Can Guinea Pigs Eat Broccoli?

We've been lazy piggies lately, and we'd like to apologize to Ashley for not posting. We'll make it up to you by posting about broccoli like you requested.

This is the food that Broccoli got his name from. We can eat broccoli 1-2 times per week; it should only be fed to us sparingly since it's a gassy food. We can also eat broccoli leaves, although they're high in vitamin A, so they should be fed sparingly also.

Hey, I'm named after that food!

Can I get in there?

Lola noses me out of the way twice, but I manage to grab a piece anyway!

Broccoli (the food) gave me the strength to stand up to Lola. It's really delicious. Broccoli gets 5/5 stars!

Black Friday Guinea Pig Deal

Our humans wanted to alert you to a pretty great Black Friday deal on guinea pig hay- and you won't even have to leave your home to elbow other humans out of the way to redeem it!

For one day only…Small Pet Select is offering a full 25% off discount on our 8lb timothy hay product for guinea pig owners. This promotion is starting now and running through midnight November 23rd (Black Friday). Keep in mind we don’t discount our products often…so don’t miss your chance to try the best quality timothy hay for guinea pigs at a rock bottom price that….well…we simply can’t make available for long!

*To redeem this offer, go to their hay page by clicking here and choose the 8lb package of timothy hay. Then use the coupon code ‘guineapigfriday’ at checkout and you’ll save 25% on the purchase (and if you buy by clicking through the above link, you'll be supporting Cavy Savvy!)

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Thyme?

The humans decided that since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, they would feed us some more Thanksgiving-inspired herbs. You can feed us thyme 1-2 times per week. You can feed us the stems as well as the leaves.

Today we tried thyme, and frankly, I don't know what to think. It's green, but tastes much stronger than other green foods we've tried before.

The heck is this?!

I tried some and ate it enthusiastically but then wandered away. Then I saw Buffy and Broccoli were still eating it, so you know I had to go and claim some more. But then Buffy got bored and wandered off, too.

We're lukewarm on this food. We give it 3/5 stars. It's nice to eat a nibble or two, but after that we become disinterested.

Product Review: Vitakraft Eco-Bedding

Longtime readers of Cavy Savvy might be asking themselves, "Didn't you piggies already review Eco Bedding?" As it turns out, the Eco Bedding we reviewed last time was Fibercore Eco Bedding, and this is Vitakraft Eco-Bedding. Aside from the brand name, is there any difference between the two?

Broccoli, you weren't around when we reviewed the other Eco Bedding. Let me tell you all about it...

One obvious difference is the color: It's a very eye-catching shade of blue. (It also comes in brown and purple)

Looks like someone put the sky through a shredder and lined our cage with it.

When we tried the other Eco-bedding, we found that it was scary to walk on something that was so crinkly. Now that we're a year older and wiser, we don't find crinkly bedding as scary as we used to. We're still terrified of humans sneezing, however! How do their noses make such scary noises?

Speaking of humans sneezing, this litter wasn't dusty, which was a good thing. It's also made from natural, recycled materials, which is nice. One of the problems we had with this bedding was that it would get everywhere, and we had to hear the humans complain about sweeping up the floor around our cage in addition to changing the litter in our cage. It was also not as absorbent as the Sunseed Fresh World Bedding (also made by Vitakraft). But overall, this is pretty good litter. 4.5/5 stars!

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Rosemary?

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which could be good news for our fellow guinea pigs. The humans go a little crazy with the food, and if you're lucky, some of it could trickle down to us. We'll give you the scoop on what's delicious and what you should turn your nose up at. Make sure you read our reviews of cranberries, pumpkins, and green beans if you haven't already.

Today, we're going to be reviewing rosemary, which many humans use in stuffing. Rosemary is high in calcium, and so should only be fed sparingly to us about once a week.

I like it!

Now I'm bored. You go ahead, Broccoli.

Rosemary is good and smells really interesting, but it's the kind of thing you get bored of quickly. If your humans offer you some during Thanksgiving, be sure to nibble on it, but be smart and save room for other things. 3/5 stars!

Product Review: Oxbow Organic Barley Biscuits

Last time I was at the vet for a trim, the humans saw a new type of Oxbow treat, and we absolutely had to have it!

Oxbow treats in a green bag? I'm intrigued!

Hey, feed me, not Lola! 

That's better! Yum! I love Oxbow treats!

The humans fed us on their lap, one by one. They do this because Lola has a nasty habit of stealing food, and we will often run away with our treats back to our pigloos to eat them, which does not make for good blog pictures. All three of us loved these new treats. They're delicious, they're organic, and they're the perfect size for the humans to hold them out for us without risk of nipping their fingers. 5/5 stars!

Guinea Pig Product Warning: Exercise Balls

We were browsing the guinea pig products on Amazon.com this morning, and came across this:

It says: "Super Pet Giant Guinea Pig Run-About 11-1/2 Inch Exercise Ball"

When you click on the product and zoom in, you can see that the package actually says it is for Chinchillas, Rats, and "other small mammals," but does not specifically mention guinea pigs. However, Amazon.com's product description says: "For pet rats, guinea pigs, chinchillas or other small animals." By labeling this as a guinea pig product on their search page and product description, Amazon.com is doing a disservice to guinea pig owners. As guineapigcages.com's toy page points out, you should not use large exercise balls because: "These are very bad for guinea pigs and can cause crippling injuries to their back, feet, and toes."

Of course that doesn't mean we don't like exercise! We greatly benefit from at least one hour of supervised floor time per day. Just, you know, not in a giant ball.

Although many people have already done so, feel free to leave a 1-star review for this product on Amazon.