How Much Should I Feed my Guinea Pigs?
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- Опубліковано 25 кві 2022
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My piggies agree very strongly! It's not easy to become overweight on salad and hay! And trust me, they have really tried! 😂🥰❤️🥗
This video and message is guinea pig approved.💯🤣🐹🐹🥗
Awww, soo cute!! 🥰❤
Mine too!😆
Thank You for this. I been get people criticizing me, Saying I'm feeding my pigs too much veggies. I make my boys fancy salads all the time and let them pick what they want from it. No matter how many different veggies I put in the dish they will only take from the veggie dish what they want and leave the rest behind. In the years I've had Beavis, he always seems to maintain the same weight, 1500 grams. I don't know how exactly he manages to maintain that same weight but he does. Both my pigs are 1500 grams. Next time a person criticizes I'm responding with a link to this video. 🐹🐹💯
PS I wish I could maintain the same weight like my guinea pigs do instead of gaining it.
Agree! I have been giving mine veggies everyday and then I read on the internet that too much could be harmful and so I slowed down and boy she did not like that. So now I’m so glad I saw this video. I dont feel bad about giving it to her every night!
@@stacywolfe6923 I'm glad you found this video too. I shared this in a group on fb that allows me to and I'll share on instagram and any place else because too many people still don't know this. I bet your girl will be one happy pig now. See, they are so good at regulating themselves. I wish I could regulate myself as well as my pigs do.💯🐹🐹
Eat your natural diet then 😉
@@dzikdziki2983 easier said than done
Except when some piggies get very depressed, then they may develop different habits as coping mechanisms. Our beautiful old piggy Barry died in 2020 and his younger 2ish year old cagemate entered a deep depression and started heavily overeating pellets. We had never needed to restrict the amount of pellets in his cage before but he went from 1250g~ to 1600g in the 3-6 months following Barry's death. Davion, the overeater, rejected all attempts at bonding. He just lay down, face in pellet bowl for months. We finally found a 3 week old baby girl piggie that he as a neutered boar accepted. And now he is madly in love with her. We still have to only put a daily allowance of pellets because he eats every last one he sees, but he is much more active and happier now. The two of them go through more hay than any of our other piggies, and they are doing great. It's been a year since adopting the little girl and Davion is down to 1500g.
I would be careful about putting things in Absolutes. Always and Nevers have a way of finding exceptions.
So sorry for your loss, sounds like your piggy is getting lots of love!!
Hi Saskia I agree with you on that they do regulate their own food intake.
Thanks for posting. Jim was so handsome. You always have great information. I think that I heard the horses blustering in the background.
I'm so glad I found this!!! My boy's yell at me everytime I see them because they want move veggies. It is their favorite part of the day 🤣🤣
I got this in at the right moment. I thought my pigs were eating too much. Lol. They’re just healthy.
This piggy is adorable. I love how his hair stands up on top. ❤️❤️❤️
🐹📢 WHEEK WHEEK Was that a horse I heard in the background? An thank you for telling our hoomins that they can not over fed us. We really love and need our food.🥬🍅🥗 I approve of this video. Sincerely ~ Nacho
Yup you heard a horse - we have many here, all rescued Throughbreds. Ex racers.
@@LosAngelesGuineaPigRescue 🐹📢 WHEEK WHEEK Well yes a horse is a horse of course of course, but guinea pigs rule. Wheek Wheek
@@LosAngelesGuineaPigRescue That horse sounded like it was very close by. usually your horses if we hear them sound more like they are off in the distance. That one sounded as if it were right next to Scotty or whoever that was filming you.
The guinea pig looked a little bit like Don King with his hair sticking up. It was so cute.
Yes they can definitely be fed a lot of veggies and also pellets! Though there are guineapigs who prefer the pellets over their hay and that should be avoided. So long as your piggies are eating lots of hay aswell as pellets and veggies it's all good. Just make sure that they are actually eating the hay aswell!!
