What Veggies Can Guinea Pigs Eat?

One of your most important tasks as the owner of a guinea pig is to ensure they are fed a healthy, balanced diet. The ideal diet for a guinea pig should include a combination of hay, pellets, and fruits/vegetables.

When it comes to fruits and vegetables, most guinea pigs should be fed vegetables every day, and fruit every other. While fruit is certainly important for the health of a guinea pig, today’s article will focus on everything you need to know about veggies for guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs are herbivores, which mean they get 100% of their diet from plant sources. This also means that their digestive system cannot properly break down meat or other sources of food from animals. Since guinea pigs can only eat plants, its important to know what nutrients they need from vegetables.

Why do guinea pigs need veggies?

The main reason why guinea pigs need to be fed vegetables is because their body requires vitamin C and fiber. Similar to humans, a guinea pig’s body is not able to produce vitamin C on its own. Therefore, a guinea pig must rely on food sources to get the required amount of vitamin C.

Vitamin C for guinea pigs is very important, as it plays a big role in maintaining healthy bones, strong muscles and ligaments, and healing wounds. Fiber is important for guinea pigs because it helps them properly digest their food.

Now that you now the importance of vegetables, you probably want to know which ones you should feed your guinea pig.

What veggies can guinea pigs eat

Guinea pigs can eat a wide range of veggies, including but not limited to:

• Romaine Lettuce
• Parsley
• Kale
• Red and Green Peppers
• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Artichokes
• Peas
• Cucumbers

All of the listed vegetables above can be fed to your guinea pig on a daily basis. I would recommend feeding them 1 cup of fresh vegetables daily.

There are also some vegetables that can be given as treats to your guinea pig. These include

• Asparagus
• Basil
• Spinach
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Zucchini
• Sweet Potatoes

The reason these vegetables should only be fed once a week is because they can cause digestion problems. In some instances, they can even cause kidney stones if they are fed too frequently to your guinea pig. You should also limit the amount of starchy vegetables you give your guinea pig, such as potatoes, because they can cause gas and bloating.

How to feed your guinea pig vegetables?

Now that you know which vegetables to give your guinea pig, you should know the best way to feed them. You should always wash leafy vegetables in warm water before you feed your guinea pig. This can help remove any pesticides or parasites that might be on the vegetables. You should also clean out any vegetables that are not eaten after 24 hours.

I do not recommend you feed your guinea pig frozen vegetables, as this can be hard for them to digest.

Always make sure your guinea pig has access to fresh water in their cage since water is another key component for healthy digestion.

What happens if you don’t give your guinea pig enough vegetables?

If you do not give your guinea pig enough vegetables, they will most likely develop a condition called scurvy. This is caused by a vitamin C deficiency. This can cause a series of health conditions including diarrhea, poor skin health, kidney disease, and even hear disease. Therefore, it is extremely important that you give your guinea pig enough leafy green vegetables.

You should know that some guinea pigs will require more vegetables than others. For example, pregnant, sick, and baby guinea pigs will likely need more than a cup of vegetables every day.