guinea pig diet

Question
Hi, I have 2 female 5 month old guinea pigs. I give them plenty of timothy hay everyday plus fresh water with vitamin c drops I also give them fresh veggies and sometimes fruit. I have done a lot of research in how to best care for them. I have only been feeding them pelleted guinea pig food up until this point but I was at the supermarket and they only had a food that had corn kernels and sunflower seeds in it- I am pretty sure these are not good for them to eat, am I correct? (I really don't understand why they even sell these foods if its possibly fatal for the animals they are marketing them for!!) Anyway, I bought the bag just because I needed them to have that at least temporarily. My question is- is it so unhealthy for them that I can't let them finish up the bag, or do I have to go out and buy pellets to replace it with right away? Obviously I am concerned for their health, please tell me if you think this bag will be okay for the meantime. And also, could you recommend specific brands of food that you like, preferable one that I could buy at a Petco not at a specialty store or online? Thanks so much for your help!

Answer
Hi Ashley,

I'm not sure what country you're in to be able to recommend a dried mix. In the UK, we have a food called Gerty Guinea Pig that I have always fed my piggies and that you can buy everywhere, even in supermarkets when you're doing your food shop - they love it. A lot of owners use only the pelleted kind of food though, to prevent selective feeding. Some guinea pigs will only eat the bits of the mix that they enjoy, meaning they miss out on the vitamins and minerals in some of the pieces. That's why the pellets exist. Sunflower seeds are fine for guinea pigs to eat - if the mix you've bought is for guinea pigs (not rabbits, hamsters or chincillas) then it should be fine.

If you want your piggies to switch over to a new kind of food you will need to do it gradually, otherwise it can upset their tummies and you'll have unhappy and messy piggies on your hands. So go and buy some pellets if you haven't done so already. A sudden complete switch could cause diarrhoea. Feed them 90% pellets, 10% new mix for two days -then 80% pellets, 20% new mix for two days. Carry on until you reach 0% pellts, 100% new mix ... and you'll be sorted.

Well done for doing your research and making sure your piggies are getting the food they need :o)

If you have any other questions, just ask.

Jenny.