My piggies get snacks during the day with pellets and hay, then veggie platters at night, they know when it is dinner time and popcorn everywhere. Love watching them all excited, I'd prefer them fat and happy, than underweight and unhappy
So true. My two boars love Botanical hay and they will sploot and go into a food coma. Same with fresh botanical grass with clover and seed heads. I will offer them romaine lettuce, but they tell me no thanx, well maybe a cuke or bell pepper later on. They self regulate.
I have a piggy I had to cut back veggies with bc he got chunky. And it worked.
Some piggies will eat too much pellets or veggies & not enough hay, I think that’s why the measurements are out there.
I measure my piggies stuff & they’re great 😊
Yes I agree to this as well. My piggy got spoiled on veggies and now won’t eat all her pellets but will scream every night until I bring her veggies! She has me wrapped around her little paw!
Thank you for sharing. I now know I shouldn't feel bad for giving more food anytime I see the pellet dish low and giving more the the 1/2 cup of veggies. They always have plenty of hay but ive been giving them more pellets and veggies then the research I found recommended. I give a nice amount of leafy greens at night plus other veggies as well. I've not noticed them over eating even with the veggies they love they do stop and leave stuff for later in the night. I'm glad I saw this and glad you shared.
watching my guineas tuck in to their food is a huge sauce of happiness. One sign that all is NOT well is a piggy that doesn't seem interested in food...except for the camera shy ones 😉 lovely video as always ❤
Love these shorts💚💚💚💚
If you Google this topic, the information is all over the board. Some say to pick up any uneaten pellets after one hour, and most say that we should not over feed. So Saskia is a newer voice, after thirty years of daily experience with the little potatoes.
I will add one thing I’ve noticed in my one humble year with two boars- I’ve found that I do have to set a limit on how many veggies they can have (it’s still a lot) because their poo gets very soft. It still has the correct form, but gets soft enough that it will flatten if they step on it. I have no idea if soft poop is unhealthy or if I just prefer not to deal with mushy poo when I’m cleaning up. (.Again, the info on that is all over the board when I Google.)
I love how the piggy started to eat and then he put his paw on it as if it were taking his spotlight 😂😂❤️
What a BEAUTIFUL PIGGY he is!! He's a Ridgeback piggy, agouti too, PRECIOUS baby!! Oh, how I wish I could come to the rescue and volunteer, I just LOVE guinea pigs!! Saskia, Thank you for all the education on these beautiful little fur balls!
Thank you. This was very helpful.
Hi Saskia, thank you for confirming what I've been doing! Everyone thinks I over feed but I hear them munching in the middle of the night! I honestly don't know where they put it though!!! Thanks again.
What a wonderful information to know, I definitely don't underfeed, but I always feel guilty and worried about being irresponsible, but knowing they don't over eat is really great information, I'm relieved and now I can feed them without guilt. By the way, they have a very healthy diet, I avoid calcium and sugars and buy a great pellet quality, my 6 piggies enjoy it all 🐹🐹🐹🐹🐹🐹❤️😊
They eat until rate of consumption is same as rate of expulsion :-D
That was a great observation !😆
An than repeat after expulsion so they can refill and unload again soon.🤣
Thanks Saskia useful information 👍😃
Thank you for this video. I feed my 11 piggies a salad/ veg mix twice a day and they have unlimited oxbow pellets and timothy hay.
Thank you Saskia for this truly insightful video. I have been rationing food for my piggies fearing they would overeat and cause health problems. But this video really helps, thank you!
