Guinea pigs should be fed a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Vegetables high in calcium or oxalates should only be given in limited amounts or occasionally, to avoid discomfort from gas and bloat.
Fresh timothy hay should always be available to promote digestive health and help wear down their teeth, in addition to dark leafy lettuce varieties, red and green peppers, herbs, cabbage, kale, endive, radicchio mustard or turnip greens as daily options.
Contents
Onions and Garlic
Guinea pigs should consume one cup per day of greens rich in micro-nutrients and low in starches and sugars; additionally they need plenty of fibre to promote gut health.
Foods known to be harmful for guinea pigs include onions and other allium vegetables, garlic, chives, leeks, mushrooms and rhubarb – these could potentially lead to blood problems, indigestion and even death for your pet.
Your guinea pig deserves occasional treats of fruits and vegetables as treats, but be wary not to overfeed it as this can lead to weight gain or digestive issues; particulary when feeding high sugar fruits like apple, banana or berries that should only be fed sparingly.
Tomatoes
Your pet should enjoy eating tomatoes from time to time, but be careful with giving your herbivorous pet leaves, stems or other non-fruit parts of tomato plants such as Tomatine that could contain Tomatine which contains toxin that could potentially be hazardous and lead to vomiting and diarrhea in guinea pigs.
Grape tomatoes, which are smaller and less acidic than other varieties of tomatoes, may also be suitable to feed to your guinea pig; as with all foods however, introduce it slowly over several days and discard any uneaten food daily to prevent spoilage.
Other foods safe for guinea pigs include dark leafy greens, carrot tops, kale, silver beet and mint; however, you should only feed these to them every one to two weeks as they contain high concentrations of oxalic acid which may lead to sores at the corners of their mouths known as cheilitis.
Dairy Products
Guinea Pigs are herbivores and require plenty of high quality hay for digestion purposes, fibre to promote dental health, fresh vegetables and some fruits (rhubarb is toxic), tomatoes (including green parts and stems) with solanine content, raw potatoes that could cause digestive issues as well as raw potatoes that may lead to health issues for your furry friend.
Milk, dairy and meat should not form part of a guinea pig’s diet as they lack the enzymes required to digest them properly. Instead, treat-sized amounts of fruit and veg should do. Make sure they always have access to fresh clean drinking water – check twice daily!
Potatoes
Guinea pigs are strictly herbivorous creatures, meaning meat, eggs, dairy and any other animal products should never be fed to them as these foods cannot be digested properly by them and could lead to digestive issues and illness as a result.
Onions and garlic (and alliums like leeks, chives, scallions and shallots) should also be avoided due to their potential to cause blood disorders. Chocolate should also be avoided due to its chemical theobromine, which has been found to overstimulate central nervous system stimulation leading to blood vessel constriction leading to heart attacks or even death in extreme cases.
Potatoes should be avoided to minimize alkaloids and carbs that provide no benefit for guinea pigs. Instead, feed your pet a variety of leafy green vegetables and herbs daily – any new vegetables should be introduced gradually to avoid digestive upset.
Nuts
Guinea pigs require ample vitamin C for proper health, so providing it on a daily basis is absolutely necessary. When feeding this vitamin C-rich food to them it is crucial that they receive it via vitamin-fortified pellets made of timothy grass rather than fruits or vegetables with added vitamin C as this could cause diarrhoea which dehydrates their bodies quickly.
Your best bet for providing vitamin C to guinea pigs is offering them fresh fruit and veggies rich in this nutrient, such as kiwi, strawberries, citrus fruits, bananas and bananas – these should be offered several times each week in small portions – dandelion greens, parsley and sage are excellent sources. Beetroot also provides good amounts of Vitamin C but should only be fed occasionally due to its phosphorous and calcium content.
