The most important things to look for when selecting a guinea pig food is to make sure the food is designed for guinea pigs and that the date of milling is as recent as possible. Foods that are milled more than a few months ago will begin losing their vitamin C, and foods that are not designed for guinea pigs may not have as much as a guinea pig needs. Next, avoid foods that are high in fat and calories like seeds and sugary treats as these will contribute to obesity and health issues. Likewise, it is safe to say that the best guinea pig food is made of timothy hay. However, you should know that hay dust can cause respiratory problems for your piggies. Vitamin A 23000IU/kg, Vitamin C 800mg/kg, Vitamin D? 1500IU/kg, Ferrous sulphate monohydrate 152mg/kg, Calcium iodate anhydrous 1.5mg/kg, Copper sulphate pentahydrate 20mg/kg, Manganese oxide 38mg/kg, Zinc oxide 62mg/kg, Sodium selenite 0.2mg/kg. Guinea pigs need calcium but in minimal quantities. In adult guinea pigs, food high in calcium is responsible for the formation of kidney and bladder stones.

Timothy hay, soya bean hulls, flaked peas, ground soya bean meal, ground dried locust beans, pea flour, whole brown linseeds, soya bean oil, calcium carbonate, hydrolysed yeast, Yucca extract. Guinea pigs, like humans, are unable to create vitamin C themselves so it is important that their food also contains adequate levels of this essential vitamin. Look for those foods that contain around 400 milligrams of vitamin C per kilogram.

Bonus Best Guinea Pig Foods

Cucumbers are not toxic to guinea pigs and are, therefore, quite safe to feed. They are also low in sugar, which means that they should not cause your cavy to put on weight. However, they also have a high moisture content and are low in vitamin C. This means that while they can eat cucumber, most guinea pigs would benefit from being given better quality and more nutritionally beneficial foods instead. Feed no more than a slice or two, two or three times a week. Conclusion

It’s important to buy good quality pellet food for your guinea pigs as this will contribute to a healthy pet. There may be times when you run out of pellet food andfor whatever reason you may be unable to buy pellets for a few days in the shops or online. Providing you feed your guinea pig unlimited hay and a good selection of healthy veggies each day until you can get the dry food, your guinea pigs will be fine. Vitamin C is water-soluble, which means that small amounts of excess vitamin C pass through the kidneys and are safely expelled by the body as urine. It is very difficult to give a cavy too much vitamin C when feeding a combination of hay, pellets, and vegetables, although it is possible to do so if you give a liquid or powder supplement. By making sure that the food does have good vitamin C levels, you can avoid the possibility of giving too much. Hay Image Credit: Alexas_Fotos, PixabayNutritional Additives: Vitamin A 15, 000 IU, Vitamin D3 1500 IU, Vitamin E 90 mg, Vitamin C 250 mg, Zinc Chelate of Amino Acid Hydrate 133 mg, Manganous Oxide 48 mg, Zinc Oxide 41 mg, Copper Sulphate Pentahydrate 25 mg, Calcium Iodate Anhydrous 2 mg. Antioxidant. It is a very reasonably priced food that has been fortified with vitamin C, an essential ingredient in guinea pig food. It also includes vitamins A, D, and E. Vitamin D is especially important to indoor guinea pigs because they will not be getting any of these essential vitamins from the sun. This is a big bag of food, which means that you won’t have to buy it too often, but the weight of the food causes a lot of the pellets to crush, so expect some dust in the bottom of the bag when it arrives. Your cavy chums can be fed fresh greens as these are a great source of vitamin C, additional nutrients and provide some variety to their diet. However, you need to be careful about which greens you feed and how much. As a guide, feed no more than a teacup-sized amount a day to avoid tummy upsets, which you can split between morning and evening feeds.