So many people need to see this. Too many people measure a small amount of pellets because groups tell them that’s the way. It’s not. Guinea pigs are grazing animals, they eat all day. I so agree with you. I hope people see this and hear it..don’t limit your piggies food. 😀
Yes; This is because they should be grazing on mostly hay all day, rather than pellets :) Pellets are a little vitamin/mineral boost (even though they’re often heat pressed, destroying nutrients and exposing it to the air destroys it too), but they shouldn’t fill up on pellets constantly and then have less room for hay (and veggies) 😁 Pellets tend to expand in the stomach too, which makes a false sense of feeling full. They shouldn’t really be grazing on pellets all day, as it takes away from the hay grazing which is far more important :) Pellets are kind of an insignificant part of the diet, some don’t even feed them at all.
I scatter a small scoop morning and evening, but otherwise they’re surrounded by mounds of hay that they munch on constantly, as well as play in 😁 The veggies/fresh food will be a much better source of vitamins/minerals compared to pellets, so you want them to have more of this in comparison to pellets, but not taking away from their 80% hay intake ☺️ if they have a big bowl of pellets and a huge selection of veggies, they may be inclined to graze a lot less on hay, which is never good. If you’re lucky, the piggies will leave a lot of the pellets in favour of the hay; but then those pellets are sat out all day and their nutritional value diminishes further 🥲
But it’s like Saskia said; it’s not about how much, it’s about what you’re feeding. Of which, should be 80%+ of hay, 10-15% greens and 10-5% pellets. They should never be without food, but hay is food and should be available in unlimited amounts, always. Sorry for the ramble, but that’s the explanation behind why pellets are a small part of the diet ☺️ It’s not about limiting their intake of food, but ensuring they’re taking in more of the right food (hay). Hay is magical stuff for them. Their systems are built on hay 😂
@@LauraDora124 the idea is balance. As someone who has had piggies for forty years, I have to respectfully disagree with you. Limiting pellets is not needed and nor should it be recommended. Vitamin C in pellets these days is stabilized. Pellets contain other nutrition needed by the piggies. When pigs were in the wild, they did not eat hay. They ate vegetation which contained many nutrients and vitamins not found in hay. The pellets should be good quality and not full of colorful sugar pieces. A nice plain pellet. I see so many underweight piggies coming into foster, because people give an eighth of a cup of pellets. Guinea pigs need the weight on them as they drop so quickly when sick. Balance..pellets, hay and veggies. There are so many new “rules” people follow these days. Some one says it somewhere and it becomes gospel. Saskia has much knowledge from research and personal experiences. She is correct and there is no need to limit pellets. 😀
@@michellesmolek2904 That’s a fair point of view. I know hay isn’t necessarily a “wild” thing, but they would’ve grazed on all sorts of grasses (dried and fresh). Domestication causes some differences for sure, but hay and grass are the best natural alternative we can provide.
I’m honestly surprised if the piggies are underweight purely due to pellets? Surely they weren’t feeding them enough/the right stuff all together? I see so many chunky piggies that either have no pellets, or it’s a small addition; but that’s because their diet is otherwise balanced and full. Maybe they were also offering only a small rack of hay and a couple leaves off lettuce? (For example) Of course, there’s more than just Vit C in pellets but they should be getting all of this from their fresh food in reality and hay does still have some nutrition. Pellets are more of a “fail safe” to ensure any missed bits are covered.
Hay is the most important thing for their teeth, whereas pellets crumble into dust/get wet very quickly upon chewing. So the pellets won’t be providing much tooth abrasion (this is why they may still eat pellets at a stage when they have tooth pain and can’t handle hay). I understand why the pellet measurement is there, because it’s trying to outline that it’s not something to replace the other dietary components and in a line of importance, it’s lower. Just like, it’s technically not true that hay is “80%”, because there’s no specific amount to reach. It’s truly unlimited, they should never be without. We don’t give them what we think is 80% and leave it at that 😅 Fresh food (of which, grass is the best IMO) provides a lot of natural vitamins/minerals and energy; but too much can lead to stomach upset if they aren’t getting enough of the hay mixed in to aid digestion ☺️ I don’t know how piggies do it, but they gain weight with hay and fresh food like it’s a piece of cake 😂 my boys never had high amounts of pellets, but high amounts of hay and a healthy portion of fresh food every day and they’re hefty boys :) So there’s definitely a lot more in the diet to being underweight than pellets alone. But when I temporarily stopped pellets, I replaced them with a range of forage…so there’s that too 😅
🐖🌈🐹Saskia love it i hear one of your horses 🐎 in the back ground, cute little piggy, 🐹
Thank you!! I was worried I over fed the veggies!! They always eat them all!
