What to feed guinea pig: the main rules

Guinea pig should receive food 2-3 times a day. The correct answer to the question of what to feed the guinea pig will be as follows: the ration of the animal must necessarily include vegetables, grain feed, green grass or hay. In no case can you feed it only with grain or vegetables - from malaise, mumps can get sick and even die.

The guinea pig's gut with respect to its size and body weight is quite long. To use it fully, the animal should receive enough plant fiber - fiber. A fiber rich in fiber, first gnaws by means of incisors, and then rubs it with molar teeth, moistening it with saliva. The process of digesting food, therefore, begins already in the oral cavity, since saliva contains secrets that facilitate it. Poor in vegetable fibers and at the same time too mild food is not chewed enough to animals, therefore, it is not wetted by saliva. The abundance of such food in the diet leads to digestive disorders, so those who are interested in what to feed the guinea pig so that it is healthy, one should know about the importance of fiber-rich food.

The next important point that must be taken into account by the owners of these cute animals: guinea pigs can not produce vitamin C in their body, so they should get it with food. Those who want to know what to feed the guinea pig should consider their daily need for this vitamin: about 16 mg. At the same time, during pregnancy, as well as in stressful situations and at the risk of infectious diseases, it significantly increases.

Hay and green forage should make up most of the animal's diet. Pig with pleasure eats grass dandelion and plantain, alfalfa, clover. Collect plants should be away from roads. Before you give the animal grass, it must be washed. On the question of what to feed the guinea pig, if you can not get fresh grass, the answer will be as follows: it will be successfully replaced by different varieties of lettuce or parsley. Suitable and fresh tops of garden crops. As for hay, it should be well dried, without mold and unpleasant, musty smell. To give a spoiled hay to a guinea pig should by no means be followed - just like a freshly dried one: before eating it should pass at least one and a half months. Hay in the cage of the animal must be constantly - it can also be used as a litter. Chewing it, the piggy teeth stitch. Otherwise, they grow, and the animal will later experience discomfort during eating.

The necessary amount of fiber and vitamin C guinea pig can receive and from vegetables and fruits: cabbage, apples, carrots. She can also give pears and melons, but only ripe and in limited quantities. On the same question about what to feed guinea pigs, whose weight is much higher than the norm, some publications answer as follows: the ideal vegetable food for them are low-calorie, consisting of almost 90% of water cucumbers. However, many experts categorically do not recommend giving these vegetables to pigs. Therefore, the choice is for the owners of animals.

Of all kinds of cabbage, broccoli is ideal for feeding an animal, much less - colored and white cabbage, from which guinea pigs are puked. Those who want to know what can feed the guinea pig, and what foods are undesirable for it, this fact should be taken into account. Red cabbage from the menu of guinea pigs should be excluded altogether: it is most difficult to digest.

Grain feed in the diet of guinea pig should not be more than 30%. Oats are more suitable for her than other herbs. It can be mixed with wheat, barley, peas, lentils, corn kernels, sunflower seeds, etc. It is easiest to buy ready-made grain food - a mix. As for drinking, there must always be a drinking bowl with water in the mumps cage - filtered or thawed, perfectly clean. Its lack leads to serious problems with the health of the animal. The result of the same observance of all recommendations on the rational nutrition of guinea pig will be the excellent state of health and cheerful mood of your beloved pet.