ASK A VET: 3 Reasons To Avoid Muesli/Mix Pellets for Guinea Pigs
Hi everyone, I'm Dr Sam a small animal veterinarian, and today I will be talking about my top 3 reasons why I generally DO NOT recommend muesli based mixes for our little piggies.
When I say Muesli based diets, I am referring to a pellet type mix that often contains some hay, some pellets, some seeds, some lucerne, some bits of coloured dry fruit, and whatever else is decided to put in. It essentially is a mix that looks like it provides plenty of variety - however, it's not always all it seems!
Reason #1: Promotes Selective Feeding in Guinea Pigs
The first reason why I don't like these types of mixes, is because it promotes selective feeding. You'll often find your piggies will eat their favourite parts or ingredients of the mix, and leave behind the ingredients that they're not a huge fan of. It's like if we're offered a food platter, I personally would automatically gravitate towards the chocolately sweets rather than the carrot sticks - and we all know which one is the healthier and better option! Selective feeding is the underlying issue leading into my next two points...
Reason #2: Promotes Obesity and other Guinea Pig Health Issues
When guinea pigs selective feed, they will often gravitate to the fattier and more unhealthy ingredients offered (as above - the chocolate brownies over the carrot sticks for us!), which overall is not fantastic for their health. A lot of the mix type foods contain a high amount of seeds, nuts and dried fruit, all of which contain quite a high fat and sugar content - which should essentially be kept as more `of an occasional treat'. Guinea pigs also have a very complex digestive system and require high amounts of fibre in their diet, so these high fats and sugars aren't always tolerated well.
Obesity can lead to a menagerie of other health conditions, which may involve the urinary system, cardiac system, respiratory system and digestive system, as well as conditions such as pododermatitis aka bumblefoot.
Reason #3: Promotes Nutritional Deficiencies in Guinea Pigs
This is probably one of the most crucial reasons to ensure our guinea pigs are getting a good quality, uniform pellet. First off, most of the more reputable pellet brands, who have a lot of scientific backing and a very comprehensive nutritional breakdown with stabilised vitamin C, will usually be in the form of a uniform pellet - meaning they all look the same, and have even nutrients throughout each pellet. A lot of the mix type foods are actually unable to provide an accurate and comprehensive nutritional breakdown if you read the back of the bag, such as exact concentrations of Vitamin A, C, D and E, phosphorous and calcium for example. It's important to note that when diets read 'may contain the following ingredients....' it is not guaranteed in each bag, and an exact nutritional breakdown usually cannot be provided.
Vitamin C is one of THE MOST important vitamins, as guinea pigs NEED to get their Vitamin C from their diet, which is usually partially from a good quality pellet, and partially from daily vegetables. If they are selective feeding, they may not be eating the high vitamin C ingredients and will end up developing a Vitamin C deficiency. Vitamin C is also a very fragile vitamin and the high quality pellet manufacturers will usually have gone through a process to stabilise the Vitamin C, allowing reduced degradation over time.