Hello there! You must be a guinea pig parent if you came here looking for the best guinea pig food. You probably already know that having piggies as pets is different from having a cat or a dog. Guinea pigs are smaller and more delicate creatures that need special care. Their food requirements are also different.
You are going to need more than one type of food to feed the guinea pig. You can’t just buy a big sack of pellets, fill up their food bowls and call it a day, nope! That’s a recipe for getting your piggie sick before the end of the week. They need timothy hay or other low calcium hay to chew on, which makes up the bulk of their diet.
You should also supplement their diet with some store-bought pellets, and some fresh veggies and fruits as a treat. In this blog, I’m going to talk about food that comes in the form of pellets. Unlike timothy hay, these pellets can vary pretty widely in terms of composition. Your cavy might be picky about one type, and absolutely crazy in love with another. So it’s best to know your options.
Best Food for Your Piggie – Top 10 List
What is the best guinea pig food? All guinea pig food brands claim theirs is the best. Take a look at my list of 10 to understand what these guinea pig foods are offering.
Top 3 – Best Guinea Pig Foods
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Wild Harvest Nutrition Diet |
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Kaytee Forti Diet Guinea Pig Food |
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Oxbow Guinea Pig Food |
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Here Are the Best Guinea Pig Food Reviews 2022
- Wild Harvest Nutrition Diet for Guinea Pigs
- Kaytee Forti Diet Pro Guinea Pig Food
- Oxbow Essentials Adult Guinea Pig Food
- Ecotrition Essential Blend Food
- Small Pet Select Guinea Pig Food Pellets
- Vitakraft VitaSmart Nutrition Guinea Pig Food
- Small Pet Select Combo Pack
- Mazuri Timothy-Based Guinea Pig Diet
- F.M. Brown’s Tropical Carnival Guinea Pig Food
- Higgins Higg Sunburst Guinea Pig Food
1. Wild Harvest Nutrition Diet for Guinea Pigs
For young guinea pigs, this is a fascinating food. The first item on the ingredient list is a dehydrated alfalfa meal, which means this is only suitable for cavies up to one year of age. However, alfalfa isn’t the only thing in this guinea pig food. The next item is timothy hay, and then there are several other grains, seeds, fruits, and vegetables present in this food.
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The variety of size, taste, and texture will give your guinea pig plenty of stimulation. Other than variety, this food also has ample amounts of nutrients. It contains a lot of vitamins and minerals. Just be careful that if your guinea pig is prone to kidney issues, do not give it this food. It contains a lot of calcium.
2. Kaytee Forti Diet Pro Guinea Pig Food
Kaytee is quite a popular brand for pet food options. Their Forti Diet food is different from others in terms of the main ingredient. The top ingredient of this guinea pig food is alfalfa hay. This hay is high in calories so you absolutely should not feed it to adult piggies.
On the other hand, this is perfect for cavies up to one year of age because they need as many calories as they can get. It contains probiotics and prebiotics.
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The pellets are large in size, promoting dental health. This food is also very entertaining for young cavies as the normal brown pellets are interspaced with colorful bits. Some cavies really like to eat these fun pellets first. For young cavies, this is the best guinea pig food in my view.
Also Read: Best Bedding for Guinea Pigs – Need to Choose Carefully
3. Oxbow Essentials Adult Guinea Pig Food
If you know more guinea pig parents, you’ll notice that a lot of them are loyal to Oxbow guinea pig food. That’s because this food is quite well-rounded and offers a lot of benefits. They’re so popular, in fact, that you need to beware of knockoffs! Oxbow guinea pigs food contains uniform pellets, so picky eaters are more satisfied with this food.
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It contains absolutely no alfalfa, so you can feed this to your piggie without fearing kidney or bladder stones. It also contains no junk ingredients such as added sugar, so your pet stays healthy. For all these reasons I think it is the best quality guinea pig food available if you’re looking for an all-around performance.
4. Ecotrition Essential Blend Food
If your wallet is suffering and you’re looking for the best cheap guinea pig food, this is a good choice for you. This Ecotrition guinea pig food has pellets that are based on a blend of timothy and alfalfa hay. There are also some colorful, crunchy bits in it that are made of fruits, vegetables, and grains. Your piggies might fall in love with the variety of tastes this food provides.
