Guinea pig food and snacks: how to put together the complete guinea pig menu

A healthy guinea pig eats from four components every day: hay, guinea pig food with vitamin C, fresh vegetables and water. Snacks, dried herbs and gnawing material make life more fun, but they only come after that. If you stick to that order, you prevent most dietary problems, such as obesity, soft droppings, dental problems and a vitamin C deficiency.

In this main category you will find everything for that menu. Most of it comes from Zooply, our own premium brand: hay, guinea pig food, complementary muesli, dried herbs, snacks and gnawing branches. We use Zooply every day for the guinea pigs in our shop in Bodegraven and in our breeding facility. On this page you can read how the components together form a complete menu; in the subcategories you will find more explanation per product group.

In short

• ✓ Unlimited hay makes up by far the largest part of the menu.
• ✓ Every day a weighed portion of guinea pig food with vitamin C – according to the label, roughly 25 to 30 grams of Zooply Guinea Pig Food per kilo of body weight.
• ✓ Fresh vegetables every day, such as bell pepper, as a second source of vitamin C.
• ✓ Herbs, snacks and fruit are extras: together a small part of the menu.
• ✓ Always introduce new food gradually, over 1 to 2 weeks.

What will you find in the Food & Snacks for Guinea Pigs category?

Hay

In Hay you will find Zooply Meadow Hay (also as a 20 kg bale), Austrian Alpine Hay, German Herbal Hay, Herbal Hay with flowers and the Meadow range with alpine hay and flowers, leaves, oats or vegetables. There are also edible hay houses and hay tunnels.

Guinea pig food

In Guinea pig food you will find Zooply Guinea Pig Food, a uniformly pressed pellet with added vitamin C made in the Netherlands, with the Zooply Support Muesli as a daily supplement and the Zooply Energy Muesli as an energy-rich supplement, daily or in more demanding periods.

Dried herbs

In Dried herbs you will find a large range of Zooply leaves, flowers, herbs and herb mixes, such as Dandelion Leaf, Nettle Leaf, Plantain, Chamomile and the Vitamin Herb Mix. Dried vegetables, fruit and snack mixes from Zooply are there too.

Snacks

In Snacks you will find the Zooply Fields range for edible enrichment and the Zooply Nibble Mix, alongside hay rolls, edible tunnels, grain-free snacks and gnawing sticks from JR Farm, Esve, Trixie and Flamingo, among others.

Gnawing wood

In Gnawing wood you will find Zooply Apple Branches and Zooply Dandelion Roots, willow twigs and chewing wood to gnaw on safely.

The guinea pig menu in proportions

Think of a guinea pig's menu as a pyramid. The broad base is hay: your guinea pig eats it all day long, without limit. The layer above that is fresh vegetables, a varied portion every day. Then comes a weighed portion of guinea pig food with vitamin C. At the very top, as a narrow point, are the extras: dried herbs, snacks, muesli and the odd piece of fruit.

When things go wrong with a guinea pig, that pyramid is often upside down: a food bowl that is always full, lots of snacks and little hay. The result is a guinea pig that gets heavy, eats less hay and therefore develops problems with its gut or teeth. So stick to the order: first hay, then vegetables and pellets, and only then extras.

A day in the life of a well-fed guinea pig

This is what an ordinary day can look like:

• Morning: top up the hay rack with fresh Zooply hay, refresh the water, put half of the daily portion of guinea pig food in the bowl and give a portion of fresh vegetables.
• During the day: your guinea pigs eat hay, rest and potter about. A Zooply Field bunch or a few willow twigs in the enclosure give them something to do.
• Evening: top up the hay again, give the second half of the pellets and some more vegetables. A pinch of Zooply herbs mixed through the hay makes the evening round attractive.
• In between: a small snack from your hand when you are spending time with your guinea pigs, for example to tame them.

Two fixed feeding times provide calm and make it easy to see whether everyone is eating well. A guinea pig that doesn't come to look at feeding time deserves extra attention.

Fresh vegetables: the daily supplement

Fresh vegetables belong on the menu every day. They provide moisture, variety and vitamin C. Bell pepper is a firm favourite. Leafy vegetables such as endive or romaine lettuce, cucumber and fresh herbs such as parsley are also eaten well by most guinea pigs. Introduce new kinds of vegetables one at a time and keep an eye on the droppings.

Don't give poisonous or unsuitable foods, such as onion, garlic, avocado, raw potato, chocolate, or bread and biscuits meant for people. Fruit is sweet and should only be given occasionally in a small piece.

Dried alongside fresh

Dried herbs and vegetables are handy, but they don't replace fresh vegetables. Dried is more concentrated: a few leaves or pieces are already enough. What's more, vitamin C decreases during drying and storage. So use the Zooply herbs mainly to make hay more attractive and for variety. The packaging of the Zooply Dandelion Roots, among others, gives a guideline of roughly one small handful of herbs per animal per day, all herbs combined.

