(Updated 2023.07.28)
Hey Guinea Gang!
Are you looking for treats to give your guinea pigs that they’ll love to eat, and will also provide them with a list of nutritional benefits? Well we’ve gathered together some of our piggies’ favorite healthy treats, and collected them conveniently into our GuineaDad sampler pack.
Give this short video a watch if you want to learn all the benefits these tasty treats can provide your guinea pigs:
As with anything in your guinea pig’s diet, moderation is the key to good health. These treats pack a lot of different health benefits into relatively small doses, so you won’t need to give your piggies much, but they’re sure to love each of these delicious treats.
This is a stressful world we live in. A door slamming, a phone alarm ringing, or some giant human you haven’t met before are all, understandably, more alarming when you’re little and defenseless. For small, soft, and sweet animals, danger lurks around every corner in the wild, and as relatively harmless animals, guinea pigs are a perfect illustration of this. A guinea pig’s primary defense against danger is to hide, curl up, and hope that the danger goes away! It’s perfectly reasonable for a creature this vulnerable to be carrying around some excess anxiety, even when they’re in relatively much safer environments.
Prolonged stress, however, can impact sleep, injury recovery, and blood pressure, taking a major toll on the health of our brains and our bodies. Guinea pigs are no exception to this, so to help give a big boost to your piggy’s vitality and quality-of-life, in addition to exercise, a safe and clean environment, and room to explore, there’s a natural snack you can give them that’s specifically designed to help them relax.
*Note: Quantity recommendations are for full-sized adult guinea pigs, with no underlying health conditions. Before attempting to treat any diseases or serious illnesses, always consult your veterinarian.
Chamomile (Up to 1 tablespoon per day)
For piggies carrying around an excess of stress and anxiety, chamomile can provide fantastic relief, soothing anxiety and promoting healthy sleep.
To help your piggies unwind from the daily trials and tribulations of guinea pig life, get some rest, or feel calm as they settle into a new environment, try giving an adult guinea pig up to 1 tablespoon of chamomile a day.
Guinea pigs are delicate! There are lots of things we must keep an eye on to make sure our piggies stay feeling their best. One relatively common issue is digestive trouble and constipation. This can stem from a number of causes, including spinal pain, poor diet or food allergies, obesity, lack of exercise, or just old age. Either way, one great way to fortify your piggy’s diet with vitamins and essential minerals, while treating any potential digestive issues, is to offer them an occasional, fiber-rich tablespoon of dandelion leaves.
Dandelion leaf (1 tablespoon, up to 3 times per week)
For guinea pigs struggling with constipation or other digestive difficulties, or ideally used as preventative care, for regular immune system and digestive health, a tablespoon measurement of dandelion leaf a few times a week can be a great addition to your guinea pig’s regimen.
Are you having trouble getting your guinea pig to eat enough?
Monitoring our guinea pigs’ food intake is important in ensuring they get the vitamins and minerals they need, but it can also be difficult! Especially if you have multiple guinea pigs. Often, if one of our guinea pigs isn’t eating enough, we may not notice until it becomes a more serious problem. There are a number of factors that can affect our guinea pigs’ appetites. Frustratingly, a well-balanced diet can be one of the best tools to battle these issues. This is where marigold plays a key role. Whether you’ve just got a picky eater, or a piggy with a below average appetite for some other reason, marigold will likely provide them with a good boost.
Marigold (1 tablespoon, up to 2 times per week)
For low appetites and picky eaters alike, Marigold is a great way to boost a guinea pig’s appetite and help them get the nutrition they need! This is also a very useful treat when trying to encourage your guinea pig to eat more of a specific healthy food, that perhaps your vet has recommended, but your piggy isn’t showing much interest in.
Another unfortunately common guinea pig ailment, especially in older guinea pigs, is urinary tract infections and kidney stones. These are often related to a diet that’s too high in calcium, though there are a range of potential causes. A great way to bolster your piggy against these conditions though, is with raspberry leaf. Raspberry Leaf is also a great supplement for supporting your guinea pig’s natural metabolism, thanks to the fiber content! It also especially helps out guinea pigs that are pregnant, or have recently given birth.
Raspberry leaf (1 tablespoon, up to 3 times per week)
Raspberry leaf has no natural sugars, and is a great way to protect your piggies from urinary issues and kidney stones, keeping them happy and healthy as they age.
Vitamin C! We talk about this a lot in regard to our guinea pig friends, as they need sources of vitamin C in their diets for their skin, bones, connective tissue, and blood vessels to all function properly, and to avoid getting scurvy. Rose hips are a snack that your piggies will love, which will give them a healthy dose of vitamin C. Vitamin C also helps their bodies absorb iron to make new red blood cells, and as luck would have it, rose hips provide a good amount of iron as well. Bolster your piggy’s immune system, blood oxygenation, and virtually everything else, but adding this treat to their weekly diet.
Rose hips (1 tablespoon, up to 2 times per week)
Rose hips provide a boost of vitamin C and iron to help your guinea pig’s immune system, joint health, and blood oxygenation, while protecting them from scurvy.
The last treat on our list should not be overlooked. It provides a healthy dose of antibodies and enzymes, promoting a healthy immune system, and feeding these to your piggies may also become one of your favorite new bonding activities. Pea flakes are loved pretty universally by guinea pigs. They’re very healthy, in moderation, and your guinea pigs will always remember the beneficent soul who bestows this gift. In addition to their health benefits, these treats are a great way to show your guinea pigs you love them, or to help them build trust with new people. Strangers can be scary when you’re a guinea pig. Strangers with pea flakes are dramatically less scary.
Pea Flakes (Up to 2 or 3 flakes per day)
Pea Flakes will help you bond with your piggies, while bolstering their immune systems while producing antibodies, hormones, and enzymes that will improve their resistance to illnesses.
The best thing about all of these wonderfully healthy snacks is how excited your guinea pigs will be to incorporate them into their diets! A healthy and well-rounded diet really is the best medicine, and getting our pets to take this ‘medicine’ won’t require any persuasion on your part!
Happy snacking, Guinea Gang!
Keep the guinea pigs in your life happy and healthy by getting your sampler pack at GuineaDad.com today.
https://guineadad.com/products/guineadad-treat-sampler
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https://guineadad.com/blogs/news
2 comments
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and love of these precious piggies 🐹 Every day I literally say “I can’t freaking believe how adorable they are I can’t even!” 😂🐹💜( They are almost three years old .)
Thank you!! I am want to two guinea pigs.