EMU - cabbage, fleece and other stuff (even more updates!)

The Igs here. Actually my real name is Iggy. Ignatius Sir Pig. That's what my owner calls me. 

Today my owner gave me some new cabbage. It's even higher in the vitamin C I need. It tastes yummy and the leaves come off in bigger pieces so it's easier my my person to serve. I have a chip clip my owner hung on my cage and she puts the lettuce it it. It's sooo yummy. And good excersise. To any piggie owners, this is the difference between cabbage and iceberg lettuce.

This first picture is the type of cabbage my owner gets for me. It's good for pigs.

This here is BAD for us pigs. It has no dietary content and it's too watery. Enough said!!

I also had my bedding changed. I'm allergic to the bedding my owner used for me. It was CareFRESH, but it still had too small particles that got into my nose and made me sneeze. I don't have any nasal discharge, luckily, so it's just allergies.

My fleece is girly girl fleece, but it is nice and cushy. 

It is quite messy. /: But, that is the problem with fleece. My owner brushes it off every day, so it doesn't always look this icky. (As you may know, we guinea pigs do make big messes. We like to spread that hay around! So what?)

Sad and happy news!!

Well, got some REALLY BAD NEWS and some good news. 

Bad news.....We had to take Russell to the vet because he was sick. That's part of the bad news. Anywho, it's very unlikely he will make it. We took him to the PetSmart vet and you could tell they were trying to be nice and all, but he could barely breathe. He could not stand or walk, he had an ear infection, and he was actually too young to be sold. 

 The PetSmart has a 14 day guarantee and if the pet becomes sick you can either replace it, or have a vet "treat it". They took him into a room while we waited and put him in a cage, they told us they would give him medication.

 Since there was a slim chance of him surviving the night, I decided I wanted to look at other guinea pigs. Next door there was a PetCo and actually the store actually sold some adopted pets! They promoted adopt don't shop too! The lady was super nice and gave us loads of info instead of just trying to get me to buy one and helped me find a little sleeping hut for him and such.

 It was an awesome store!!! 

And here's the best news: I got a guinea pig! A new one. His name is Iggy. He is actually almost an adult, not a baby and is really big. We disinfected his cage BIG TIME because I didn't want him to get Russell's sick-germs. He's HUGE!!!!! Here's a pic.

Iggy's ADORABLE, don't you agree?

Guinea Pig Nutrition and Diet

    If you've been thinking about getting a furry friend to add to your family that doesn't need a lot of exercise, is cuddly and friendly, and will be exciting to take care of, choose a guinea pig!! These adorable little guys are unlike other rodents that climb and run around the room, but they are more likely to want to sit in your lap while you read a book or watch TV. If you already own one, or are going to get one soon, read this post all about food and nutrition!

Main Diet

Guinea pigs mainly eat dry guinea pig food, the best kind is usually Oxbow because they don't have any unhealthy colored dyes that some brands use to make the food look more interesting. Oxbow also offers hay, and some healthy, natural hay-based treats for guinea pigs. Never buy treats that say "for rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils and hamsters", only buy the ones that are specially for guinea pigs, because they have different needs, so therefore, they eat different things.

What Can and Can't I feed my Guinea Pig?

Fresh food is a must in your guinea pig's health, but sometimes we don't know exactly what is OK for them. In a book, they say cauliflower is okay, and another unknown resource states it isn't. Here is a list of the Do's and Don't's of what you should avoid and what you should feed your guinea pig. Don't worry, the research I did was completely safe and perfectly fine for your piggie.

                                                                                               Yuck!:

                                                                                                 

                                                                                               Iceberg Lettuce

                                                                                               Cauliflower

                                                                                               Potato Skins

                                                                                          Raw Beans(dry kidney beans..pinto beans...)

                                                                                           Potato Chips or other processed human food

                                                                                            No store brand Yogurt treats like "Yogies!"

                                                                                             (guinea pigs cannot digest dairy)

                                                                                             Any Non-Guinea pig food (like 

                                                                                              hamster food, gerbil food, rat food...etc...) 

                                                                                                 Any type of meat--raw or cooked

                                                                                                Popcorn--it can get stuck in the pig's throat

                                                                                                 Cheese

                                                                                                    Sugary Foods

                                                                                                      Coffee, chocolate, tea, or alcohol 

                                                                                                         Onions

                                                                                     
                                       

 

      Yum!:                                                                             

Semi-Sweet Peppers 

Cucumbers

Spinach-3 leaves maximum

Bananas

Parsley--If you tear it up near your guinea pig's

cage, he'll love the smell!

Carrots

Apples--just be sure there isn't any seeds in it!!

Broccoli--A small piece

Banana Slices

Dandelion Greens

Cherry tomatoes--don't give him too many, 

they have a very large amount of citrus in them!!

These lists cannot cover even half of what a guinea pig can and can't have. Go to Smallanimalchannel.com/guinea pig nutrition to see a bigger list of foods for guinea pigs!

Daisy's Fun Facts:

Hey, did you know that guinea pigs' ears turn reddish-pink when they are hot?

That's my fact, folks, and I am Daisy the Rabbit signing out. Goodbye!!!