Muesli: a supplement, not a main food

We advise against a mix of grains, seeds and loose pellets as the main food for guinea pigs, because guinea pigs selectively eat the tastiest bits out of it. That is why Zooply Guinea Pig Food is a uniformly pressed pellet. The Zooply Support Muesli and Energy Muesli are something different: complementary mueslis that you deliberately give on top of the pellets. The Support Muesli as a daily supplement, the Energy Muesli daily or extra in cold periods, during recovery or when a guinea pig is eating less.

Switching and new food

A guinea pig's gut needs time to adjust. If you change pellets or type of hay, or start giving new extras, do so gradually over 1 to 2 weeks. Mix the new food in with the familiar food and increase the proportion step by step. With a young guinea pig that has just moved to you, first stick to the food it was used to.

Diet in different life stages and seasons

Young guinea pigs grow quickly and above all need calm and routine: plenty of hay, a fixed pellet and vegetables that you expand step by step. Zooply Guinea Pig Food is suitable for all ages, so you don't need to switch when your guinea pig becomes an adult. According to the label, the Zooply Support Muesli can make up a larger part of the menu for young animals.

With older guinea pigs, pay extra attention to weight and teeth. If an older guinea pig eats more slowly or leaves pellets, have its teeth checked. Pregnant sows and guinea pigs that are recovering can use a little extra; the Zooply Energy Muesli is ideal for that, alongside the regular pellets.

In summer, guinea pigs drink more and often eat less. Guinea pigs tolerate heat badly: provide shade, extra water and vegetables with a high moisture content, such as cucumber. In winter, guinea pigs in an outdoor enclosure need more energy. Make sure the hay rack never runs empty and consider some Zooply Energy Muesli for a while.

Keeping an eye on weight and appetite

Weigh your guinea pigs every few weeks on a kitchen scale and write the weight down. That way you will notice in time if a guinea pig is losing weight or becoming too heavy. Losing weight for no clear reason, eating less, producing fewer or smaller droppings, drooling or dropping food are signs to contact a vet with knowledge of rodents immediately. A guinea pig that doesn't eat can go downhill quickly.

Handy combinations

The food works together with the layout of the enclosure:

• Hay racks: keep the Zooply hay clean and dry.
• Feeding bowls: heavy bowls that don't tip over, enough for every guinea pig.
• Water bottles: always fresh drinking water alongside dry food and hay.
• Tunnels: to hide herbs and snacks in.

Frequently asked questions about guinea pig food and snacks

What is the minimum a guinea pig needs in terms of food?

Unlimited hay, a daily portion of guinea pig food with vitamin C, fresh vegetables every day and always fresh water. With Zooply hay and Zooply Guinea Pig Food you have the basics covered. Herbs, snacks and gnawing material are fun extras, but not necessary to keep a guinea pig healthy.

How many extras can a guinea pig have per day?

Keep all extras together small: herbs, snacks, muesli and fruit all add up. The best check is the hay: if your guinea pig keeps eating plenty of hay and its weight stays stable, you are doing fine. If it eats less hay or gets heavier, give fewer extras.

My guinea pig hardly eats any hay. What can I do?

First reduce pellets and extras to the correct portion. Refresh the hay more often, offer it in several places and try a different type, such as Zooply Austrian Alpine Hay or German Herbal Hay. A pinch of herbs mixed through the hay often helps too. If your guinea pig continues to eat poorly, have its teeth checked by a vet with knowledge of rodents.

Can I use rabbit food and guinea pig food interchangeably?

No. A guinea pig needs pellets with vitamin C, and rabbit food isn't formulated for that. If you keep rabbits and guinea pigs in the same home, give each animal its own food. The Zooply Support Muesli and Energy Muesli are, however, suitable for both animals.

Does my guinea pig need extra vitamin C drops?

With good guinea pig pellets containing vitamin C and fresh vegetables every day, that is usually not necessary. What's more, vitamin C in drinking water breaks down quickly. If you are unsure whether your guinea pig is getting enough, for example during illness or recovery, consult a vet with knowledge of rodents.

How should I store food, hay and herbs?

Everything dry, cool and out of the sun. Pellets, muesli and herbs in a container with a good seal; hay, on the other hand, airy and not in sealed plastic. Choose pack sizes that you will use up within a reasonable time, so the food stays fresh and the vitamin C is preserved as well as possible.

Guinea pig food and snacks at Knaagplaza

At Knaagplaza, the webshop of 't Knaagplein, you put together the complete guinea pig menu with products we stand behind ourselves. Zooply is our own premium brand: hay, guinea pig food, herbs and snacks that we use every day for the guinea pigs in our shop and breeding facility. That way you give your guinea pigs a healthy, varied basis every day.