Guinea Pig Food and Natural Guinea Pig Food!

You can order guinea pig food easily and quickly at DRD Rodent Shop! The Cavia Webshop for your Cavia!

You can order guinea pig food for your guinea pig easily and quickly at DRD Rodent Shop! Do you want to spoil your guinea pig with healthy, balanced guinea pig food? With us you will find different types of guinea pig food for an attractive price. Ordering is easy and fast at DRD Rodent Shop!

Guinea pigs actually prefer to eat throughout the day, so it is good for the animals to divide the feeding over the whole day. For example, dry food twice a day and fruit and vegetables at other times.

Guinea pigs are small, folivorous/herbivorous (plant-eating) mammals belonging to the order of rodents. They mainly eat grass, vegetables, herbs, flowers, plants, roots and twigs. The guinea pig's diet should therefore contain these ingredients on a daily basis.

Did you know?
Guinea pigs drink on average between 100 and 400 ml of water?
So there are quite large differences in drinking behavior among guinea pigs. Drinking behavior is mainly influenced by diet. A guinea pig that has eaten a lot of hay and/or dry food will drink more and a guinea pig that has had more green food will drink less.

For a fairly small animal such as the guinea pig, the digestive tract can be called large. Like all herbivores, the guinea pig is also equipped with a larger appendix. The guinea pig cecum takes up to 50-75% of the abdominal cavity.

The food is first chewed thoroughly in the mouth. Once in the stomach, the food is mixed with the gastric juices. Proteins, fats and part of the carbohydrates/sugars are absorbed. The rest of the food goes to the cecum where it undergoes the fermentation process.

Eating your own droppings

Guinea pigs produce two different droppings, much like rabbits. In rabbits, both droppings are different, one is hard and dry and the other soft and moist (nighttime droppings). There is almost no difference in guinea pigs. The nighttime droppings are eaten by the guinea pig, which we call "Coprophagy". Rabbits also do this once or twice a day, but guinea pigs take the cake with about one hundred to one hundred and fifty times a day!

Did you know?
The guinea pig has an even longer intestinal tract than the rabbit? The reason for this is that rabbits often receive more easily digestible food and eat much more selectively. This means that the bacteria in the stomach don't have to work as hard in the rabbit.

Guinea pigs generally eat less selectively and also lower energy food than rabbits.

Because guinea pigs in the wild eat roughage such as grasses and plants with a relatively low energy value all day long, they really need to eat all day long. Not only for the energy requirement, but also for the teeth that continue to grow. Chewing wears down the incisors and keeps them at a good length. Roughage in the form of hay is therefore indispensable for a guinea pig and must be available to the animals throughout the day.

Tip! Some new guinea pigs can be a little anxious at first. Therefore, do not hang the hay rack too far from the house. If the rack hangs a little closer to the house, the shy animals will also eat hay more easily. In addition, it can also be useful to place a toilet under the hay rack, so that the droppings are immediately collected.

Selective eating

For selectively eating animals, we always recommend an all-in-one kibble, so that the animals cannot choose the tasty ingredients from the food and thus get everything they need. There are different types of guinea pig food, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. It is very important for a guinea pig that the food contains sufficient vitamin C, because the guinea pig cannot make it itself.

Fruits and Vegetables for Guinea Pigs

It is good to give the guinea pig different types of raw (leaf) vegetables, herbs and a small amount of fruit on a daily basis. Vegetables with a high proportion of vitamin C are preferred. Fruit and vegetables should always be rinsed well and offered at room temperature. Do not give from the refrigerator, it is too cold and can upset the intestines. Do not give the guinea pig varieties of cabbage, the intestines can withstand that less well, especially older and weak animals have difficulty with this. Limit fruit to a small piece per day because of the fruit sugars.

Good to know!
If a guinea pig is not yet used to green food, it is useful to get him used to it first by introducing a little bit to the daily menu.

Vitamin C for Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs do not make vitamin C themselves, this vitamin must therefore be added to the daily diet. Vitamin C is standard added to guinea pig food, however in some cases it may be necessary to add extra vitamin C, this can be done through vitamin C rich vegetables or special tablets. Vitamin C is broken down by illness and stress. Animals that have been sick or have been under stress must receive extra Vitamin C.

The digestive tract of the guinea pig

There are two incisors in the upper and lower jaws of the guinea pig, which, just like the molars, continue to grow for life. That means:

a) the position of the teeth must be correct so that tooth wear is possible and the teeth do not grow uncontrollably.
b) the choice of feed is an important factor for the optimal wear of the incisors and molars. A high fiber content is necessary!

The Guinea Pig Stomach

The stomach of the guinea pig is a so-called full stomach. The stomach is very moderately muscled and therefore cannot independently transport the food to the next part of the intestine. The following food portions take over that task. This basically means that only by eating can the food pass through the digestive tract because each new portion of food pushes the old one forward. There is therefore also a great danger in not eating. As soon as the animals do not eat for a while, the complete digestion also stops. This can be very dangerous.

The Appendix

The large cecum is the so-called fermentation chamber. This is where the fine dietary fibers go, which are converted into proteins, vitamin B complex and vitamin K by special bacteria. This is where the cecum droppings are created that are reabsorbed by guinea pigs.

Guinea pig Calcium requirement

Calcium is an important mineral. In the body, calcium is mainly found in the bones and teeth. The supply of calcium through food is therefore very important to keep the animal healthy.

It is true that an increased calcium level in adult guinea pigs can lead to bladder stones or even bladder stones. Unfortunately, that is no longer a rarity. That is why choosing the right components is important.

Optimal calcium content in the basic food:

young animals: 0.9%*
adult animals : 0.6%

*Young animals require a higher calcium level than adult guinea pigs due to their growth.

Raw Fibers for Guinea Pigs

Crude fiber: Crude fiber is very important for health. They support the digestion, the cecum and with their rough fiber structure the tooth wear.
Starch: Starch is mainly an energy supplier and must be present in the feed to a limited extent.

A shift in the ratio of raw fiber to starch can lead to long-term health damage:

Too little raw fiber leads to intestinal inertia, changes in the intestinal flora and disturbed functioning of the cecum.
Too much starch leads to eating breaks, changes in the intestinal flora, swelling, diarrhoea, fermentation, obesity.

A crude fiber content of 3:1 is recommended for the guinea pig.

How do I know how much starch my food contains?

In addition, the composition is very useful: whole grains (with starchy flour body), field beans, potatoes or peas are an indication that a higher starch content must be taken into account.

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