New Gerty Guinea Tasty Nuggets

Gerty Guinea Pig, alongside her friend Russel Rabbit, has been one of the biggest names in small pets for the last 30 years. But she’s not a girl to rest on her laurels…

So we’ve just launched Gerty Guinea Tasty Nuggets – our new nugget-based food – under the Tiny Friends Farm brand.

More and more small pet owners are recognising the benefits of feeding the one nugget food format. It means that there’s no risk of selective feeding, where the pet eats the parts of a mix they like best first and then leaves some nutritious food components sitting in the bowl.

Each mouthful of the nugget is balanced nutritionally, which means the bowl can be topped up whenever it’s convenient (as long as your piggy isn’t being tempted to over eat and has already scoffed their daily allowance!). It makes your life a little easier and it’s every bit as tasty as a mix.

Happy, healthy choices

There are lots of reasons for choosing Tiny Friends Farm Gerty Guinea Pig Tasty Nuggets. As the nuggets are extruded, they have a light and crunchy texture and we include plenty of long fibre for extended chewing time. We’re well known for our ‘no added sugar’ message and ensure that palatability is high, without the addition of harmful syrups or molasses.

As with all its guinea pig foods, Gerty Guinea Pig Tasty Nuggets also contains additional vitamin C which will stay at recommended levels for the shelf life of the product. There’s also linseed for healthy skin and glossy coat and added vitamins and minerals.

Time to try a new guinea pig food?

No matter what you are feeding, we always recommend changing over food types slowly. We know Tasty Nuggets are tasty – in fact we’re so confident it’s all in the name! – but food preferences are funny things. Did you know that herbivores often take only small nibbles of a new food to make sure it’s safe to eat? It’s one of the ways herbivores protect themselves in the wild where a wide variety of unfamiliar plants could be available, so if you introduce a new food gradually you are helping them do what comes naturally. A slow introduction also provides time for their delicate digestive systems to adjust.

We suggest taking at least two weeks, adding a small amount of new food to your guinea’s usual food and reducing the amount of usual food to match. Over the two weeks, gradually increase the new food until it completely replaces the old food. Also be careful to keep offering all the nutrition essentials like hay, fresh water and a small amount of leafy, fresh greens.

Occasionally, a small pet will completely refuse to change diets and while we wouldn’t expect to see that happen very often, it can occur because the pet has developed strong food preferences when very young – perhaps only eating what they saw their mum eat. It can also happen if your pet has been eating a food with hidden sugars such as molasses and has got fixated on an unhealthy sugary hit.

If your pet completely refuses new food you may need to take even longer to introduce it. The presence of another guinea pig can also encourage a nibble of something new – seeing someone else enjoy their food is a bit of a confidence booster! It’s not really safe to withhold food for any period of time and small herbivores need to have food, such as hay, available at all times. Time and patience should win out in the end. And if you are trying to wean your guinea pig away from a less healthy diet, Gerty Guinea Pig Tasty Nuggets is a great choice.