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The best snacks and treats for your guinea pig are the ones that don’t stray too far from their usual diet but also provide something new to keep them curious and interested.
A bit like us humans! The best snacks and treats are fun to eat but still keep us fueled for our activities without an upset stomach.
Let’s talk about what to focus on with your guinea pig’s usual diet so we can understand how snacks and treats fit into a healthy lifestyle.
Then you’ll be ready to fill up the vending machine!
Snacks and treats for guinea pigs are anything that gets your little cavy excited. It doesn’t need to be fancy or a sugar punch. Wild cavies forage for different plants and they’re elated for a new taste or texture. They aren’t out there looking for tropical bananas or cake!
Something new or rare is enough to get a cavy excited. Even their favorite plant from last week is fun! Once you have the basic diet firmly established, treats come in the form of variety.
Every healthy guinea pig diet is built on hay. If your guinea pig isn’t eating hay regularly throughout the day, they aren’t ready for snacks and treats!
A guinea pig needs to get their daily nutrition from high-fiber hay, for both their digestive system as well as their teeth.
Guinea pigs need to chew enough roughage to keep their teeth worn down at a healthy length. If too many snacks and treats distract them (or fill up their belly) then the hay pile isn’t getting the attention it needs!
Guinea pigs need hay available 24/7 as a free-choice food. Low calcium and low protein hay is ideal for adult guinea pigs. Timothy hay (read our Timothy Hay Guide) and orchard grass hay are both great options for adult guinea pigs.
Source: Instagram @ti44erspigs
Alfalfa hay is higher in fat and calcium so it’s only used as the main food source for young guinea pigs (pregnant and nursing mamas may be given some as well). It can however be given to adult rabbits as a snack or used to make treats.
Make sure that the hay you have is appropriate and also good quality. A guinea pig will only fill up on hay if they want to! So, make it tempting!
Hay should make up 80% of your guinea pig’s diet. The other 20% should be pellets, fresh leafy greens, and the occasional treat.
Adult guinea pigs can have ⅛ of a cup of pellet food every day. Pellet food is usually fortified with vitamins making it a great supplement to hay. The first ingredient of guinea pig pellet food should be hay and the pellets should look boring. Save the excitement for later! This means no colorful pieces or seeds.
Guinea pigs younger than 6 months old need young guinea pig pellet food. Young guinea pig pellet food is often suitable for pregnant and nursing mamas as well.
In my opinion, fresh vegetables are where daily diet and yummy snacks meet. That’s because there’s a good amount of variety that can be found with leafy vegetables and they’re healthy enough to eat every day!
In fact, your guinea pig should be eating leafy greens every day. You just need to have a variety of different leafy greens that you rotate through. That way your guinea pig isn’t getting too much of any one nutrient. Having multiple types of leafy greens mixed each day is ideal - a mixed salad if you will!
Variety with leafy greens isn’t too hard considering there are so many options and a lot of these are foods you probably eat regularly as well.
Share the greens!
*Vegetables that are higher in oxalates should be a part of a larger rotation of leafy greens. Too many oxalates can contribute to bladder and kidney issues. Just make sure these vegetables don’t become the daily go-tos!
Guinea pigs should have ½ of a cup of leafy greens per pound of body weight per day. If your guinea pig is 2 lbs. they can have 1 cup of leafy greens!
A big difference between guinea pigs and rabbits is that guinea pigs can’t make their own vitamin C. Guinea pig pellet food will be fortified with vitamin C but keep in mind that fresh vegetables also help them reach their Vitamin C goals!
Make sure your guinea pig has fresh water available 24/7. This can be a water bottle, a water bowl, or both!
As mentioned, the variety you can provide with leafy greens gives your guinea pig a nice treat every day. Other treats (that we will soon discuss!) need to be moderated. A guinea pig can have a treat every day as long as you have the right portion size!
You may be surprised with the small portion sizes but keep in mind that we’re talking about little guinea pigs here!
The biggest contributor to a guinea pig's health is probably fiber! If snacks and treats help fill up their fiber bank, then you’re on the right track!
What you need to watch out for with treats, is that your guinea pig isn’t eating too much and that the treats you choose don’t have a negative impact on your guinea pig’s gut bacteria. Guinea pigs need lots of fiber-loving hay-eating gut bacteria to keep their digestive system in tip top shape.
When a guinea pig eats too much of something else, their gut bacteria may shift making their digestion less effective leading to stomach aches.
The right treats combined with proper portion sizes avoid this. Treats are fun but only if they keep your little cavy feeling their best!
Some of the best snacks for guinea pigs are small pieces of the food you may already be eating! Fresh foods usually come with strong smells that call the cavies over.