I love small pet select! I have 10lb Timothy hay on auto ship from them and their hay is the best
Hi Saskia! hi Jim!
Super helpful; very concise; thank you for this video 💜
Awesome video
Whenever I run n2 a piggy owner I know where to send them. I don’t ever c myself owning one bc I save as many cats & dogs as possible and I would worry. My issue I know but that’s how I’m wired. 🤷🏻♀️😹
Some pigs have sensitivities to watery vegetables, including lettuce. I see an excess of lettuce given to pigs sometimes and it makes me nervous. Lettuce is nice to have along side other vitamin rich veg. Pigs that are prone to bloat sometimes can only handle a high fiber veg.
Can you please tell me more about this? I have a sensitive piggy and I am struggling hard with finding the right diet for him 😕
I feed a lot of lettuce, escarole, endive, chard, cucumber, bell pepper, grass, dandelion, and weeds every day without fail, in addition to hay and pellets, and my guinea pigs almost never drink from the water bottle! I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, because you have to be very consistent with it, but I think they get enough water from the greens. I only have one at the moment, but her poops are firm and she's fat and happy, sleek and glossy. :) I've never had a pig react to veggies with wet poops, but maybe I've been lucky.
@@stevnated it is a pig by pig situation, that sounds like a wonderful diverse diet you've got for yours! I have one young abyssinian who is that sensitive. He is so sensitive to it it takes a single sliver of green leaf lettuce and he is sent into bloat. Luckily I knew what to do and got into a vet quickly because he wasn't pooping at all. I had to give him tummy meds for a month and absolutely no veg over that period, and have reintroduced others which are fine for him. It's something I wish piggy owners to consider as I know how scary it can be. My vet told me lettuce wasn't an ideal food for guinea pigs anyways and to feed sparingly overall to my other guinea pigs.
@@Shishiochan I wish I had a more precise list of things, but avoiding lettuce, kale, and other watery vegetables entirely is a safe bet. If you can see a vet for further help that is a very good idea! I've found fennel bulb very soothing for their tummies, it's all fiber. Keep in mind not to feed too much because of the calcium. Carrot is also safe in moderation. My vet told me smaller meals through the day is better than one large one.
@@rosequartz9640 Yes, I will be more aware of this in the future! I need to find a companion for my Tenzing asap. I wish we had rescues here in Atlanta like the LAGPR. I hate buying from a shop. :(
Love your videos! Could you do a video on dried herbs/flowers for piggies what is suitable and what brands are safe too as not a great lot of you tube videos going into depth with this 😁💕
I have a few forage videos, actually. I love to find will new herbs and plants that the pigs can eat safely! Free food!
Could you please make a video about Guinea Pigs that are fussy eaters? We have 5 girls and 3 of them are so fussy about what they will and won’t eat.
You present everything greatly! Your choice of stage performers are all great looking too. The (eating) performance... is lacking something. :)
I used to feed up to 200 gr of mixed he started having IBD and now I can only feed him very few vegetables otherwise he starts having mushy poop. He's gotten skinny but I supplement with pellets and if course lots of oxbow hay
สวัสดีครับ
Yayy I’m early
My sweet gp's I have had over a year. I handle, bathe, hand feed, spoil and they steal food from my hand and run hide..... but the CAT who swats at them and pats them on the head... they play with him. LOL. I have given up on them ... I swear.
