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11 May 2014

Guinea Pig Muesli Ban in UK

Posted By : Guest

Many people think that muesli-type foods are enough to give their guinea pigs but in truth, they are not. Muesli is also referred to as dry mix or mixture foods and pellets are also called nuggets. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion regarding muesli diets, and there is now a campaign to ban this type of pet food from pet stores in UK.

Most of the cheaper brands are flashy. These are the foods we want to buy because they look good and taste good to guinea pigs, but unfortunately they are the ones to stay away from. These muesli type foods are usually a mixture of pellets, colourful pieces (flakes or pellets), nuts, seeds, and/or fruit bits.

Muesli mixes have also been known to contain pieces of twig, stone and other harmful items. The seeds and nuts in muesli are high in fat. Often times the mixtures include sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds in the shell are dangerous, not just because of high fat content, but because the shells splinter into sharp pieces that can cut and get stuck in your guinea pig’s mouth and throat.

The colourful pieces are usually just puffs, which are not nutritionally bad. However, there is the concern of artificial colouring. And, in general, when given a choice between healthy pellets and tasty fruity bits or treat-like seeds and puffs, your guinea pig will probably turn to what tastes best and miss out on the nutrition they need.

Last but not least, there remains the question of Ascorbic Acid, aka Vitamin C. Guinea pigs have a mutated gene that prevents them from converting glucose to ascorbic acid. Basically, like humans, guinea pigs can’t synthesize their own Vitamin C. In order to ward off scurvy, diet must provide it. Most guinea pig dry foods claim to have added Vitamin C. The problem is, it loses its potency over time. You must be careful to check the expiration date on the package, as the added Vitamin C is only active for 3 months after the pellets were produced, provided it has not been exposed to high heat or other conditions that would break it down faster. Even so, the best way to provide your piggie with their 15-25 mg per day of Vitamin C is through fresh foods.

Pellets or nuggets are usually brown and a uniform size and shape depending on the brand. In each bag of pellets, each pellet will be exactly the same size, shape, colour and will have the exact same ingredients and nutritional values, therefore preventing selective feeding. Good quality pellets have a higher quality of Vitamin C than muesli. If you feed pellets, you are guaranteeing a consistent amount of Vitamin C in each bowl, opposed to muesli which varies from bowl to bowl.

Although muesli type food is convenient and cheaper than high quality nuggets, guinea pigs can end up being picky eaters and just take out the bits they like – leaving the rest to go to waste. The result is that no matter how well balanced the muesli-type feed happens to be, your pets change all of that by only eating a proportion of the ingredients which makes it an 'unbalanced' diet.

The announcement of the scientific research findings from the two year academic study conducted by The University of Edinburgh, confirms the link between muesli-style foods, fed with or without hay, and potentially deadly dental and digestive problems that lead to costly veterinary treatment and in some cases can be fatal.

Professor Anna Meredith, who conducted the research at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, said: “Vets have suspected for a number of years that feeding muesli-style foods could lead to health issues in rabbits, and now we have the proof.”

This research is welcomed by a number of animal welfare charities including the RSPCA. Rachel Roxburgh, Scientific Officer at the charity, commented: “Although muesli is healthy for humans, these findings confirm that muesli-style food is not good for rabbits’ health. Feeding rabbits’ muesli-style food can increase the risk of them developing serious teeth and tummy problems, which can cause terrible suffering. The RSPCA, along with all the animal welfare charities supporting RAW, are urging owners to feed their rabbits and guinea pigs a diet of mainly hay and/or grass, with some leafy green vegetables/herbs and a small, measured ration of good quality pellets/nuggets daily.”

The leading pet stores across UK are clearing their shelves of this problem food and manufacturers are now looking to offer advice and healthy alternatives to owners. Burgess Excel, experts in small animal nutrition, is the first manufacturer to cease production of muesli.

Paul Miley, Managing Director at Burgess Excel, said: “Once we saw the results of this new study, as a responsible pet food manufacturer, we ended muesli production for these pets. RAW will provide pet owners with the support and information they need to provide the correct diet and care for their pets and all good stores will have advice about how to safely transition rabbits and guinea pigs onto a healthy alternative diet.”

These recent scientic studies concluded that hay intake and water intake were lower when muesli was consumed, which caused urinary tract problems. Eating less hay, also leads to abnormal growth of teeth. This often develops into painful dental disease, or in extreme cases ‘roots’ so large they penetrate the jaw or eye sockets. This study demonstrates that the feeding of muesli diets to guinea pigs cannot be recommended.

Choose a high quality food such as Burgess Excel which is now available in South Africa and you’ll be sure that it has been developed with your guinea pigs’ needs in mind and will contain all the nutrients, all the vitamins, minerals and prebiotics that your pet needs to grow up healthy and happy. Burgess Excel nuggets is a top Vet recommended food developed in collaboration with veterinarians which contains no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and contains only natural antioxidants. A top quality food will have more natural ingredients than a cheaper food and it will be tastier for your pet too.

It is advisable to do a slow switch, but not all piggies will be so obliging as to take to nuggets and some can be quite persistent. The best way to do it is to slowly add more of the nuggets and less of the muesli over a period of about 5 days until your guinea pigs are just eating nuggets. If a guinea pig refuses to shift on a slow switchover, you may need to go cold turkey and wait until your piggy gives in. This especially in cases where you introduce a new guinea pig or two and want to change the diet for your existing guinea pig. If you have an old guinea pig, it may be kinder to leave it on the diet it is used to if it is not happy with a switch. It may be advisable to feed more vitamin C during the switching over period in case your guinea pigs are not eating their normal amount of pellets/muesli and are perhaps not getting their full amount of Vitamin C due to this.

Just as you would for any pet, be conscious of what you are feeding your guinea pig, look for special formulated pellets for adult guinea pigs without added nuts, seeds, crunchy bits, or dried fruits. Read the ingredients to check for preservatives such as BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin. These may cause health problems like dry skin, allergic reactions, and dental disease, as well as stimulate harmful effects on liver and kidney functions. And even though good quality, Vitamin C rich nuggets like Burgess Excel cost a little more than the others, it’s well worth it for the health and happiness of your guinea pig.