Ask A Guinea Pig: Portion Sizes

Katrina VanZandt asks: "How much is the 'small portion' you mention in some of your food reviews?"

How much more can you feed us? Hopefully, a lot more than this!

Answer: Our favorite food chart says that all foods that they list are in 100 gram portions unless otherwise noted. Examples of these exceptions to the rule include, but are not limited to: Basil (25 grams), Parsley (25 grams), and strawberries (5 small ones). Guinea pigs should get about a cup of veggies per day total, with their diet breaking down roughly into the following proportions: 50% hay, 40% veggies, 10% pellets. If your guinea pigs are eating more veggies than hay, then they are not having a balanced diet.

So what about those foods where we say "small portions" or "feed sparingly?" Obviously, you're going to want to give far less than the 100 gram portion, and probably even less than the 25 gram portion. For most fruits (which have a lot of sugar), you'll only want to feed about 1 cubic inch. For a food like banana that you have to be very careful with, you should only feed about a 1/4" inch cube to be on the safe side.