Have you ever wanted to create something truly special for your guinea pigs? Amongst all their delicious veggies, hay, and healthy portion of pellets, it can be fun to introduce a healthy treat from time to time! For a fun and creative way to delight your guinea pigs, why not make a homemade treat instead?
This recipe is the simplest possible, using only 4 ingredients: Critical Care Oxbow, Oat Flakes, Apple and Carrot. If you do not have that handy, don’t worry, as we provide a lot of alternative ingredients in the recipe below!
So, step into your kitchen and bake with us for this simple, easy to follow, homemade treat, your piggies will surely enjoy!
Ingredients:
Yield: 2 treats
1 cup Oxbow Critical Care
3 Tbsp Oat flakes
1 apple, grated
1 carrot, grated
2 Tbsp Water
Materials:
1 baking tray
1 large bowl
2 cookie cutters (we will be using a circle cookie cutter for this recipe)
1 spoon
1 toothpick
2 pieces of string (optional)
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C / Gas Mark 4
- Measure out 1 cup of oxbow critical care and place it in a large mixing bowl. As an alternative, you can replace this ingredient with grounded guinea pig pellets or pieces of hay at the bottom of your piggie’s hay bag.
Note: If you do not have access to a blender to crush up your alternative choice of pellets, you can always soften them up by soaking them in water.
- Grate 1 whole apple and 1 whole carrot and place it into the large mixing bowl.
Note: Alternatively, parsley, basil, cilantro or other guinea pig safe foods can be used in place of apple or carrot.
- Add 3 tbsp of oat flakes into the same mixing bowl.
- Now, combine all of the ingredients together. You may find the mixture feels a bit dry when mixing. For a better consistency, add 2 Tbsp of water to the mixture.
Note: You can also use a banana or apple sauce in place of water in this step, for an extra tasty treat. If you choose to use apple sauce, please ensure that there is no added sugar.
- Next, place a cookie cutter mold of your choice on your baking tray (we have chosen a circle mold for easier packing).
- Form two treat balls of equal size, and place one into each mold
- Then, pack and press each treat ball down into the shape of the mold to create two treat "discs" (you can use a spoon to pack the treat into the mold if you wish).
- Remove the cookie cutter from the treats
- If you do not wish to create a hanging treat, skip this step - Use a tooth pick to create a small hole, large enough to be able to thread a piece of string through.
- Bake in the oven at 180C / Gas Mark 4, for 30 minutes
- Once cooked, let the treats cool down, approximately for 5 minutes. Ensure the treat has completely cooled before serving or storing in the fridge. You can store treats in fridge for up to 3 days.
(Optional) - you can now thread a piece of string through the hole. - Serve and enjoy watching your guinea pigs to dig in!
CONCLUSION
We hope you’ve enjoyed making our super simple guinea pig treat recipe as much as we did! You can always swap out some of the other alternative ingredients mentioned above, to create different treat combinations. Remember, the bulk of your guinea pig’s diet should consist of unlimited grass and hay, nutritionally complete healthy guinea pig pellets (with stabilized Vitamin C) and daily portion of fresh veg and fruit (in moderation).
