Having a guinea pig at the pup stage is a task and a challenge for the new owners. Many owners say that it is better to adopt these creatures at a baby age but the problem arises when the rearing becomes a hard toil. Before you actually adopt a baby guinea pig, you should research and get some real information about the food that you can offer to the baby guinea pig.
Contents
What items can you feed to the newborn guinea pig?
You can start offering them oaten hay, timothy hay, and chaff or pellets. Along with that get some green vegetables that are fresh and free from pesticides.
Also, offer them water once or twice a day. Not always all the food that you offer will be liked or eaten by the baby guinea pigs but you should never stop the process.
The mother guinea pigs usually feed the babies until the babies are 4 to 6 weeks old. Then the mother guinea pigs stop feeding them gradually as the babies grow and they lose interest in feeding them.
How much food should be given to the baby guinea pig?
If you are going to offer it commercially available food, then offer them pellets that are easy to measure, and also the baby guinea pigs will be easily eating that. The pellet-based food should be given at a measurement of 1/8 cup per day to the baby guinea pigs. You can check from the vet or from the breeder from whom you have brought the guinea pig about the quantity though.
Do the baby guinea pigs need milk to survive?
Guinea pig pups should get the first milk or colostrums which are available from the mother guinea pig after the babies are just born. The first two days they should get this milk and then they should start eating some other kind of food as provided by their mother or owner.
The baby guinea pigs may not need to drink any other kind of milk like cow milk or soy milk later but after birth, they should not be deprived of the sow milk as it contains some essential nutrients to nurture their body.
What precautions should be taken if you want to feed the baby guinea pigs?
You should always wash your hand with antiseptic lotion or soap before feeding or even holding the guinea pig pups. They should be treated with as much care as your take when holding a human kid. Then you should rub your hand in some fresh hay so the babies may find the scent resembling their mothers’.
If you have bought the baby and there is no mother guinea pig there to feed the babies, then you have to arrange for a syringe or bottle through which you can feed some liquid food like diluted milk to the baby guinea pigs. If you have bred the babies at your home and the mother guinea pig is there only, then just bring the mother one before the babies and they can suck the milk from their mother.
Is there formula milk or feeding supplies available for guinea pig babies?
Check for some premium matter which will have the best quality nutrients for the guinea pig babies. You have to mix the powdered product with some warm water and make a mixture of it. Usually, the mixing instructions are given on the cover of the packet. Follow the directions to make the right kind of food for the baby guinea pigs.
How will you feed the milk to baby guinea pigs?
There is a plastic syringe available that is used to feed the milk to the baby guinea pigs. Also, there are some plastic feeding bottles available that are bought by many guinea pig owners to feed their babies. When going to buy the teats, you have to get the smallest one available as the guinea pigs will have the tiniest mouth to suck.
How will you know that the food that you choose for the baby guinea pig is good for them?
To make sure that the guinea pig baby is eating the right food and in the right amount, you need to measure its weight regularly. When you will see that the babies are gaining weight in a regular way then you can be assured that the guinea pig is having the right diet.
Also, you can see if the tummy of the baby guinea pig is round, its eyes are glistening and it is making a squeaking noise when it is awake, then you can be sure that it is perfectly fine and growing to be a healthy one.
Which milk is good for the baby guinea pigs?
If you have brought a new baby guinea pig and there is no chance to get sow milk for it, then you can get full-fat goat’s milk for the guinea pig baby. You can make a mixture of half evaporated milk with half water as that will be much similar in texture and quality to the sow milk. This milk will also be loved by the baby guinea pig. Use a teaspoon, a syringe, or a bottle to feed the milk to the baby guinea pig.
Can baby guinea pigs eat bananas and blueberries?
Banana is a soft and sweet fruit and one may think of feeding it to the baby guinea pig as it contains fewer or no seeds, and it has a thick skin that can easily be peeled. Also, it contains a high amount of nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, magnesium, potassium, different vitamins, etc.
