Can Piggies eat avacados?
Our vet wants us to give Gerdie avocados since she's lost weight since her surgery and I don't see it on the list of approved fruits and veggies. Can we give it to them?
- PinkRufus
- Contributor in 2020
High fat foods are not recommended in the cavy diet. Some people have been able to get their pigs to gain weight by giving fresh grass. Oat hay has worked for my pigs. You may want to supplement with a little Critical Care, even if she is eating on her own. Not too much though, because she does need to use her molars.
- becksters
- Two Time Supporter
I would supplement with critical care, if you don't have critical care you can make a pellet mash out of good quality pellets and water (or unflavoured pedilyte). Pellets like Oxbow's or KM's.
I totally agree with Pinkrufus, you want her to keep eating on her own to use her molars and keep them warn down so supplementing a couple times a day will likely help, makes it more like a treat then anything.
I wouldn't personally feed any food that high in fat to a guinea pig, they shouldn't have a lot of fat or sugar for that matter.
I totally agree with Pinkrufus, you want her to keep eating on her own to use her molars and keep them warn down so supplementing a couple times a day will likely help, makes it more like a treat then anything.
I wouldn't personally feed any food that high in fat to a guinea pig, they shouldn't have a lot of fat or sugar for that matter.
Your vet said that? Piggies don't eat avocados, that's just silly.
Oatmeal and sunflower seeds have a nice fat content. My herds always love eating those, and I've also fed them to underweight piggies to help them out. If you're going to give your pigs sunflower seeds though, make sure that they are SHELLED, UNPROCESSED, and UNSALTED. I'm talking absolutely pristine seeds here: shelled but otherwise untouched. You might be able to find such seeds in stores like Trader Joe's and maybe Whole Foods, I'm willing to bet that you'd find such seeds in any earthy woo-woo ish grocery store.
Oatmeal and sunflower seeds have a nice fat content. My herds always love eating those, and I've also fed them to underweight piggies to help them out. If you're going to give your pigs sunflower seeds though, make sure that they are SHELLED, UNPROCESSED, and UNSALTED. I'm talking absolutely pristine seeds here: shelled but otherwise untouched. You might be able to find such seeds in stores like Trader Joe's and maybe Whole Foods, I'm willing to bet that you'd find such seeds in any earthy woo-woo ish grocery store.
I have used Melons in the past for adding a little weight, Cantalope or Watermelon are both good in moderation with a balanced diet of pellets and hay.
In my experience only - I've never been able to fatten up my pigs during a period of weight loss (after surgery or illness). I handfeed if they're not eating, but I've only been able to maintain weight. It seems for me that they only gain weight when they're back to normal and eating on their own. Again, this is just my experience.