[GPDD] HEALTH re: feeding piggies in south africa

[Renee Roszkowski]

	Hello Glenda! Welcome!! It's great to see so many
representatives from so many different countries. It sounds like you are
really trying to do the best for your piggies. I can see, from reading
the GPDD, that feeding piggies in some countries other than the US is
difficult. Timothy hay is recommended over alfalfa because it has a
lower calcium content. Calcium can contribute to the formation of
bladder stones, which some piggies are prone to. Any type of grass hay
(brome, orchard grass, etc.) would be suitable for piggies. What is most
important is the fiber that the hay contributes to the diet. Personally,
if I couldn't find timothy or any other type of grass hay I would feed
alfalfa. Have you tried contacting any horse stables or farms to see if
you could purchase some hay from them? I definitely wouldn't feed
hamster food to guinea pigs. It is not formulated to help with guinea
pig nutrition. Some rabbit foods contain antibiotics that can cause
severe reactions in guinea pigs. I would not recommend feeding rabbit
food to guinea pigs either. Since you are having difficulty finding
piggie feed in your country I would make the following suggestion. This
is my own personal suggestion. There may be varying opinions to it, but
I think it is viable in this situation. Since you can't find piggie
feed, I would try to feed your piggies as much hay as they want
(preferably a grass hay, but any hay is better than none) and a wide
variety of fresh vegetables. I would even occasionally include some
fresh grass from a lawn, as long as it is not treated with any chemicals
or pesticides. I would try to feed at least 3-4 different varieties of
fresh vegetables per day. They can be chopped up and mixed together. I
would go with about 1-2 cups (sorry I don't know the metric for that
one) per kilogram of body weight every day. You should probably split
this into two feedings (morning and evening). I would also include a
small amount of fruit 3-5 times weekly. This could include bananas,
strawberries, apples, and other fruits. I wouldn't feed too much fruit.
Having this wide variety of fresh veggies and some fruit should help
make sure that your piggies are getting the nutrients that they need. It
goes without saying that they should always have access to fresh,
uncontaminated drinking water. I've heard of people including rolled
oats (dry oatmeal) in their guinea pig's diet. If that's an option, I
would do so, but with caution. The only reason is that rolled oats can
cause constipation. Other than that, I don't see a problem with adding
that to their diet as well. Just add it slowly and watch for any signs
of constipation.
	As for the veterinary situation, I would try to get as much
information about piggie veterinary care off the internet as possible.
Guinea Lynx is a wonderful site that has very in depth care and
veterinary information on it. Seagull's guinea pig compendium is another
good resource. If (and knock on wood it won't happen) a problem arises,
I would take the information that you find to your vet to help with
treatment. Guinea pigs are sensitive to many antibiotics. Many can even
cause deadly reactions. Make sure you bring the list of antibiotics from
Guinea Lynx to the vet should the occasion arise. There are also a few
technical veterinary books that give information on the treatment of
guinea pigs. They can be found at amazon.com. I don't know if you can
order from there, but if possible, you might want to consider it. You
could also try to contact a veterinary college and see if they can offer
treatment advice. They may be willing to speak with your veterinarian
over the phone if there is a problem. It sounds like you are trying to
do some good prevention at home. I would continue that. I hope this
helps. Good luck.

Renee, Mary and Molly, Patches, Kate and Dora, Flash