My vet says one of my Guinea pigs is overweight… I’ve always been a pellet measurer and reduced pellets based off being told by 2 vets to do so. However I’ve always thought he is just a bigger pig, I have 2 and one has always been longer and slimmer, the other is chunkier. It’s been the same since they were babies. Now I feel I should just kept their pellets the same, they usually last over night so I feel it’s a good amount either way. My piggies weigh around 1400g and 1550g. Vet recommends 1200 - 1400g for my males but mine have always been healthy…
Some piggies are indeed bigger than others, it may be your piggy is part cuuy or part Rex? So long as they can move well and are happy and they are healthy then that is what is important. Trust your gut and go with your instincts 😊❤️ (Saskia has an old cuy video if helpful too, showing size difference?)
Edit: some piggies can be up to 1600g and be healthy still 😊
Is your vet an exotic vet? Vets will say guinea pigs are overweight BUT if (when) they get sick? That vet will be thankful the piggy is "overweight".
My exotic vet, who just happens to own 2 guinea pigs herself, thought my boy Roadie was overweight last year. Then my boy developed recurring molar issues. She was extremely thankful he was so chunky. He helped him while we tried to get on top of his issues.
Although that very same vet spay my girl Cinnamon this week and discovered she has quite a lot of fat.
The hope is, that now that Cinnamon's over-active ovaries are gone? She will lose the weight. Her friends(who did not have as much fat as Cinnamon) lost their weight fairly quickly after being spayed. Cinnamon does not eat a lot of food. My gang don't eat pellets. Mod Karalee
My vet yelled at me for feeding veg. Also said only give 1 tsp pellets. Poor piggy if I'd have listened
In the "wild" they regulated themselves too. They are graze animals so eat kindas all throughout the day and evening.
I am struggling since I got them from the shelter with soft poops and a mum who wants to give them treats in ridiculous amounts, so I had to severely restrict wet food and eliminate treats and I give them Nystatin 4x a day. Finally their poops get back to normal after more than 6!!! months. I hope I can wean them from Nystatin soon, but the main issue remsins that my mum disregards any boundaries I set her 😑
My Lily gets tummy issues (soft poops) if she has much ‘wet’ veg/fruit like tomatoes or blueberries. It is so freaking hard to say no to her beautiful begging face, but after she went into gut stasis once I am much more strict at regulating what I give her. She is a very happy girl regardless. :)
@@equestrianrosie holey guacamoley, poor piggy 😱 That sounds super scary. I'm glad to hear your floof is better. My Kiwi is the king of begging with his black, round eyes and he absolutely loves tomatoes. So as a compromise, my mum can feed each piggy a wee little mini tomato each day as a treat and I subtract it from their meals. I'm starting with a little bit of grass each day. My Kiwi immediately gets tiny poopies, and the other piggy is completely fine. 🤔 The same happens when I up their veggies and salad portion even just a bit. One piggy fine, one not. So exhausting 😖
I think that what I truly want to know is the minimum amount of veggies to feed per day so that they are happy and healthy but not over indulged, if that makes sense. I have 4 piggies and I give unlimited hay and pellets, but veggies can get expensive lol. So I want to make sure I am economical. That money can instead go to my emergency fund, or to extra toys and chews for them.
for reference, I currently feed 100 grams of veggies per day, per pig. thats 400 grams per day in veggies.
For me, I would like to feed my guinea pigs more green vegetables and fruits etc. I have gave them carrots. Problem for me, I live by myself and have 2 guinea pigs. I don't want to buy too much to where it goes bad in my fridge so it is hard to know how much. I was thinking if there was a way to get you my address and you can send me a paper how much to buy to put in my fridge, how much to feed them and a list of vegetables to buy to give them.
I think easiest would be to eat the same veggies as them
I have two pigs and losing produce is inevitable. I give my pigs a nice big salad and they have unlimited hay and pellets too, but with the fancy salads they will pick out whatever and leave the rest behind so some produce does get lost, but my piggies are always happy by the choices they have. The only way to avoid wasting any if your pigs cant it all is to eat some of it yourself
There are guinea pig websites with all of this information. Looking it up in a search engine should bring a plehtora of results.
