Become one of the most preferable rodent species to be pet, there’s a lot of things you should understand about this particular animal. From how to set up guinea pig’s cage, provide the amusement toys and accessories, how to maintain the cleanliness inside the environmental, and of course one of the most fundamental necessities of all the living things on earth, the proper healthy foods. There are certain prohibitions to obey, the do and don’t list of foods you could feed to guinea pig.
Guinea pigs are known as herbivorous animals. Guinea pig dietary habit was quite similar to hamsters and rabbits. Their primarily food for daily is hays and pellets; they eat vegetables, fruits, and commercial foods for the addition to complete all the nutrients that’s needed. There are the best veggies to maintain guinea pig nutrition, and there are the best fruits for guinea pig. Both of vegetable and fruit used only as treats, note this my dear friends.
Moreover, most of the treats was eat raw, but there are creative recipes for guinea pig you can make at home! Delicious and healthy treats for your beloved one. But, most certain thing to remember is a high level of carbs for guinea pig is dangerous. It could trigger some health issues that in the worst case could harm and endanger guinea pig live. Yes, all these are important and should get more attention. If you let your pet eat them regularly, there’s no doubt you would face some issues in the future.
Therefore, today we would tell you about 4 foods we must avoid to give guinea pig. All these foods are just give more disadvantage rather than the advantage. It might be “no problem” for human, but it absolutely a problem for non-human consumer. So, without further do, here are 4 foods we must avoid to give guinea pig!
What would Guinea Pigs Eat?
As herbivorous animal, guinea pig craves grasses, vegetables, and fruits. These three type of meals are the primarily diet of guinea pig. But, you should consider these two main subjects before you feed guinea pig so you could offer the best foods option for them:
- Vitamin C: for your note, guinea pigs cannot formulate their own vitamin c. That is why a lot of people took vitamin c pellets that could maintain guinea pig’s health state.
- Guinea Pig’s Constant-growing Teeth: second one, unlike most of other creatures, guinea pigs teeth would keep growing for the rest of their lives. Give type of foods that fibrous would limit the growing teeth progression.
Now, we would learn about the type of foods that no matter happened, you cannot and shouldn’t be feed to your beloved pet guinea pig!
1. Meats
Do nor ever and never try – based on your curiosity and ignorance – feed guinea pig with meat. All kind of meats, chicken, fish, beef, and other meaty foods are disallowed for guinea pig. The digestion system of herbivorous are only build to process plants and nothing else. Unlike the carnivorous species, their digestion system was built to adapt in both of meat and plant; yes, carnivorous species could survive even though they eat plants.
Furthermore, because of inability to digest the meat, it resulted the dangerous side effect for guinea pigs. This experiment would upset the gut, and trigger serious health issue – the worst, it could lead to the death of them.
2. Avocados
Avocados was included on the list of healthy food for people, but apparently this is not the case on guinea pigs. For your note, guinea pig’s digestion system is sophisticated which they couldn’t get much benefit by eating avocados. The reason behind the disallowed is that avocados contained with a high level of fat. Human need fat more than guinea pig; plus, human’ digestion system able to process all the amount of fat to be energy.
Or at least, human could do something with their own body to reduce all the fat within them (like exercise and others). So, it’s very danger if you let a high amount of crabs and fat storage inside guinea pig’s body. If you buy some avocados, just eat it to yourself and don’t every bother to feed it to your pet.
3. Dairy Product
Our next food is dairy product. All kind of dairy product foods such as yogurt, milk, cheese, sour cream, and kefir should be banned from guinea pig’s list of diet. If you are aware of this, the issue of consuming dairy product not only occur on animals, it also occurs on some people. People who have sensitive digestion system often get diarrhea by it. This problem happened cause by lactose intolerance.
Lactose intolerance happened when body disabled to break the lactose that dwell inside the milk and dairy products. If, these peoples force themselves into eat it, they would get a terrible case of diarrhea and other digestion problem. So, if dairy product could harm people who basically was built in “more complex digestion system”, could you imagine what would happen if your little guinea pig consume it?
Well, then, the right thing to do is never and ever feed dairy products to guinea pig; period.
4. Fruit that Contained with High Amount of Sugar
As I mentioned previously, fruits are given occasionally as treats. But, the disadvantage side, fruits are contained with high level of sugar. The fructose that dwell on fruits are not friendly enough for guinea pig’s body and digestion system. Moreover, any kind of sugar (in fruits and other foods) is unwanted by guinea pig’s body. But, we do understand that fruits are rich of vitamins and minerals which also part of important substances that body needs.
Therefore, the responsibility it’s all yours as the owner. You must be the one who selectively choose the fruits. Research what kind of fruits that contained with a high level of sugar and which one is less-sugar. However, we tell you some of the list of high sugar fruits for you people, such as apples, oranges, bananas, and pears. So, you could never give these fruits to guinea pig? No, you could give it to guinea pig (primarily because these fruits are included to the top list of the healthiest fruits) but only in a very small amount, in occasion.