Zoo database

Guinea pig

Cavia porcellus

Natural diet Guinea pig

Guinea pigs are herbivorous grazers that mainly consume grasses and herbs. Their digestive system needs fibers, such as hay and/or grass, to function properly.

Grasses
Grasses
Herbs
Herbs

Feeding advice Guinea pig

Feed quantity per day

5%

Sample percentage calculation

If an animal weighs 1 kg and eats 5% of its body weight, it will get
 
1 x 0.05 = 0.05 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

5% Concentrates
2.5% Leafy greens and cabbages
2.5% Other vegetables
90% Grass, alfalfa, roughage

Proportions (fresh product)

0.05 x 0.05 kg = 3 g concentrates
0.03 x 0.05 kg = 1 g leafy greens and cabbages
0.03 x 0.05 kg = 1 g other vegetables
0.9 x 0.05 kg = 45 g grass, alfalfa, roughage

Diet Suggestions

Recommended

Variety of hay (timothy, grass, oat, prairie and meadow)
High fiber pellets
Variety of leafy and cabbage vegetables

In moderation

Other vegetables

Not recommended

Fruits

Common diseases

An unbalanced diet may result in one of these more commonly occurring diseases/conditions:

  • Scurvy
  • Hepatic lipidosis
  • Ketosis
  • Colic
  • Bloat
  • Dental disease
  • Cystitis and bladder calculi
  • Metastatic calcification

Additional advice

  • Divide the “Feed quantity per day” over at least two feeding moments per day.
  • Guinea pigs cannot synthesize vitamin C by themselves, therefore supplementation in their diet through concentrates is essential.
  • Grass hay is preferred over lucerne hay as it is lower in protein and calcium (read more about browsers and grazers).
  • Stimulate foraging behaviour by hiding, stacking or hanging their feed. Besides this, scatter feeding is also a good option (read more about feed enrichment and foraging behaviour).