Can I ask your opinion on an empty coconut wooden husk as a chew toy? So not the milk or the white inner lining, just the husk.I really can’t find anything definitive. Thanks
What is a healthy weight for a 2 yr old male piggy 🐷?
1300 - 1600 grams but it is hard to judge. Some guinea pigs are slight in build and others the opposite so tough to answer without seeing the actual animal
I have guinea pigs with ADD and bladder problems, my vet (Eva Stoffels) advised to stop with the kibble like guinea pig food and just try only hay and veggies, i dont know how this will turn out but its hard to find the right food for my piggies
Has piggie maintained weight on only hay and kibble?
@@LosAngelesGuineaPigRescue Im keeping that in check, so far no one has really gone down yet, its only hay and veggies and fresh grass since I live around the farm but due to the severe teeth problems and bladder problems of two of my piggies Eva said to try without kibble, its hard to find good kibble in the netherlands honestly
Some people say not to combine vegetables and fruits in one serving ? is this sensible advice ?
Is it typical for guinea pigs to be shaved for a Convenia injection? I'm worried that the vet ripped out my pig's hair 🥺 You can see a big patch of skin and little bits of longer hairs, which makes me believe it was ripped instead of cut. The hair is gone from the root. 😔
They self regulate? Is there a button or something? I'm getting through 40kg of hay a month and you don't want to know how much pellets and veg 😅
Lol, now watch the Guinea Pig live feeding again.
He was a bit camera shy.
Can my piggy eat green tomatoes??
Yes - in moderation 😀
hey saskia! i admire what you guys doing, but i gotta disagree with you on this one.
lots of guinea pigs self-regulate, but not all of them. i had pigs who did great, i never had an issue with their weight! some were overweight, bc they just couldn't stop eating. overweight pigs are obviously more prone to health issues and if those are left untreated the animal will have a shorter lifespan in result.
guinea pigs stomach are made to ingest high amount of fibre (hay). their stomach balance is really important, because likely if it gets messed up once, it will get in a vicious cycle and get bad over and over again. veggies (especially watery ones!) can cause bloat, which can mess up everything inside.
vegetables also have residues of pesticides on them which - of course - aren't good for them either.
fruits also contain high amounts of sugar (which they don't need) and vegetables contain high amount of calcium which can lead to many diseases, but mainly urinary issues. (especially if veggies are fed alongside pellets which also have calcium in them as well)
i understand that guinea pigs do love veggies and fruits. they are excellent as treats, but they are more a treat than something that should be a part of their daily diet. you wouldn't have your kid on a diet mainly consisting of sweets so why would you do that with your guinea pig
Fruit and sweets are very different, sugar is naturally occuring in the fruit and subsequently the body breaks them down without needing to change your levels too much, artificial sugar however is very different. I do wonder as well of the difference between countries in regards to vegetables and pesticides etc because in the UK we have tighter regulations than some places I think? Growing one's own veg is preferable if possible of course, but I think it interesting how some pigs have little tolerance for some things and I wonder if that is something to do with it too? I think Saskia means that so long as there is moderation and you know your piggies moderate themselves then there is literally no need to limit food. The only thing I limit is pellets because I have a greedy pig lol and he loves lettuce so much I have to keep some aside so his cage mate can actually get some 😂😊
sugary fruits contain a high amount of carbohydrates, which just isn't good for their digestive system.
a healthy guinea pig is full of bacteria which is meant to break down fiber. a low-fiber high-carbohydrate diet can kill off the bacteria that is meant to process the high amount of fiber that their gut needs, thus throwing it off-balance.
the gut flora messed up might not be an issue immediately, but when the animals get sick it will worsen their state. (most health issues have anorexia as a symptom, which is why weekly weighins are important.)
