Foods That Should Never Be Fed To A Guinea Pig | Guinea Pig Diet

A guinea pig needs a wide variety of food to stay healthy. With a balanced diet your guinea pig will live for around 5 – 7 years and will be fit, active and playful throughout. As they spend long amounts of time within their guinea pig cage it’s vital you provide them with adequate outdoor time to exercise. 

It’s also important you stay away from certain foods as feeding your guinea pig the wrong food could prove fatal. Remember if you are unsure then always ask your local vet for professional advice.

Good Guinea Pig Diet

Guinea pigs have a varied diet but at the simplest level all guinea pigs are herbivores. That means that the best foods to give them are fruits and vegetables. Things like eggs, meats and insects aren’t apart of a normal average diet.

The 2 most important dietary needs for your guinea pig are:

1. Vitamin C. This is very important as all guinea pigs are not able to create their own. Good quality guinea pig Pellets can be purchased to add vitamin c back into their diet
2. Hay. This is a guinea pig staple food and also helps with dental hygiene.

That said, it’s also important not to transition your guinea pig’s diet too quickly. If needed, be sure to go slow while you transition your guinea pig from her original diet in her old home or from the pet store to a healthier diet.

Bad Guinea Pig Diet

Here are a few food items that you should never feed your guinea pig under any circumstances. It’s normal to make a mistake but try and limit as many of these foods as possible.

As it says in the Ultimate Pet Hub, this will increase the likelihood of your guinea pig living for longer and being happier.

• Never feed your guinea pig iceberg lettuce. Although most leafy greens do provide an excellent source of Vitamin C for your guinea pig, iceberg lettuce does not. Instead, give your guinea pig either kale or cabbage.
• Never feed your guinea pig long stalks of celery. The longer pieces are hard for your guinea pig to digest. Instead cut the celery up into smaller pieces for your guinea pig.
• Never feed your guinea pig any shelled nuts or seeds. They can choke easily on the pieces of the shell. For this same reason, you should also be aware of the guinea pig treat sticks that are sold in most major pet stores because they sometimes contain shelled seeds.
• Never feed your guinea pig rhubarb, beans, or potatoes with green spots because these are all poisonous to your guinea pig.
• Never feed your guinea pig certain types of plants. Although there are indeed some plants, like dandelions and clover, which are safe for your guinea pig, there are many others which are poisonous to guinea pigs. Daffodils, hyacinths, poppy, and buttercups are some of the plants that should always be avoided.
• Never feed your guinea pig any dairy products. There are a few guinea pig owners that may suggest feeding their guinea pigs yoghurt in order to clean out their digestive systems, but you should avoid feeding any dairy product to your guinea pig because they are lactose intolerant, which means that their bodies cannot properly process daily products.
• Another thing to consider is that excess calcium can cause guinea pigs to develop kidney and/or bladder stones.

Keep in mind that if you accidentally feed your guinea pig something from the above list that is not lethal, simply just watch over your guinea pig carefully for signs of any illness. However, you will have to take your guinea pig to your Vet as soon as possible if he or she has ingested something that is poisonous.

It’s a detail list but as long as you can be vigilant about what you feed your guinea pig it will make al the difference. Their health is the most important thing!

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