Feeding your Cavies

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Feeding your Cavies

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Feeding Your Cavies......Why it is so important to make sure that you are doing it right Cavies require Vit C as well as fresh dry pellet feed to maintain a healthy life. By feeding your cavy properly....you will also have happy cavies and healthy litters. We have found that giving our cavies bananas especially during the last 3 weeks of their pregnance, we have ceased to see toxemia in our sows. We average 4-6 in each litter, with the litters being born very healthy. We have also seen our sows being able to handle the larger litters with no problems. Our piggies are so spoiled. They know that they are too...
	Feeds Feeding guinea pigs require special feeding to help ensure that they stay healthy and get plenty of Vit C. Guinea pigs can store this vitamin at all and therefore need this vitamin supplemented to them daily. Making sure that your guinea pig has the proper amount of feed and Vit.'s is really not all the hard to do. We feed our guinea pigs a couple of stems of parsley, a chunk of carrot, (approx 1 1/2" section), a few leaves of spinach, a slice of red and a slice of green bell peppers,(red is especially loved by ours as a treat), and a slice of banana each morning with a small scoop of pellet feed and a 1/3 cup of pellet feed each evening. When we have a sow that has a litter on her we tend to give them quite a bit more fresh foods as well as the pelleted type feed. If the sow has a litter of 3 or more on her, then we will also give a bottle of cold milk to them. We check that bottle often so that it doesn't go sour. We will also give our sows that have a litter on them a bit of rolled barley to help as a milk booster. Not to much though, you wouldn't want to engourge your sows.
	Dry Pellet Feed Guinea pigs main diet source should consist of a dry pelleted type feed. You can find this type of food at ayour local pet store, your local retail store that carries pet supplies, such as Wal Mart or you can possibly find it at you local feed, farm & home supply store or your vet. If you are unable to find the feed locally, you could order it online at places such as Bass Rabbit Equipment, DaMars Equipment or Oxbow Hay co. Personally we feed Kent Cavy Feed. Our cavies love it and it is always fresh. When ever you are going to buy your dry pellet type feed, make sure that it is as fresh as possible. Guinea pig feed companies have gotton a lot better in recent times to ensure that the feed stays good longer but they still loose some of the Vit C content level over time. I also believe that the nutritional value is compromised with age. I suggest trying to find the mill date on the feed bag. Feed that you buy should be used up prior to 3 months from the date of milling and I personally prefer that it is used before 60 days from the mill date to ensure that it is good. For this reason, I suggest not buying more feed at one time that you can't completely use up within 30 days. I also suggest that if at all possible....you Don't buy cavy feed that you would find at a pet store...It is usually not fresh and the bag/box doesn't even have a mill/manufacturer date other than "it is best used by this date" which is usually about a year from the date it was made.
	Fruits and Veggies We give our little piggies lots of veggies that are high in Vit C. It gives us a chance to give them some extra attention while feeding them as well as us loving to hear them talk to us. When they can tell food is around them, they will talk up a storm. If we notice that one is not talking, then we no we need to check out that piggy a bit better for any problems. Our cavies love the extra fruit and veggies as part of their daily diet. Veggies such as carrots are also a helpful tool in helpingkeep the cavies teeth worn down to a proper length. If you choose to feed your piggies fresh veggies, try to give them to your cavies in the early morning or in the late evening if they are outside piggies. This way there is less of a chance for the veggies to go bad. There is also less of a chance for those pesty insects that might be attracted to the rotton food and your cavies home. If you are giving fresh veggies and fruit, you will also need to please make sure that you wash it good to ensure that you have removed all the pesticides that the grower may have used. When introducing a new fruit or veggie to your cavies, Please do so in a moderation. Some foods when introduced for the first time in large amounts can cause scouring, a condition that is sytomized by diarrhea. Always start off giving your cavy new foods sparingly so that you can see if there are going to be any adverse reactions. Then each day you can add a bit more until you are at the desired amount. Any veggies and fruit that is not eaten within approx 1 hr of feeding it, should be removed so that it doesn't go bad. Normally your piggies should eat all fresh veggies and fruit within a few minutes after they get it. I know that ours devour all fresh foods within a couple of minutes. Even though cavies really love eating fresh fruit and veggies, remember that the main source of food for them should be dry pellet type feed that is just for guinea pigs. Each specially formulated feed is done for that species of animal and should not be given to other species, example; you wouldn't want to feed ferret food to your rabbits as you would also not want to feed rabbit food to your guinea pigs. All feeds are formulated especially for that species.
	Mashes and other food supplements There are so many other foods and mashes that are also very good in supplementing your guinea pigs. Boil eggs chopped up, grated cheese, nuts and seeds, can be fed seperately or mixed up in a mashed potatoe mixture and served as a mash. I am not talking a goopy mess here, just a mash that hassome consistantsy to it with all the above items mixed together. Your piggies will love you for the extra special treat. If you do give your cavies some mash as a supplement, again, please remember to do so in the early morning or the late evening when it is cooler tempatures and less of a chance for it to spoil or be an invatation for those unwanted insect pest. Please remove any uneaten mash within approx 30 mins from when given. This too will help in not attracting any unwanted visitors or pest.
	Wild Plants and Flowers There are lots of of wild plants and flowers that are favored plants to give to your piggies. These too, as with veggies and fruits, need to be given at first, sparingly to ensure no adverse affects. Some of the wild plants that are ok to feed to your piggies would be; dandelion, shepards purse, coltsfoot, clover, chickweed, and most all wild grasses. Plants that need to be avoided totally are those that come from a bulb. Some of these are buttercups, lavurnum and deadly nightshade. As a rule of thumb, If you don't know if the plant, fruit or veggie is ok to give as feed supplement, then by all means stay away from feeding it to you piggies. Itis always better to be safe than sorry.
	Why the Vit C ? Vit. C is one vitamin that guinea pigs must have but yet they can not store it in their systems. If guinea pigs don't get the Vit C on a daily basis that they require it can cause problems such as Scurvy, reproductive problems and also skin problems. Vitamin C can be added to your guinea pigs diet in a couple different manners. You can give them fresh veggies and fruit that are high in Vit C. or you can get crystalyzed Vit C at your local health food store. Either way you give them Vit C. make sure that they get at least 30 mg for your average piggy. If they are growing piggies, lactating mothers, pregnant mothers, then I suggest making sure that you double this amount. I wouldn't worry about over dosing guinea pigs on Vit C. considering the excess Vit C. is excreted through the urine daily. They only retain what is needed for their system
	List of foods high in Vit C as well as other foods with varied amounts of Vit C Here are the foods in order of Vit C. content per ounce Above 60mg per oz of Vit C. Kiwis Whole guavas Above 40mg per oz Parsley Above 30mg per oz Turnip greens Kale leaves without the stem Tomatoes Above 20mg per oz Collard Greens without stems Brussel sprouts Broccoli Crowns Cauliflower Lemons with the peelings the rest of this list will show some other fresh fruits and veggies that can be given but all have mg less that 20mg per oz and therefor need to be given with something higher in Vit C content or can be used as a fresh food treat when using Vit C. in the drinking water as the main source of Vit C. Mustard greens, spinach, oranges, rutabagas dandelions, turnip greens, swiss chard, green beans, beet greens, parsnips, winter squash, cucumbers, pineapple, beets, carrots celery, pears, apples, (make sure there are no seeds left in the core)