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Other perks include a resealable package, which keeps the food fresh and free from pests. However, a lot of the pellets disintegrate while being shipped, causing a lot of dust in the package. To be honest, this happens in most pellet-based food, so I think if you can overlook that problem, this affordable choice is the best guinea pig food for you.
Also Read: Best Cat Food for Older Cats – Top Reviews to Buy
5. Small Pet Select Guinea Pig Food Pellets
The freshness of this product easily makes it a top-rated guinea pig food on this list. Small Pet Select’s food is timothy hay-based, so you can easily feed this to your adult cavy. I really like this brand because they’re a small family-owned business and the customer service is very good.
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Since this food is made in small batches, freshness is pretty much guaranteed. While most other pellets look dead brown, this one retains a greenish sheen as well as that sweetgrass smell. To preserve that freshness, their package is strong and comes with a freshness zip. If freshness is your main concern, this is the best guinea pig food for you.
6. Vitakraft VitaSmart Nutrition Guinea Pig Food
This Vitakraft food might look like just another food that is better as a treat, but I’d suggest you reconsider. While this food contains things other than pellets, these additions are healthy. They don’t use any artificial ingredients and include more vegetables than sugary fruits. It also has quite a bit of cut hay in it. Your guinea pig will have a merry time chewing through all that!
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Despite being healthy, guinea pigs seem to love it. Even the picky ones are partial to this food. So if your piggie is turning his or her nose up at whatever food you offer, this is the best guinea pig food you can try feeding them. Additionally, guinea pig parents are also claiming that this food is good for maintaining their pets’ full, shiny coat of hair.
7. Small Pet Select Combo Pack
This Small Pet combo pack contains 20 lbs of timothy hay and 10 lbs of guinea pig food. As I’ve already spoken of earlier, you really need to make sure your guinea pig has all the timothy hay he or she can chew for a healthy life. So getting a combo of hay and food means you’re providing them with the best food for guinea pig health.
The hay included in this combo is 2nd cut, which means it’s not very crunchy, nor very soft, and the fiber content is just right. In the reviews, customers gush about how fresh and high-quality the hay seems to be. I’m also tempted to call it the best budget guinea pig food considering the price and quality.
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I feel like I should mention something that a lot of customers have misunderstandings over. Note that the package of pellets comes inside the box of hays. You may get the delivery and think, where’s the food? Look inside the hay box. This kind of packaging does make the process of taking out hay and pellets kind of messy, though.
Also Read: Best Dog Food for Shedding – Top Reviews on the Market
8. Mazuri Timothy-Based Guinea Pig Diet
If you have a herd of guinea pigs that consists of both adults and pups, you might be conflicted about what to feed them. The baby food is not good for adults, but the adult food is not nourishing enough for the pups either. Buying both kinds at a time may put too much strain on your budget. To cure your headache, my pick is the Mazuri as the best guinea pig food. Why?
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Because it’s appropriate for all ages. If you’ve rescued or gotten a guinea pig as a gift, and are not sure about its age, you can easily feed it this food. It is timothy hay-based and contains all the necessary nutrients your piggie might need. As a bonus, it also contains natural vitamin E.
9. F.M. Brown’s Tropical Carnival Guinea Pig Food
This is also a guinea pig food that has a blend of timothy hay and alfalfa hay pellets as a base. However, this is less of a “food” and more of a “treat” in my opinion. I get the impression that this F.M. Brown’s is actually one of the best guinea pig treats. It contains a vast selection of dried fruits, veggies, and seeds, so your guinea pig can have a fun time eating.
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I would actually recommend that you don’t give this to your guinea pig in the amount prescribed for pellets. Instead, reduce the number of pellets and fresh treats and sprinkle this on top of their regular meal. This way, you can prevent your piggie from overeating a big amount of carbs. Also, remember to make sure your piggie is drinking lots of water to digest all the dried bits.
10. Higgins Higg Sunburst Guinea Pig Food
A lot of customers give this Higgins food the best guinea pig food review, claiming that their picky cavies only agree to eat this. Sunburst also doubles as a treat for guinea pigs. Aside from that, it has an alfalfa base so I feel that it’s more suitable for young cavies.
The “treats” in this food include dried fruits that are appropriate for guinea pigs, vegetable flakes, grains, nuts, seeds, and sun-cured hay. The benefit of sun-cured hay is that it naturally contains vitamin-D.
