What’s the Best Food for Guinea Pigs? Veggies, Pellets, and More!

In this short article, I am going to present you with five of the best guinea pig foods.

I will also inform you on how to choose the best product by telling you about the best pellets, veggies, fruits, and hay for your little pet.

Best Foods for Guinea Pigs

This is a high-quality guinea pig food. These are Timothy hay based guinea pig food pellets made with quality ingredients. These pellets contain all essential vitamins and minerals your guinea pig needs to thrive. Also, they are produced in small batches to ensure freshness.

What is great about this brand is that they are a small family owned business and deliver a fresh product for guinea pigs and rabbits.

Make sure to feed fresh water and moderate amounts of fresh veggies as well, and your pet guinea pig will have everything it needs to thrive.

Oxbow's Cavy Cuisine Adult Guinea Pig Food is made from timothy grass meal which includes all of the high fiber adult guinea pigs need. However, it does contain a lower level of protein, calories, and calcium than alfalfa-based pellets.

Adult animals’ digestive systems do not require the same level as that of younger animals. Oxbow’s Cavy Cuisine contains Vitamin C and an optimal calcium-to-phosphorus ratio that helps maintain a healthy body for your pet.

When fed with Oxbow grass, hays, and treats, this adult guinea food will provide a complete and stabilized nutrition.

This is another high-quality timothy hay for rabbits and guinea pigs. This food is also produced in small quantities in order to maintain maximum freshness.

The company also provides a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so if you end up not liking the product you can get your hard-earned money back.

Small Pet Select knows that hay is an extremely important part of a guinea pig's diet, so their hay is hand-selected using only the very best quality with rabbits and guinea pigs in mind.

Kaytee Fiesta Guinea Pig Food has many different shapes and textures to support dental health through natural chewing activity. They also have a lot of other ingredients added to provide even more benefits to your pet.

They contain prebiotics and probiotics to support digestive health, as well as assorted fruits and veggies for added enrichment, and they are rich in natural antioxidants for general health and immune support. This truly is an awesome product.

Kaytee Fiesta Guinea Pig Food is jam-packed with nutrients and is a gourmet diet made of a premium blend of fruits, vegetables, seeds, and grains. This food will offer a maximum amount of variety, fun, and nutrition for small animals.

Standlee Premium Western Forage Timothy Grass is a high-quality product as well and is high in fiber and low in protein and calcium. This helps keep the gastrointestinal tract of guinea pigs and other small animals functioning properly.

The long stem fiber also provides the natural foraging instincts which are critical to your pet's overall and dental health. Standlee Premium Western Forage Timothy Grass is grown in the volcanic soils of Southern Idaho where the sun, low humidity, and great irrigation produces some of the best quality forages in the world.

This product is actually recommended by veterinarians and nutritionists for the optimal health of your animal. To be clear, this should not be used as the only component of your pet’s diet. It should be fed at about 10% of the animal’s total diet.

You should make sure to remove any uneaten hay if it becomes wet, damp, or soiled.

You’ve just picked up your new furry ball of joy, excited to take on the challenge of raising your own guinea pig. The first question that may arise among new owners is: “What do I feed my guinea pig?” That may follow up with: “What is the best food for my guinea pig?”

These are all excellent questions. Ideally, a guinea pig’s diet should consist of Timothy hay, fruits, vegetables, and pellets. Let me explain each category in detail.

So Much Hay!

Grass Hay

Grass hay is a critical part of a guinea pig's diet and should always be available to you pet. It is a good idea to give a variety of grass hay, as each type of hay provides a different texture and fiber content.

Alfalfa Hay

Only give to pregnant or young guinea pigs under 6 months of age. This hay is too rich for adult guinea pigs and in excess can lead to health problems.

Botanical Hay

This hay has a great variety of grass and dry flowers which offers different flavors for your guinea pig to enjoy.

Oat Hay

This is a good hay to add some variety as it is thicker and harder and helps to keep teeth ground down a little.

Orchard Grass

This hay has a softer texture which makes it a very good option for bedding as well as food.

Timothy Hay

This grass hay is a favorite for most guinea pigs and is available in most stores and online.

A Diet with the Best Fruits and Vegetables

Just as with us humans, it is important to balance your guinea pig’s diet with fresh fruit and vegetables, which can be easily found at your local grocery store. I want to point out though that guinea pigs tend to favor fruits and vegetables over other categories of foods.

However, don’t let those cute little critters trick you into giving them large amounts. A diet comprised of too many fruits or vegetables can lead to diarrhea. If a dietary issue arises, you can simply increase their intake of Timothy hay.

You should definitely give some of these known guinea pig favorites a try:

You should feel free to test out different types of fruits and vegetables with them to see which ones your guinea pig enjoys more. One of the best veggies that I have found is celery because of the texture.

Once you have found the favorites stick to those and do not alternate too much. Remember the key is to ration their intake of fruits and vegetables. Diarrhea is a serious issue to these animals because they are much smaller than humans.

It can lead to death if it persists for a prolonged period of time.

Guinea Pig Food Pellets

It is important to give your pets the best pellets for guinea pigs because low quality food can lead to several health problems down the road. Look for pellets that are made up of 16% fiber, 20% protein, and complemented by Vitamin C.

Like humans, guinea pigs are not able to produce Vitamin C naturally which means it is essential to provide them with some. If you can’t purchase pellets with any, make sure to give them Vitamin C tablets.

A healthy diet should consist of 10 to 15 mg of Vitamin C every single day. After a couple hours make sure to remove all remaining pellets in your pig’s cage. As you may have heard, they are prone to obesity.

By removing all pellets, it prevents them from eating throughout the day, which will lead to excessive weight gains.

Guinea Pig Foods to Avoid

Do not ever give your guinea pigs these foods:

All of these foods are bad for the guinea pig’s digestive system and will lead to diarrhea. Some of these foods, including chocolate, are poisonous to them.

Final Thoughts

There are some guidelines you should follow when you get you little pet. Make sure to do a ton of research because most new owners make some mistakes. Do not forget that guinea pigs are actually very fragile pets and can be easily harmed or made sick with the wrong nutrition.

Guinea pigs are lovely little creatures to have as family pets and if well looked after will live right up to the age of ten. They need to be kept busy and should always have another same-sex guinea pig as a companion; otherwise, they will get lonely and depressed.

If you make sure that you feed them a well-balanced diet by going off of my list of best guinea pig pellets, veggies, fruits, and hay, you will have a happy, healthy, energetic guinea pig.

You should also make sure to provide them with a sufficient amount of clean drinking water and the necessary vitamins. Of course, guinea pigs should get regular daily exercise.

If you can do all of this these little critters will reward you with years of fun.