If you own a guinea pig, you are probably aware that they love to put anything and everything in their mouth. Even if they aren’t eating, guinea pigs love to always have something in their mouth to chew on. Guinea pigs can chew threw so many things that you might even run out of things to put in their cage.
If this is the case, you are probably wondering what sort of objects can you put in the cage for your guinea pig to chew and eat. This will be the topic of today’s article, as we will cover whether or not guinea pic can eat grass from outside.
Can guinea pigs eat grass from outside?
Yes, guinea pigs can eat grass from outside. This is because they are herbivores, meaning they only eat plants.
Therefore, their digestive system is more than prepared to handle grass from outside. Grass is also very similar to the hay that makes up the majority of a pet guinea pig’s diet. Guinea pigs can eat both wet and dry grass.
Is grass healthy for guinea pigs?
In fact, grass can actually be a very healthy snack for a guinea pig. This is because grass contains a high volume of Vitamin C, which guinea pigs naturally have a low composition of. That being said, grass does not contain every essential vitamin for guinea pigs. Because of this, you should not let your guinea pig eat only grass.
If you want to feed your guinea pig grass, I would recommend you also feed him/her pellets and some fresh vegetables.
Risks of feeding your guinea pig grass
While feeding your guinea pig grass certainly has its benefits, it certainly has its downside. Letting your guinea pig eat grass from outside does put him/her at risk for ringworm and other parasites. Many of these different parasites are extremely small and can disguise themselves well in the grass.
Parasites can cause a big problem in your cage, especially if you do not catch it early. Worms such as roundworm can multiply extremely fast by harvesting eggs inside your guinea pig’s skin. Parasites can cause roundworm, mange, and lice to infect your guinea pig. To learn more about this topic, check out my article on Guinea Pig Fungal Infections.
To mitigate the risk of parasites, I would recommend washing the grass in warm water before you give it to your guinea pig. Additionally, try your best to get rid of all the roots and mud, as these are hotspots for parasites.
More precautions when feeding your guinea pig grass from outside
As you’d might expect, you should never give your guinea pig grass from outside if you have recently fertilized your lawn. The fertilizer can be extremely toxic and can kill a guinea pig in as little as 4 hours. You should only feed your guinea pig grass from outside if it has not been fertilized in at least 4 weeks.
Fertilizer can seep into the grass and go unnoticed, so this is another reason why you should always rinse the grass before you give it to your guinea pig. For this reason, you should also never feed your guinea pig grass from a neighbor’s yard or a public space, as you do not know the last time it was fertilized.
If you do not have any of your own grass, there are plenty of grass products you can get your guinea pig. My favorite is the grass chewy toys from amazon. You can click on the picture below for more details.