a healthy diet promotes high fiber intake -> hay. (preferred timothy or orchard. timothy is great for their teeth - due its lenght and thickness - and orchard is low in calcium) this is why the animals should be encouraged to consume it. by feeding lots of veggies, you are indirectly discouraging them from eating their hay.
think of them as little toddlers! veggies and fruits are the sweets, of course they are going to eat it before the healthy and boring hay.
unlike humans guinea pigs do not need a high variety diet to be healthy.
the only thing they should be able to consume unlimited of is hay and water. a good diet should try to mimic what their ancestors would have consumed in the wild. hay also not only important for a healthy gut, but for their teeths as well.
tolerance depends on genetics. you can get a guinea pig who will tolerate an improper diet throughout its entire life and one that will have a horrible bloat after just a short amount of time. as i said the consequences of an unsuitable diet will not show immediately.
romaine lettuce is high in calcium hich can lead to urinary issues. (& also low in nutrients)
@@odett9069 I think you have misunderstood the 'lots of veggies'. At no point are we promoting excessive amounts or even A LOT as it were, nor are we discouraging hay eating, quite the opposite. It is to 'supplement' or 'boost', even a 'benefit' as it were, for vitamins and things they may not have in their diet. We are also combatting potentially any malnutrition, lack of education, lack of food resources and sources, and unknown deficiency or even overabundance from a previous diet/unknown breeding origin that we just don't know about AND we're doing it all through the Internet with a potential absence of context. As observed here. It is a case to case basis, yes.
Guinea pigs are domesticated, from South America, they will have encountered all manner of things and wouldn't have encountered hay neccesarily, as it would've been grass potentially. In that same breath however, you can't suddenly switch from hay to fresh grass without expecting issues, for example. So the 'what they find in the wild' and domestication both need consideration and variation here. As well as overbreeding and the developmental issues that often and easily come from this.
Gut flora contains good flora yes, but bad flora isn't necessarily the issue nor is killing off all flora, that could be because of various issues too, including infection and presence of something causing issue to the flora. Hence why guinea pigs have a rotary system for want of a better phrase, and why they can go into gut stasis without food. Kidneys and liver have functions too. Fiber is a form of carbohydrate, the difference is it isn't broken into glucose per se. There is a lot of beneficial fiber in fruit and fat etc is needed for absorbtion of things as well of carbs and sugar and vitamins. We shouldn't be villainising food groups for this reason exactly. Not to mention children are developing their taste buds. They won't be able to eat fruit constantly, the 'addiction' to sweet foods can also be because of various reasons. Sweets contain artificial sugar for example, not as easy to break down, not to mention the feelings it induces, the body will adapt to too much artificial sugar and the body may think it needs more when it doesn't. Studies have shown the addiction to fast food is because of the combination of sugar and fat and the happy feeling it can induce therefore encouraging more.
Losing weight and anorexia aren't the same thing, but losing weight can be a complication irregardless of diet and flora etc it can be the body diverting energy resources and breaking down certain things to fight infection or even breaking down the wrong things.
I also highly disagree as the consequences of a bad diet often show almost immediately, it's getting through the complications and symptoms and getting the truth out of people to know what they're actually being fed etc that is often the issue I've found.
Even vets to this day use steroids and zinc in pigs when it's very very bad for them. Usually due to the fact they haven't learned this information, so I am all for learning however I also cannot agree to discourage veggies. I have already said that not all pigs self regulate, however you are kind of saying they have no self control and don't understand feeling full or why or what is making them unwell. If anything I have foind the opposite becomes true and they are more inclined to eat hay as they don't always want veg. I think sometimes limiting food full stop may be peoples issue? I've always made it a big thing to make sure my animals never feel like the have to squabble over food, there is always food available but I think a lot of people don't do that so animals overeat or eat fast when they do get fed as they know there may be more but there is the anxiety there too.