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If your guinea pig seems bored of the same old pellets day in and day out, you might want to try the Sunburst. However, I’d suggest feeding this to your guinea pig in moderation as the “treats” in this food is more like junk food for humans; appetizing, but not very healthy if eaten regularly.
Also Read: Best Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder – Reviews & Buying Guide
What Not to Feed Your Guinea Pig
Every guinea pig parent should have a basic idea of what their piggie can and cannot eat. While picking the best guinea pig food for your piggie, you need to strictly scan it for ingredients that are bad for your pet. Before we get to that, there’s a couple of factors to keep in mind:
First, consider the age of your guinea pig. For up to one year of age, you can offer your cavy alfalfa-based pellets. But after that, switch to timothy hay-based pellets, because alfalfa has too much fat and might cause diarrhea or obesity.
Second, consider the health of your piggie. If he already has health issues, pick a food that is easy on his body. Timothy hay-based pellets are definitely more preferable. Also, take care to ensure that the food is fortified with vitamins and minerals and is devoid of anything artificial. Consult your vet for a diet plan if you’re concerned. Now, let’s take a look at the type of food you should keep away from your cavy no matter what:
- Chocolates and anything that contains caffeine
- Onion and garlic
- Dairy products
- Bread
- Meats
- Mushrooms
- Nuts, seeds, and corn kernels
- Iceberg lettuces, bok choy, and cabbages
- Avocados
- Potatoes
What Is Safe to Feed Your Guinea Pig?
So what treats can you feed your piggies aside from timothy hay and pellets? Piggies need vitamin C in their diet, which can be provided through a daily supply of vegetables and fruits. Strawberries, bell peppers, deseeded kiwis, carrots, green leafy lettuce, and parsley are all great choices. Make a nice salad and watch your cavies rush to finish it.
Nevertheless, you should be careful about feeding your piggies too much sweet fruits as they might cause digestive problems. Here, you might feel conflicted. Some guinea pig foods do contain a lot of dried fruits, nuts, seeds etc. What about those?
As long as you only give those to your piggie occasionally and not as a replacement for their daily meal, it should be okay. Unless you have a picky eater, no need to lure him with this kind of colorful food. You might’ve seen some piggie owners give mineral/salt blocks or wheels to lick, thinking they might provide more nutrition. To be honest, those aren’t useful.
If you pick a good guinea pig food, it will take care of all the vitamins and minerals your piggie needs. In essence, forget all the shiny bits and bobs. Just make sure your piggie is receiving the best nutrition and get rid of all the junk food. If you’re worried about your piggie’s nutritional requirements, just talk to your vet.
How to Deal With a Picky Eater
You’ve bought the best guinea pig food you can afford, yet your piggie is turning its nose up at it. What exactly went wrong? Is the food bad? Should you have bought something more expensive? Is your cavy sick? Don’t fret! It’s possible your piggie is just picky. So what can you do?
Introduce New Food Properly
When you first become the parent of a piggie, keep feeding the exact food they were eating before. For up to a year, piggies should eat alfalfa-based food. In case you want to switch, don’t attempt to do so abruptly. Suddenly introducing a new food will cause your piggie to snub it. It can even cause loss of appetite or diarrhea!
How to introduce new food to your cavy? Mix a little bit of new food into the old food of your cavy. Keep increasing the amount of new food in the mix every day. Go slow if your cavy refrains from eating the new pellets. If they absolutely refuse to eat that even after trying a lot, you might need to pick another food.
Pick Something Interesting
Despite being small animals, piggies need some fun in their lives. They might get bored of chewing hay and pellets every day. In this case, first try giving them some new chews, like cardboard tubes, boxes, balls, sticks, etc. Crunchy vegetables such as carrots and cucumbers might be a good choice.
If your piggie still doesn’t want to eat the pellets, try something that has a mix of different colors, tastes, and textures like the Vitakraft. It will make his feeding time fun, and you no longer need to worry about his nutrition. A word of caution though. Some cavies may be indifferent or even derisive of those colorful bits. Good luck if that’s the case with your guinea pig!
Sprinkle Treats on Top
To make a guinea pig more interested in new food, you can always try sprinkling some treats on top of the pellets. Some small bits of fruit or vegetables should work quite well. You can also sprinkle some bits of dried treats like the Sunburst guinea pig food. That should do the trick.
