What is a Good Guinea Pig Diet?

Your playful little guinea pig does not require very much effort as long as you keep a few simple things in mind. They do require a little bit of attention (as any pet would) so make sure you give them some love everyday. They also need a stable environment to live in so make sure you get a good guinea hutch for your pet. The last thing you need to do is simply meet their dietary requirements. By following these three things, you will have a healthy, playful pet many years.

So, just what consitutes a good guinea pig diet?

Because guinea pigs have long colons to properly digest grass (or hay), their natural food is grass. Timothy Hay is great to add into the bedding of your guinea hutch as one food source. But this alone will not be enough guinea pig food to keep your pet healthy. You will also need to supplement the diet with food pellets, fresh fruits and vegetables and Vitamin C.

When choosing the proper guinea pig diet for your pet make sure to read through the ingredients list closely. The main thing you are looking for is to find a guinea pig pellet food that has Vitamin C in it, but at the same time avoiding pellet foods that have a lot of corn in them. Make sure you follow the directions on the bag to feed your guinea pig, but normally this will say that you should give your guinea pig 1/8th of a cup of pellets everyday along with the Timothy Hay and vegetables.

Some of the fruits and vegetables that are good for a guinea pig diet are:

• Romaine lettuce, 
• Green and red peppers,
• Tomatoes,
• Oranges (without the seeds),
• Apples,
• Pears,
• Broccoli,
• Strawberries,
• Raspberries,
• Cantaloupe,
• Zucchini,
• Spinach,
• Carrots,
• Dandelion greens

And many, many more. Make sure you are choosing the fruits and vegetables with the best Vitamin C in them for maximum benefit and absorption.

There are however, a lot of plants that are considered to be poisonous to guinea pigs. Therefore they must never be given to your furry little pet as part of his/her guinea pig food. These poinsonous plants include:

• Wild celery, 
• Lily of the valley,
• Mayweed,
• Foxglove,
• Rhubarb,
• Buttercup
• Ragwort
• Plants growing from bulbs which include onions and tulips

These are all some of the plants that you should never give a part of a guinea pig diet... they can be detrimental to your guinea pig's health!

It is recommended that guinea pigs consume between 10mg to 30mg (for a healthy guinea pig, more if unhealthy) of Vitamin C everyday to prevent scurvy. If you think that there is any chance that your guinea pig is not consuming adequate Vitamin C through his/her regular diet then it is recommended that you give your guinea pig a small amount of liquid vitamin C. Another thing you can do is break up a small chewable vitamin C tablet and feed it to them directly. Vitamin C is an extremely important part of a guinea pig diet so make sure your pet is getting enough of this invaluable vitamin.

If you just remember that Vitamin C is the most important part of a guinea pig diet and you make sure that the pellet food you are giving your guinea pig has Vitamin C in it, you are giving your guinea pig an array of the fruits and vegetables that are good for their diet and you supplement with Vitamin C as needed, you will have a happy, healthy, playful pet for many years.