vegetables and vegetable feed is extremely important for guinea pigs. Of these, they receive the necessary vitamins, fiber, provide the body with vitamin C - the necessary component for the life of the guinea pig.
From vegetables in the first place are, of course, Fresh cucumbers, carrots and fennel, zucchini and pumpkin, repa, celery (tuber) and beets, leaves of Beijing cabbage. Almost every of these vegetables can be given an animal every day, but do not forget to complement the diet with new elements. It is forbidden to feed the pigs with the same product for a long time.
Guinea pigs love dill, salad leaves, young corn (cobs). Also belong to the greenery and top of carrots, celery and beets.
You can also include some meadow plants, extremely useful for pigs: dandelion, burdock, plantain.
Fruits and berries
These products are good with a high content of natural fructose. However, it is not necessary to give them too often - no more than 3-4 times a week.
The most innocent fruits for pigs will be apples, grapes (necessarily without bones), pears, plums.
Berries also contain a large amount of fructose and useful vitamins. This is currants, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries, cherry and cherry (try to get rid of the stones in advance so that the animal is accidentally suppressed).
Nuts and seeds
Nuts and some seeds contain a huge amount of fats that are useful for guinea pigs only in strictly limited quantities - No more than 2 nuts 1 time per week. You can add them in a scratched form in dry food, then the animal is more likely to eat them.
Useful for guinea pigs will be walnut, peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds. Be sure to buy nuts precisely for animals. Those sold in the kiosks are usually highly treated with chemicals and in food for guinea pigs are not suitable.
Linen seeds will suit the pigs best, pumpkin, sunflower, dill and sesame seeds will be useful in limited quantities.
In no case can not give an animal cannabis seeds. The same applies to fried or slightly heated seeds - from such an idea it is necessary to refuse.
Prohibited products
In terms of food, the fragile body of guinea pigs is a real gourmet, in addition, these animals are exclusively herbivores, so in their diet should enter Pretty vegetable food.
In a limited quantity with medium regularity, it is permissible to give them tomatoes, color and white cabbage, Topinamburba, pants, artichoke, Bulgarian pepper.
It is impossible to give even minimal quantities any kind of potato (Fresh, sprouted, boiled), Onions in any form, radish and radishes, horseradish, eggplant, garlic. As you may notice, all listed vegetables have increased acidity that the animal body will not be able to recycle.
In its natural environment, the progenitors of the guinea pigs were not fed by fruit, this did not allow them to constitution, therefore the body of the guinea pig is not adapted to them. In limited quantities with medium regularity, it is permissible to give pigs, melon, kiwi, pineapple, apricot, peach, including dried fruit.
Some citruses are also included in this list, such as orange, mandarin (with the exception of lemon), in extremely small quantities.
It is impossible to give even minimal quantities of lemons, avocado, grapefruits, lime, grenades, dates, persimmon. The same avocado contains a huge amount of fat, and in the lemon too much acidity even for humans. It is worth noting that Some kinds of fruit are better absorbed precisely in the form of dried fruits.
If we talk about berries in the diet, then they are used either as a delicacy, or as a vitaminized supplement to food. In most cases, therapeutic berries contribute not more than once a week in the diet.
In limited quantities with medium regularity, it is permissible to give the gooseberry, blackberry, cranberry, rowan, sea buckthorn. A limited number in this case is no more than 1 berry 1-2 times a week.
Greens need to be included in the hay for your guinea pig. There are no cases when, along with useful and nutrient grass, harmful and even poisonous plants fell into the hay. It is worth dealing with the list of plants, the least useful or fatal for the guinea pig.
In limited quantities with medium regularity, it is permissible to give it a parsley, dandelion, spinach, hunter, Ivan tea, cilantro, wormwood, mother-and-stepmother. All these plants in the minimum volume contain vitamins and trace elements necessary for the livelihoods.
It is impossible to give even minimal quantities of sorrel (due to high acidity), meadow and onions (including its feathers), mother-in-law, valerian, lavender, odds, fern, belladonnu, a row and cleanliness. If you collect the hay yourself, then check it not only for these plants, but also for their possible inflorescences and lost roots. The best option will be the purchase of a finished fresh hay of proven firms or pet stores.
Most of the human nuts used on the feed for the guinea pig, however, the ratio of them to another food should be minimal. The nuts contain a large amount of fats and proteins that are necessary by guinea pigs in a very minor quantity.
Other harmful and unacceptable products:
- Some of the legumes (beans, boiled peas), most of the croup;
- Any fermented milk products (milk, cheese, cottage cheese), as well as products with meat content;
- Many home plants are mortally dangerous for guinea pigs, and therefore try not to allow random animal outlets from the cell;
- Also impossible to give eggs in any form;
- Products with sugar content, which is bad for all animals, including chocolate, candy, cookies;
- Flour and bakery products (bread, bread, loaf).
About how you can feed the guinea pig, see the next video.