Pet Habitat South Africa

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11 Jun 2014

Guinea Pig Food - Complete or Complementary

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Nutrition | Guinea Pigs | Guinea Pig Food | Bunny Nature

Guinea Pigs, also known as Cavies, make wonderful pets. They are small, gentle creatures who typically have a good nature, rarely biting when handled correctly. Many people do not know that when cared for in the correct manner a guinea pig can live as long as eight years or more.

Feeding your guinea pig a good diet of quality food is important and there are a number of things you should consider about your guinea pig’s diet:

Complete Food?

We believe that no single guinea pig food can be labelled as “complete”. Your pet’s dietary requirements are complex so you need to feed a combination of foods to satisfy his needs. You should instead look for guinea pig food which is labelled as “Complementary”. Complementary guinea pig food will be a mix of several core elements. These elements should include hay and grass, which deliver fibre, nuggets, fresh greens and water.

The problems with feeding muesli

Guinea Pig Muesli is not the ideal diet for your pet, certainly if that is all you are feeding to him. Muesli might look attractive, with a mix of ingredients and colours, but an attractive appearance will not meet your pet’s needs. Because of the mixture of ingredients within the muesli your pet could quickly become a fussy, “selective” eater. The sweet elements within the muesli will appeal to his taste buds, so it is likely he will eat these first, ignoring the elements which are more healthy. Selective feeding can lead to an unbalanced diet lacking in calcium, phosphorous and vitamin D.

Muesli can also lead to dental health problems. Your guinea pig needs to forage on fibre and needs to gnaw. Hay is naturally abrasive and helps to wear down the teeth. Foraging is a natural behaviour for your guinea pig and in addition to keeping teeth in good shape it helps to prevent boredom, improving mental and emotional health. For this reason, hay should make up the bulk of your pets diet.

Complementary Food

Burgess Excel is the UK’s number one Vet approved food for guinea pigs and to ensure good overall health you should seek to offer your guinea pig all elements of the Excel Feeding Plan. When you feed the plan as a whole you will be offering your pet the vital fibre, nutrients, vitamins and minerals that your fibrevore needs to live a happy, healthy life.