Another thing that is commonly misdiagnosed is a twisted stomach basically and food intolerance. Intolerance and allergy are different. I am not able to digest animal meats, but I am not allergic. Some struggle with wheat, lactose etc
Another example is my guinea pig currently. She would have been put on a low calcium diet due to a kidney stone by a vet without full knowledge. However, I know a growth on the ovary actually is putting pressure on the kidney and caused the stone to develop. I therefore am wary but do not fear potentially feeding her a small amount of Spinach which she loves.
Edit: all of my typing errors.. I think I missed a few 😬
Romaine lettuce isn't that bad unless fed in large amounts or to a pig that struggles with calcium issues, the same with iceberg ironically. It is just not ideal nor helpful but in hot climates it can be a saviour for heat stroke too.
@@rhiannon1170 as i said feeding high amounts of veggies/fruits INDIRECTLY influences the amount of hay they consume. i did not said that you guys completely want people to cut out hay from their pets diet. even though they like to act like it their stomach isn't bottomless, they cannot consume the same amount of hay as they would w/o unnecessary stuff in their diet.
hay is essentially dried grass.. that's the closest majority of people can get to natural feeding as grass isn't accessible to most people living in apartments/homes w/o a garden. yes suddenly switching to a purely grass diet will result in stomach problems as it would happen if you'd switch to a new type of pellets or suddenly start/stop feeding veggies/fruits. their digestive system is sensitive, that's why you slowly introduce anything new you are feeding to them. that's kinda the point i'm trying to make here
a guinea pig fed on hay and good quality pellets (& obviously one who gets additional vitamin c as they - similar to humans - cannot produce it. owners should be careful not to give them too much vitamin c either as it can damage the kidney) shouldn't have any issues with malnutrition.
funnily enough out of my guinea pigs that have been from breeders (not comparing rescue piggies, because they are of course genetically more prone to issues), the one who was fed solely on a hay&grass diet had the best results at the vet.😅
yes a leaf of lettuce does not seem excessive to us, but when compared to the size of the animal it is. i'm not for cutting out all veggies/fruits as they are perfect as a snack(as long as there have been no pesticides used on them, they will damage the liver&kidney on long term) but not in the amount i see it being fed by guinea pig influencers in the usa/uk/germany.
i had/have rescue pigs as well as fancy breeder pigs, and i didn't find correlation to being able to control their food intake and their relationship with food in their previous home (being fed human food/starving). it comes down to the behaviour of the individual guinea pig. i read a really interesting study on how the amount of stress the mother endures during gestation period can influence the behavior of the offsprings, i'll try and find and link it, it is a really interesting read!
i used the word "anorexia", because thats what we call it where i live (im not a native english speaker) i referred to the symptom where the animal refuses to eat/picks at their food.
i was trying to get at that an animal with an already messed up gut flora if gets an illness (that is unrelated to a poor diet) which causes anorexia, will suffer way worse and you will have a much harder time rebalancing the gut.
twisted stomach/gt/gdv shouldn't really be misdiagnosed by an exotic animal vet that is specialised in guinea pigs nor ovarian cyst/kidney stones..😬both kidney stones and cyst are pretty common. not the symptoms should be treated, but the root of the cause.
a lot of antibiotics can cause a deadly allergic reaction in guinea pigs that's why they should be only seen by an exotic vet.
iceberg lettuce has even less nutrients than romaine. in hot climates air conditioning/ice packs/cooled down tiles can help way much than giving them iceberg lettuce. it shouldn't get bad enough for the animal to get a heatstroke. the focus should be on prevention instead of treating it when it gets bad enough. a guinea pig who is suspected to be suffering of a heatstroke should be brought to a vet immediately.
My piggies are also doing real good! I like them so much, take a look how they are doing. Made a cute video ua-cam.com/video/oqCfpzMtv1M/v-deo.html