Feeding

Average daily nutritional requirments for pet cavies

ME: 230 kcal/100g

Protein: 20%

Oil: 3%

Fibre: 11%

Starch: <30%

Calcium: 0.6%

Phosphorus: 0.5%

Vitamin A: 23000 iu/kg

Vitamin C: 200 mg/kg

Vitamin D: 1000 iu/kg

Vitamin E: 50 mg/kg

Copper: 6 mg/kg

There are two types of dry food you can feed your
cavy. Pellets are a single food item which usually
contains a complete mix of all the nutrients your
cavy needs. A course mix is a varied feed containing
different ingredients which all together make up the
full nutritional requirments.

The main Problem with feeding a mix is selective feeding- When
an animal selects what it wants to eat and may not get the full
nutrients it needs. (like kids with junk food, leaving the good
stuff for the bad, but more tasty foods)

However there are easy ways to overcome this. If your cavy is
selective feeding, simply reduce the amount of dry food mix
you give him in the first place, not topping up his food until all
of the mix has been eaten.

In my opinion pellets are not ideal. Although they provide all
of the nutrients required in one, this is not a natural way of
feeding. It is the easy way out if you like.

Its as if you only eat vitamin injected biscuits yourself, without
a variety of flavour and texture.

This can also lead to monotony- Where there is little
stimulation and variation in the diet and the intake of food
will decline, which in turn can lead to boredom and more
divisive behaviour such as hair chewing. Both are often
witnessed when cavies that have been previously fed on mixes
and changed to pellets. Mixes also encourage your cavy to
maintain its natural instincts by foraging for food, and they
have a better fibre process as fibre in pellets is too small to
allow chewing that will allow the teeth to wear down, which
is necessary in all rodents. Given the choice a cavy will always
choose a mix over a pellet diet and I would too!

As well as dry feed, cavies must be
fed additional food even if the dry
food states it is a complete food.
Cavies cannot produce there own
vitamin C like other animals so
therefore must recieve a lot more
of it than other rodents. Hay is also
a must, fibre is very important in
the role of cleaning the gut and
keeping the ever growing teeth of
a cavy under control. There are
two types of hay you can feed.
Alfalfa and Timothy.

Timothy is best and is the hay that
you will find in most places. It is
made from timothy grass, and is
also great for bedding and sleeping
on. Alfalfa is usally included in dry
food in one way or another, but
can be fed alongside timothy and
dry food anyway. There is also
dried grass available which provide
great fibre and roughage, however
it should not replace timothy hay.

Fruit and Vegetables need to be fed for addiotnal nutrient and
vitamin c, at least one piece of fresh food daily, it is best to
feed a mixed variety of texture and flavour all in moderation
as too much of some veg can sometimes cause stomach
problems

Asparagus (not liked by many!)

Beetroot (including leaves)

Broccoli

Brussel Sprouts

Cabbage (all varieties)

Carrot (including the tops)

Califlower (outer leaves prefered)

Celery (best cut into smaller pieces to avoid the strands)

Chicory

Courgette

Cucumber (liked by most although low in vitamin c)

Fennal

Kale (All varieties very high in vitamin c)

Leek (not liked by many!)

Lettuce (Iceberg is best fed in strict moderation, too much can cause diarrhoea)

Mange-Tout

Marrow (not liked by many!)

Mint

Parsley (Very high in vitamin c!)

Parsnip

Peppers (Green, Red and Yellow

Pumpkin (not liked by many!)

Runner Beans (not the plant or leaves though!)

Spinach (Best fed in strict moderation, too much can cause diarrhoea)

Spinach Beet

Spring Greens (very high in vitamin c)

Swede (not liked by many!)

Sweet corn (outer leaves loved!)

Sweet Potato

Tomatoes (not the plants or leaves though!)

Turnip (not liked by many!)

Watercress

Yam

Apple (All varieties)

Apricot

Avocado

Banana (including skins!)

Blackberries

Cherries

Gooseberries

Grapes

Kiwi Fruit (including skin)

Melon (All kinds a favourite with most!)

Nectarines

Orange (Best fed in moderation due to acidity)

Peach

Pears

Pineapple

Plum

Raspberries

Strawberries (including leaves)

Chickweed

Cleavers

Clover

Coltsfoot

Comfrey

Corn Marigold

Cornsilk

Corn Spurry

Cow Parsley

Daisy

Dandelions (Very favoured cavy food of all time, including flowers)

Dock

Grass (All varieties)#

Groundsel

Hogweed

Knapweed

Oxeye

Plantain

Shepherds Purse

Sorrel

Sow Thistle

Sunflower

Vetch

Wild Carrot

Willow (Leaves and wood)

Yarrow

Update October 2003- I am currently conducting an involved study into cavy
nutrition and looking at products available on the world-wide market in
regards to the nutritional content and ingredient analysis products marketed
for cavies. A comprehnsive results page will be created as soon as the study
has ended with an in depth look and review of each product.