Also, it has been seen that guinea pigs of any age love to have bananas when given to them cut into small pieces. The only problem with this fruit is, it contains 10% of sugar, which is definitely a threat to the guinea pigs.
The same condition applies to the blueberries. Though this fruit is much healthy for the baby guinea pigs, you should not offer more than one blueberry to the baby, and that too once a week. This fruit has a too high a quotient of sugar and that will be harmful to the guinea pigs.
The high amount of sugar will make the guinea pig fat, and even if it helps them to gain weight at a young age, still it can cause blood sugar or fat gain in your pet.
How will you choose the commercial food for the baby guinea pigs?
There are varieties of commercial foods available in the market, and you can start feeding these foods when the baby becomes bigger than 7 weeks. Most of the commercial foods are available in pellet forms. These foods contain a good amount of nutrients but what you should check before selecting that food for your guinea pig baby is, if it contains vitamin C in a good amount.
Vitamin C is a must ingredient in the food for the baby guinea pigs as it boosts the immunity system and makes the baby guinea pig grow to be a healthy adult. Along with that the food also should have vitamin D, A, and K. Along with that it should also have the guinea pig from cold and cough.
Is timothy hay good for the baby guinea pigs?
Timothy hay is a safe food option for guinea pig babies and can be given to any baby guinea pig at any time. Unless the baby guinea pig suffers from digestion problems you can be assured that this hay will not be harmful to the guinea pigs.
How much fruit and vegetables can be given to the baby guinea pigs?
Fresh vegetables are good for the baby guinea pigs and they should be eating the vegetables and fruits from a very early age. Thankfully guinea pigs love to eat greens and juicy fruits so they would eat the servings of fresh fruits with much energy.
The vegetables and greens should also contain a good amount of vitamin C. There are various greens like romaine lettuce, green and red leaf lettuce, kale, parsley, and cilantro that are all good for the baby guinea pigs. Guinea pig babies love to eat different food every day so you should try to offer some variations in their daily platter.
From the range of vegetables, the ideal ones for the baby guinea pig are red and green bell pepper as well as broccoli. These two vegetables offer a great number of nutrients and various vitamins to the baby guinea pigs.
Which fruits are suitable for the baby guinea pigs?
Kiwis and strawberries are fruits rich in vitamin C and also these are tasty and soft fruits. So these two fruits are much favored by the baby guinea pigs. Along with that, these two fruits do not come with thick skin or too many seeds that can choke the creature. Also, you will find blueberries which contain a good amount of antioxidants and lots of vitamins. These nutrients make blueberry a nice choice for baby guinea pigs.
Offering these fruits to the baby guinea pig will be just an ideal option for the first-time guinea pig owners and they will love this solution when they need to feed fruits to their baby guinea pigs. However, strawberry contains a good amount of oxalate so do not give too much strawberry at one go, rather restrict the serving of strawberry only up to one serving per week.
How many greens and vegetables can be given to the baby guinea pig?
When you are giving any fruit to your baby guinea pig make sure that those fruits are free from pesticides and preservatives. Get fruits and vegetables from such a source that offers you only fresh items. Other than that, you have to make sure that these fruits and vegetables are also given in the right portion.
Give them one piece of each fruit at the beginning and do not give two new fruits or one fruit and one vegetable at the first instance. Let the baby guinea pig digest the new fruit or vegetable, as there are many instances where the baby guinea pig suffers from indigestion or loose stool due to the consumption of too many greens or fruits.
Why the baby guinea pigs should not have many green vegetables and fruits?
There are quite a few vegetables and fruits that contain a high amount of oxalates. Now oxalate is not something much favorable to the system of the guinea pigs. When the baby guinea pigs are fed with too many fruits then they are consuming a good amount of oxalate. These oxalates are used to get stored on their kidney and thus the kidney stones are formed. Calcium oxalate creates such stones.
Greens like spinach and parsley contain a good amount of oxalate so if you are planning to feed your guinea pigs with this green then reduce the amount and also keep feeding these greens only once a week.
More:
