The Natural Choice for Healthy Guinea Pigs

Selective Naturals Grain Free is blended with temptingly tastyTimothy Hay to help promote the good health of guinea pigs. High infibre and grain free, Selective respects the natural diet, with thisdelicious recipe that includes essential forage and garden vegetables. It supports digestive wellbeing and has all the vitamins and mineralsguinea pigs need to help keep them in the very best of healthnaturally. Kind to teeth with no added sugars or artificial colours,Selective Naturals Grain Free is blended with natural linseed, to helppromote clear skin and a glossy coat. It helps to keep guinea pigs ashealthy on the outside as they are on the inside. That??s why vetsrecommend Selective.

But its what we don’t put into Selective Naturals Grain Free that’s important too…

Have you checked the label on your guinea pig??s food lately? Take alook, because many guinea pig foods contain molasses or syrup or other sugary ingredients. This extra sugar in a guinea pig??s diet can lead toovereating and obesity. It can also lead to dental problems too.

Feeding Selective Naturals Grain Free Guinea Pig for the first time?

If you are feeding Selective Naturals Grain Free to your guinea pigsfor the first time, make sure you change from one food to another,gradually over 10-14 days. At first, you should mix a small amount of Selective Naturals Grain Free with your guinea pig??s current food,slowly decreasing the old diet, whilst gradually increasing the quantityof Selective Naturals Grain Free. A sudden change in diet can cause digestive upsets ?C even when you are changing to a better quality diet ?Cso take care! If your guinea pigs are used to a sugary diet, you may find it takesthem a while to change, but persevere as it will help to benefit yourpets?? health in the long term. And don??t forget fresh hay and water! Your guinea pigs should have anunlimited supply of both at all times, along with a small daily handfulof yummy fresh greens ?C click here for a list of fresh treats that aresuitable to feed your pet guinea pigs.

Feeding Guide

The average adult guinea pig will require 40-50g/day of Selective GuineaPig Grain Free. Fresh vegetables should also be provided along withgood quality hay and clean drinking water. Please store in a cool dryplace. As a general guide a guinea pig should be provided with a portionof fresh hay that matches its body size everyday. Feeding guides areonly estimates of how much food a guinea pig needs and the actual amountcan vary depending on activity and other factors. Ajust feedingquantities according to your guinea pig??s body condition. Always offerunlimited fresh drinking water.

Don??t be fooled by a Guinea Pig??s size and soft fur ?C they make really exciting pets ?C they??re energetic, full of fun and talkative too!

Guinea Pigs are also known as ??cavies?? ?C a name that comes from theirorigins in South America where some of their cousins still live inabandoned burrows. Guinea Pigs like company and, although yours is nice,they??d prefer to have another Guinea Pig living with them. They will want a really large cage so that they have plenty of roomto run around. They can live indoors or out, although inside is best in extremely cold weather.

There is a wide variety of colours and textures of coats. Cavy coloursare classed in 3 sections ?C Agouti (the hair has several different bands of colour), Self-coloured (solid colour) and cavies with markings (combinations of colours in marks on the coat).

Housing / Hutches

In the wild, Guinea Pigs live in caves and burrows, spending the majority of their time foraging for food. Living in a hutch with a run allows your Guinea Pig to live outside and receive plenty of sunshine and fresh air every day. Guinea Pigs need good, secure, roomy housing. Bought hutches and runs are not cheap but they can be perfect for your pet. Guinea Pigs naturally chew wood; so make sure that any wooden hutch you buy has been treated with non-toxic products. You might know someone who could make one for you. A good hutch willhave two compartments ?C one for the day and one to nest and hide in atnight. The hutch should be placed in a position that is sheltered, outof direct sunlight. Extremes of temperature can cause stress that mayresult in discomfort or illness. In cold weather there must be adequateprotection from draughts, wind and rain. Repositioning the hutch canmake the most of winter sunlight, and remember to place the hutch on bricks or legs to avoid becoming damp during wet weather. Hutches should be cleaned out on a regular basis. This is especiallyimportant in warmer weather in order to prevent flies being attracted tothe hutch. In the wetter months, bedding can become damp and mouldy from extreme weather, so??

Every day

Remove any soiled bedding

Once a week

Remove all bedding. Thoroughly sweep out all the soiled bedding. Rinse with warm water and mild detergent and wait until dry.

Spray inside of hutch with a safe cleaning product and wait until dry.

Replace with clean bedding (check for signs of mould etc. on bedding and discard if necessary).

Handling your Guinea Pigs…

To ensure that your Guinea Pigs become tame and affectionate it isimportant that you handle them frequently and correctly. Picking up aGuinea Pig incorrectly could lead them being permanently frightened andmay lead to them becoming aggressive. Remember that most small animals are prey in the wild. So, ifapproached from above they??ll see a large shadow and become scared. Theymight run and hide or try to attack you. The best way to pick up your Guinea Pig is to talk to it as youapproach ?C on the same level. Crouch and let it come to you, presentingthe back of your hand for it to sniff. Place one hand flat in front of your Guinea Pig and with the otherhand gently scoop it towards you. Be sure to support its weight with onehand, while bringing the other over the top to make sure that if itbegins to wriggle it will not fall. Place it on your lap or hold it to your chest and very slowly standup. Always talk to your Guinea Pig to calm and reassure it. A smalltreat will make it happy as well.

Also Avalaible our Supreme Selective Naturals – Now treats can be healthy too!

New Selective Naturals treats are both nutritious and delicious. Rich innatural ingredients, high in fibre with no added sugar, they are available in four delicious flavours ?C Blackberry & Chamomile, Timothy Hay & Thyme, Pea & Mint and Dandelion & Rosehip. These irresistible new treats are the ultimate in healthy indulgence forrabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas and degus.