Let’s run through some fresh foods that can be given to guinea pigs as treats outside of the fresh leafy greens that they can have every day.
In the human world as well as the cavy world, fruits are a favorite. There are a lot of different fruits that can be given to guinea pigs as treats but they need to be especially given in moderation due to their high sugar content.
Again, we need to protect the gut bacteria!
Guinea pigs can have pieces of fruit that are about the size of the top of your thumb. Just one piece is a great treat for them!
Some vegetables are higher in sugar and should be treated more like fruits than vegetables. Carrots are one of those vegetables so definitely be aware of the sugar content there and don’t overdo carrots.
Other vegetables that make good snacks:
Too many of these vegetables can give your cavy gas so they really need to be given in small pieces as well. They don’t digest as easily as leafy green vegetables!
Herbs bring a larger flavor punch than other leafy green vegetables. They really spice up your cavy’s salad!
They also have phytochemicals that aid in digestion and lots of vitamins and minerals. They are really a great addition to your guinea pig’s diet. A snack that doesn’t need to be limited (as long as you’ve got the hay routine down).
Herbs can be given fresh or dried. Dried herbs can be used for foraging and added to your cavy’s hay pile. Fresh herbs can be included in their daily leafy greens.
Fresh Herbs For Your Guinea Pig
Small Pet Select makes dried Herbal Blends that are a lot of fun for guinea pigs and their parents. There are a lot of herbs that are safe for guinea pigs that are less common in the human world. These herbal blends include unique plants that you may not give your guinea pig otherwise.
Okay, let’s talk about the snacks and treats that come in a package. There are some commercial treats that fit into a healthy cavy diet!
Read your labels. Don’t get excited about guinea pig treats you find in a store until you’ve looked at the ingredient list and know what it is you’re looking at. You want short ingredient lists with real food.
Treats with added sugar, dairy, or dyes should remain on the shelf. There are so many good options of treats for your guinea pig that there’s no reason to get caught up in food that can make your cavy sick.
Hay Treats
Here we have our two favorite things… hay and treats, all in one! When the first ingredient of a guinea pig treat is hay, you know you’re on the right track. When the only ingredient is hay, you’ve hit a home run.
Hay Cubes are simply hay pressed into a cube shape. You get something that your guinea pig’s stomach loves but with a new texture and crunch to explore.
Healthy Snackers are similar to Hay Cubes but have dried fruit added to create different flavor options and make it a sweet treat for guinea pigs. These usually work well with guinea pigs but only give (at most) one a day.
The best guinea pig toys are the edible ones. So we’re adding toys to our list of great snacks for guinea pigs. The best part about toys and chews is that they last longer than a treat and keep your guinea pig busy!
Source: Instagram @teddy_and_stephen
A toy can be a mobile or a ball that was designed to move as your guinea pig tries to grab it but it can also be something as simple as a log or a stick! Having a stash of toys and chews is just what you need for slow days with your cavy.
Here’s another look at what you don’t want to see on package labels for your guinea pigs:
artificial colors/dyes
added sugar (not natural sugar from fruit)
dairy
ingredients you don’t understand
Foods That Are Toxic Or Unhealthy For Guinea Pigs
While you always want to give your cavy treats in small doses, keep in mind that any new food needs to be added to a diet slowly.
I know, this can be hard to do when you find something as exciting as Healthy Snackers or you see how much your guinea pig loves broccoli. Make sure you only add one new food every few days and that you monitor your guinea pig for a negative reaction.
Some guinea pigs can have a more adventurous diet than others so if something works for one cavy, it may not settle as well with a different guinea pig. If you have multiple guinea pigs, make a list of the foods you’ve tried with them so you can keep track!
If you notice your guinea pig’s behavior is out of the ordinary, it may be that their stomach isn’t feeling well. This can have a chain reaction. An upset stomach can lead to less fiber intake which can slow down their digestive system. This can lead to pain, constipation, or even a blockage in their digestive tract.
Signs A Food Doesn’t Work For Your Cavy:
If you’re concerned about how your guinea pig is feeling, check with a guinea pig-savvy vet! Have a guinea pig-savvy vet picked out before you need one so you can act quickly in case of an emergency.
Some guinea pigs have sensitive stomachs and may do better with less variety in their diet. However, in most cases, guinea pigs can experiment safely with healthy snacks and treats that add vitamins and minerals to their diet!
Just make sure that hay never takes a back seat to anything else. If you get distracted with too many snacks and treats then so will your cavy! With hay as the main event, snacks and treats will have plenty of fiber to ride through the digestive system.
Snacks help make day-to-day life more exciting and keep those cavies curious.
To the snacks!
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