"Guinea pig should stop having pellets."

[Gessika]

I had a pig at the vet today (first time at this clinic) and the vet said that "at his age" (4.5 years) he doesn't need pellets and was practically discouraging them.

Otto went in today because yesterday he started acting weird (not his usual curious self) and was not eating or moving around much. We have been prescribed Reglan and she suggested putting some CC mash in his cage in lieu of pellets. She said "Pellets are like grain for horses" and that adult pigs don't need them, even good quality ones.

I've had pigs for 12.5 years and have been to several exotics vets and I've never been told that. What is the general consensus here on GL?

[Lynx]

From what I gather, pellets are for convenience and going without them means it is much more difficult to get appropriate nutrients into them. The average person will not remove all pellets unless it is for medical purposes.

[RavenShade]

People certainly give pellet-less diets, just like people do all meat diets for their cats. I personally never have, as like Lynx pointed out, it takes some doing for most people to figure out the right mix of hay and veg. Never had a vet tell me to go pellet-less, either. That's a new one.