Can Guinea Pigs Eat Micro Greens?

Sorry for the long absence. Our humans have been really busy at work for the past few weeks, and haven't had time to get us new foods and products to try. Shame on you, humans! Where are your priorities?

Today we're going to review micro greens. Micro greens are the seedlings of mature plants. As far as we could determine, micro greens are safe for guinea pigs to eat. However, keep in mind that micro greens have several times as many nutrients as mature plants, and guinea pigs shouldn't get too much calcium. We had trouble finding information on whether micro greens have several times as much calcium, so our advice is to only feed small amounts occasionally.

I swear we didn't eat the ones on the left! The humans used it in their sandwiches.

Tasty!

Bored now.

Micro greens were pretty good, but not good enough for us to eat an entire serving. We'll give micro greens 3/5 stars.

How To Make Your Guinea Pig Happy Right Now

The humans just let us our for extra long floor time tonight and I have to say, it was awesome! Not only do we enjoy the exercise, but we really love the opportunity for foraging that floor time affords us.

We were made to nose around the floor, taking little steps, sniffing the floor, and tasting the occasional stray blade of hay. It's a strong natural instinct for us, and when we are let out of our cage for floor time, we get to explore and forage for food.

If you want to go a step further, you can hide little treats around the room we forage in. Take some stray pellets and hide them under chairs, in paper bags that have been tilted on their side (so we can crawl in) and we will make it our personal mission to sniff them out!

If you're concerned that we will pee and poop all over your nice carpet, have no fear! We are conditioned to only go in our cage, so just leave the cage open and we will return when nature calls. The exception to this is if there are covered areas that we have access to, such as under bookcases, or under tables, in which case we will designate these areas as our personal bathroom spots, so make sure you block these off beforehand.

One more thing: we need to be supervised during floor time because as gnawing animals we will chew on any and all things you leave on the floor: papers, shoelaces, etc. So keep a eye on us to keep us safe!

What do your piggies like to do when you give them floor time? Tell us in the comments!

Ask A Guinea Pig: Why Did My Guinea Pig Stop Wheeking?

Kathy asks: "I was a lonely rescued pig, and my humans brought me home a friend. Now instead of wheaking like I used to do all the time, I just sit and occasionally rumblestrut. My humans say they miss the wheaking. What should I tell them?"

Answer: Let's start by talking about what it means when your guinea pig wheeks. According to Guinea Pigs: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual by Katrin Behrend, wheeking (or "squeaking," as she calls it) means: "Pain, fear, loneliness; begging for food (expressed towards humans only); warning" (p. 47). Insistent wheeking is more likely to be about food, while faint or timid wheeking is more likely about fear or loneliness (p. 43).

No lonely-wheeks for us. Only food-begging wheeks!

With this in mind, here are a few possible causes that could make a guinea stop wheeking:

* Your guinea pig was lonely before, but now has a friend. The rumblestrut could mean your guinea pig is interested in mating or establishing dominance with the new pig.
* Your guinea pig might have been hearing a distressing noise, like an air conditioner, but now it stopped.

* Your guinea pig is too hot or cold. Make sure you read our post on the right temperature for your guinea pig.

* Your guinea pig may be sick. Make sure you check their weights regularly, and ensure that they're pooping normally.

Guinea pigs also tend to wheek more when they are babies. When Lola was a baby pig, she wheeked every single night, all night. But now she is grown, and we luckily do not have to put up with it as much. 

Product Review: Ecotrition Snak Shak Activity Log

Today, we're going to review Ecotrition Snak Shak Activity Log. We reviewed a similar product a while back: Ecotrition Snak Shak Natural Hideaway. The primary difference between these two products is that this one is shaped like a log, while that one was shaped like a hut.

That looks fun to chew on.

It is fun to chew on! What's in this thing, by the way?

Like the other Snak Shak product we reviewed, we loved chewing on this one, and we did try walking through it. However, we didn't find this one fun to hide inside of like the hut. Also, we have the same concerns about the ingredients as we had with the other Snak Shak. These things are made with pine wood and honey; while not dangerous (in moderation), it's not the healthiest thing we could eat, either. We'll give it 4/5 stars.

Ask A Guinea Pig: Can Guinea Pigs Eat Scotch Fingers?

Myshala Forster asks: "my lil piggy Topdeck goes crazy when I'm eating scotch fingers and if I put them down to grab something for him to chew on he runs to the plate eating the scotch fingers, are they dangerous for him??"

Answer: We have to admit that we had never heard of a "scotch finger" before your question, so we had to use Google to figure out what it is. Apparently, Scotch Fingers are "the most popular plain sweet biscuit in Australia... The biscuit has a lovely melt-in-the-mouth texture, which is the result of our bakers using a combination of butter, eggs, condensed milk and a special soft flour."

This sounds like good human food (for an occasional treat), but not good guinea pig food. Processed foods in general should be avoided. Also, flour is typically made from wheat, and grains are not well digested by guinea pigs. In addition, dairy should not be fed to guinea pigs, with the exception of baby guinea pigs drinking their mother's milk, because we are lactose intolerant as adults.

Notice how we're eating the strawberries and Oxbow treats, and not the chocolates behind us. 

So we've established that they are definitely not good and should not be a regular part of your guinea pig's diet, but are they actually dangerous if your piggy sneaks in a bite or two while you're not looking? Probably not, but you should still be cautious. Here's the advice that was given to the owner of a guinea pig who ate some saltine crackers: keep a close eye on your piggy afterwards, and make sure that they're eating hay, drinking water, and pooping normally. If anything seems abnormal, take your piggy to the vet. Alternatively, you can call ASPCA's animal poison control number (888-426-4435). (Or, in your case, whatever the Australian equivalent of the ASPCA is.)

Got more questions for us? Feel free to Ask A Guinea Pig!

Guinea Pig Valentine's Day!

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Broccolini?

No, that's not a typo in the post title. Broccolini is a hybrid between regular broccoli and Chinese broccoli. It's also known as broccolette. In terms of feeding, treat broccolini like broccoli and only feed it 1-2 times per week sparingly since it's a gassy food.

Yum!

Delicious!

Broccoli, will you share with me? Ah! Don't be mean! I was just asking!

Broccolini is really good! 5/5 stars!