Oxbow Cavy Cuisine has always been my pellet of choice for my guinea pigs. It contains no alfalfa which can lead to stone formation in guinea pigs.

Recently, I needed to buy another bag and stopped at a different pet store. They didn't carry Oxbow, so I picked up Kaytee Timothy Complete with timothy hay. I've bought it in the past when my store ran out of Oxbow so it wasn't something new for my guinea pigs.

I have to admit that Pikachu has always been a picky eater and that I bought Kaytee Fiesta for her so she would get the pumpkin seeds that she craves. It's sort of like junk food for guinea pigs....alfalfa based pellets with all sorts of seeds and other things that really are not good for guinea pigs. I've finally completely weaned her off of it so she only gets timothy pellets now.

Today, for the first time, I really read the label on the Timothy Complete and was very disappointed to see it contains alfalfa. Had I known that, I wouldn't have bought it. The second surprising thing is that they recommend 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pellets per guinea pig each day compared with Oxbow's recommendation of 1/8 cup. I think 1/2 cup is way too much for one guinea pig. Hays, other than alfalfa should make up the largest portion of their diet, along with fresh veggies and limited fruits in an acceptable calcium to phosphorus ratio.

What an eye opener! I'm going to make sure I buy 100% timothy pellets from now on. I guess it pays to read the labels.....