Can Guinea Pigs Eat Bonbon Squash?

Here at Cavy Savvy, we like to take advantage of the fruits and vegetables that each season has to offer. In the fall, that means pumpkins and other squash. Today, we're trying bonbon squash, a type of winter squash. As with all winter squash, we can have bonbon squash 2-4 times per week.

Bon bon squash. Cut it open, scoop out the seeds, and feed us the orange part.

The best way to get into the fall spirit is to eat fall foods!

Shh! Don't tell Lola about this piece I took out of the bowl.

Unlike sunshine squash, no one got bored of bonbon squash, so it gets 5/5 stars!

Guinea Pigs In Costume

Here are a few more winners from our last contest:

Wilbur.

Herman.

Chester the stuffed guinea pig.

Thanks to Susan and Andrew for sending us these dashing pics of the winners. If you haven't already, be sure to follow Cavy Savvy to be in the know when we hold our next giveaway. Also, be sure to buy hay from our Small Pet Select link on the right to help fund our giveaways.

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Sunshine Squash?

Sunshine squash is a type of winter squash, and we're allowed to have winter squash 2-4 times per week. It can be hard to cut through, so tell your humans to be careful when cutting it. Also tell them to scoop out the seeds before feeding it to us.

No, that's not a pumpkin. It's a sunshine squash.

Yum!

Broccoli, where are you going? Oh well, more for me!

Buffy and I really enjoyed sunshine squash. Broccoli did at first, then got bored, but then eventually came back to see if there was anything left on the plate. We'll give sunshine squash 4.5/5 stars!

Product Review: Super Pet Comfort Harness and Stretchy Stroller

The humans were digging through the closet the other day, and found one of the worst products we have ever tried. While we'd rather not think about the day the humans got us the so-called "Comfort Harness" from Super Pet, we feel like other guinea pigs need to be warned: If you see your humans with one of these things, wheek for your life!

Avoid this thing like a lemon!

A while ago, the humans saw this thing in the pet store, and thought it would be fun to put it on me. Being the dominant pig, I wasn't afraid at first. However, once they started to put it on, I was terrified! It was uncomfortable and constricting, like a big hawk just grabbed me in its talons. I wheeked at the top of my lungs and wiggled free. The humans quickly realized they made a mistake put the harness away. I ran and hid from them, unsure of whether I could trust them anymore. They apologized and offered carrots, and I was too upset to even eat them. (Okay, that didn't last long. But given how much I love carrots, that should tell you how upset I was!)

Lucky for us, our humans were smart enough not to press the issue once I made it clear how much I hated the "comfort" harness.

According to Guinea Pig Today, "Guinea pig bone structure isn’t meant for an activity like walking on a leash and they can be injured." The wording on the package is ambiguous as to whether the leash is really meant for guinea pigs. It has a photo of rabbits wearing the leash, and says for "other furry friends" and "your critter", but as a guinea pig, I'm telling you I hate it! 1/5 stars!

200th Post!

We made it to our 200th post! In honor of our great achievement, we're going to eat the number 200 out of romaine lettuce, plum, and old cucumber.

200th post! Woo-hoo!

Give me that zero, Buffy! Give it!

We recently reached 100 followers, 100,000 page views, and now 200 posts. We'd like to thank all our loyal readers for making this possible. We hope you'll stick with us for the next 200 as well!

Guinea Pig Shaming

Have you guys checked out this awesome guinea pig Tumblr? http://guineapigshame.tumblr.com/

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Green Beans?

Here's another food that the humans got us from the farmer's market: green beans. Green beans can be fed to us 2-4 times per week, but only 1-2 per piggy at a time because they are high in oxalic acid.

Broccoli is getting big! I'm going to move my green bean over to Buffy's side. I feel safer with it there.

Yum!

Green beans are delicious and crunchy, and we give them 5/5 stars!

Toys for Guinea Pigs: Oatmeal Containers

The fine folks at guineapigcages.com are full of great toy ideas, and today we tried another one: oatmeal containers. They recommend slicing the oatmeal container lengthwise so piggies don't get stuck in them, but we used a large enough one that this precaution wasn't necessary. Keep this in mind if you use a smaller container, however.

What's this new toy?

Hi Broccoli! Hi Lola!

Crawl through, or chew the edges? Hmmm...

I can fit through it despite my texel curls.

I see you, human!

Since oatmeal containers are fun to chew on and to walk through, we give them 5/5 stars!

Pet Insurance For Guinea Pigs

Last month, we talked about how expensive veterinary bills for your guinea pig are. If you found those prices to be a little high, you may be wondering what you can do to keep your vet bills under control. Aside from weighing your guinea pig to detect health problems early on before they become more serious, there are several options you can explore when it comes to pet insurance for guinea pigs:

Pet Insurance For Guinea Pigs

One option is to get pet insurance for your guinea pig. In the United States (where we live), the only company we found that offers this is VPI, who offers an Exotic Pet Insurance option. Unfortunately, when we searched for reviews of VPI, what we found was mostly negative. People reported rude customer service, low coverage amounts, and dubious claims of pre-existing conditions to deny coverage. In the U.K., there are other companies, such as Exotic Direct. We haven't found the same horror stories for the U.K. companies, but guinea pig owners in the U.K. don't seem to think it's worth it.

Credit Cards For Vet Bills

There are also non-insurance options, such as a Care Credit card. It's a credit card that you can use for medical bills, including vet bills, with no interest for a grace period of 6, 12, 18 or 24 months. However, if you don't pay it off before the grace period ends, the interest rate will be 26%. Ouch!

Pet Discount Cards

Another non-insurance option is a discount program, such as Pet Assure. According to their website, the way it works is that you present your discount card, and you get 25% off your vet bill. In terms of price, you can sign up one guinea pig for $79/year or up to four guinea pigs for $149/year. However, before signing up, make sure you check if your favorite vet participates. We did not find our favorite vet on the list, for example, and others have had this problem as well.

Given the problems with these options, we told our humans to just make sure they've always got a little money set aside in case of emergencies. We welcome your feedback if you know of any other options, or if you'd like to share your experience with any of the options we've mentioned.

If I get sick, I'm going to blame Lola for always stealing my food and monopolizing the water bottle!

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Mustard Greens?

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: You should check out your local farmer's market because you can find great things for your guinea pig there. We send our humans every Sunday, and quite often, they find something new for us to try. Sometimes you can even find things that aren't commonly found at the grocery store, like kohlrabi. This time, they brought us back some mustard greens. Good job, humans! You deserve a treat. Does anyone know what humans like to eat?

Anyway, mustard greens are also known as Brassica juncea, Indian mustard, Chinese mustard, and leaf mustard, according to Wikipedia. We can eat mustard green 1-2 times per week.

Hey, I want to try it too!

Hooray! Lola got bored, and now I can eat my mustard greens in peace.

Broccoli and I both loved mustard greens, but Lola said she got sick of the pungent taste. We'll give mustard greens 4/5 stars.