At this point, let me offer you a disclaimer. Even if you follow these tips, your picky little cavy might still not eat the pellets! So what should you do? Before buying a new food in bulk, always pick a small or sample size and introduce it to the pet. If your guinea pig doesn’t like eating it in spite of all your efforts, switch to a different product.
My list will help you choose the best quality guinea pig food. It doesn’t hurt to get him checked at the vet as well, in case he’s suffering from underlying medical issues that are causing a loss of appetite.
Why Your Guinea Pig Is Not Eating
Guinea pigs will sometimes avoid even the best guinea pig food that you get them. They could just be picky eaters. But there could be some other reasons.
- Unless you provide enough hay, water, and fresh vegetables and fruits along with pellets, your piggie might not want to eat
- If your cavy is used to one brand or type of food and you suddenly introduce another, they will either lose their appetite or have digestive issues
- If the food you chose has too many colorful bits, some piggies may be averse to it
- On the other hand, some cavies prefer colorful and crunchy bits in their food and will turn up their nose at plain pellets
- If you don’t regularly clean your piggie’s food bowl, they might not eat as it may have hay or excreta kicked in
- Make sure you discard any uneaten pellets a few hours after refilling the bowl, as piggies don’t like stale food
Do Not Overfeed
Some indulgent cavy parents might even be worried that their pet isn’t eating enough. You should keep in mind that guinea pigs should have about ⅛ of a cup of pellets, one cup of fresh vegetables, and ⅓ of a cup of fruits daily. Any more than that is probably overeating and you should not encourage that. Additionally, make sure they have enough water in their sipper.
Don’t use a water bowl, as cavies are prone to kicking their excreta and hay everywhere and it could get into the bowl. If your cavy is leaving food in the bowl regularly, it’s possible you’re giving them too much food. The best guinea pig food should have 16% fiber in it, so ⅛ of a cup is enough to keep your cavy full. You can always talk to your vet for a more accurate ratio of food to give to your guinea pigs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What Can You Feed Your Guinea Pigs?
A: Guinea pigs rely on high-quality guinea pig hay, fresh fruits, vegetables, etc. if you keep changing your pet’s diet, it might get sick quickly. Maintaining a schedule is another important thing that you need to keep in your mind. Make a routine of morning and evening to give them a treat.
Leftovers should be cleaned after 1 hour and replaced with fresh food. Besides food, providing them Chlorine-free fresh filtered water is essential, especially during the warm weather as they feel thirsty more often.
Q: How Long Can Guinea Pigs Stay Without Food?
A: Guinea pigs can be full for around 12 hours after a feed. If your guinea pig skips its meal for almost 24 hours or more, it might face internal problems. If you want your little pet to be happy & healthy, try to give them green vegetables all the time. Additionally, you should provide water on a 24-hour basis. It’s better if the water has been boiled to kill microorganisms.
Q: How Do I Provide My Guinea Pigs With Vitamin C?
A: Provide fresh organic fruits and vegetables to your cavy. If that’s not enough, then make sure to give them some supplements. Formulated pellets, fresh veggies & fruits, and over-the-counter vitamin c supplements are good sources of vitamin C. Make sure to avoid multivitamins.
Q: When Is the Ideal Time to Feed Your Guinea Pig?
A: Guinea pigs need a good diet to be healthy & you should also maintain a fixed time of giving food. Feed your guinea pig on a consistent schedule, twice a day, morning and evening at least. Never let your guinea pig overeat.
Also Read: How to Raise a Kitten – Tips for Beginners
The Verdict
The best guinea pig food is not the one that is cheapest, the tastiest, or the most interesting looking. First and foremost it has to be healthy for your guinea pig. After that, you can base your choice on factors such as price and your guinea pig’s age, etc. It seems to me that the best out of the bunch is the Small Pet Select Combo Pack.
I’m partial to the freshness of this product, and it also doesn’t contain any extra additives that might cause health issues. Before I sign off, let me offer you a handy suggestion regarding the storage of your piggie’s food. A lot of cavy parents have to deal with a pest infestation in the pellet packages. To prevent this, keep the extra pellets frozen. That’s all for this blog! See you next time.
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