Feeding your Guinea Pig
Guinea Pigs (or Cavies) are cute little creatures but they are not easy to feed correctly.
The main reason is that guinea pigs are the only species, apart from humans, who require Vitamin C included in their diet. Most other animals have a specific enzyme that enables them to make Vitamin C.
What to feed your guinea Pig
Rabbit or guinea pig pellets with added Vitamin C are available at good pet stores. Water must always be available and will stay cleaner if supplied in a gravity dripper water bottle, but a heavy dish will suffice.
Guinea pigs need fresh, clean unsprayed grass every day to supply vitamin C which the body cannot store. As well as grass, hay or lucerne should be given also They can also be fed any or a mixture of the following:
Capsicum, apples, cauliflower leaves, lucerne hay or chaff, celery, tops or stalks (washed), pea shells, carrots (tops and peelings), banana peel, lettuce (small amounts), parsley, water and rock melon, beans (stringless and runner types), cucumber, sweet corn and husks with silk, tomatoes, silver beet, pieces of mint (occasionally), spinach, and dandelions.
Hard-dried wholemeal bread makes a change and is good for their teeth, as well as rolled oats or hulled oats. Branches from fruit trees are also great for wearing down teeth.
What not to feed your Guinea Pig
While some weeds are safe to feed to guinea pigs, in general, if in doubt, do not feed.
Beetroot leaves, rhubarb, onion, potato, turnip, and in general, any other bulbs than those mentioned in the above section, are poisonous.
Foods like lettuce and cabbage, while not poisonous, may cause severe diarrhoea, and upset.
The main reason is that guinea pigs are the only species, apart from humans, who require Vitamin C included in their diet. Most other animals have a specific enzyme that enables them to make Vitamin C.
What to feed your guinea Pig
Rabbit or guinea pig pellets with added Vitamin C are available at good pet stores. Water must always be available and will stay cleaner if supplied in a gravity dripper water bottle, but a heavy dish will suffice.
Guinea pigs need fresh, clean unsprayed grass every day to supply vitamin C which the body cannot store. As well as grass, hay or lucerne should be given also They can also be fed any or a mixture of the following:
Capsicum, apples, cauliflower leaves, lucerne hay or chaff, celery, tops or stalks (washed), pea shells, carrots (tops and peelings), banana peel, lettuce (small amounts), parsley, water and rock melon, beans (stringless and runner types), cucumber, sweet corn and husks with silk, tomatoes, silver beet, pieces of mint (occasionally), spinach, and dandelions.
Hard-dried wholemeal bread makes a change and is good for their teeth, as well as rolled oats or hulled oats. Branches from fruit trees are also great for wearing down teeth.
What not to feed your Guinea Pig
While some weeds are safe to feed to guinea pigs, in general, if in doubt, do not feed.
Beetroot leaves, rhubarb, onion, potato, turnip, and in general, any other bulbs than those mentioned in the above section, are poisonous.
Foods like lettuce and cabbage, while not poisonous, may cause severe diarrhoea, and upset.
Safe Plants, Weeds, and Grasses to Feed Cavies
Cudweed
Name: Cudweed (Gnaphalium sp.)
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Cleavers
Name: CleaversSafe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: Believed to be a good lymphatic system cleanser and has good skin healing properties. Also combats kidney stones and cystitis. Diuretic properties.
Wandering Jew.
Name: Wandering Jew
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: Can be safely fed in small amounts.
Nettle.
Name: Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: When dried nettles loose their sting. Nettle hay is a particularly valuable rabbit & cavy food, especially for convalescent stock. It must however be carefully dried and free from mould. High in protein and iron. Also contains silica; potassium; vitamins A & C.
Chickweed
Name: Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: Can be safely fed in small amounts.
Fennel.
Name: Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare)
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: This weed is generally found in or near creeks and waterways. It smells very strongly of aniseed (licorice) and the cavies love it.
White Clover.
Name: White Clover (Trifolium)
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: Highly Palatable, produces globular approx 1 inch long white flowers on green stalks. Eaten readily by cavies.
Dock.
Name: Dock (Curly Dock, Sorrell, Yellow Dock)
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: Best fed to cavies before seed heads appear as oxalic acid levels rise in the plant after this time. It has a laxative effect if fed in large quantities, it is an anti-toxin and liver/gall bladder cleanser. Also has skin anti-inflammatory properties.
Shepherd's Purse
Name: Shepherd's Purse
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: High in B1, B2 and Vitamin C. Also provides Vitamin A and K as well as other vitamins and minerals. It has astringent, diuretic, anti-inflammatory and hemostatic properties.
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: High in B1, B2 and Vitamin C. Also provides Vitamin A and K as well as other vitamins and minerals. It has astringent, diuretic, anti-inflammatory and hemostatic properties.
Sow Thistle.
Name: Sow Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus), Hare's Lettuce, Milk Thistle.
Toxic or Safe: Safe
Notes: Not a true thistle and incorrectly called Milk Thistle which is a different plant. Sow Thistle is related to Lettuce family not the Thistle family. Leaves high in Vitamin C (30-60mg / 100g dry) and mineral salts. Vitamin A: thiamine, riboflavin, niacin. Also high in nitrates which could be toxic in large sustained amounts. Many medicinal properties including mild laxative, antibiotic, liver/gall bladder tonic, too many to list.
Toxic or Safe: Safe
Notes: Not a true thistle and incorrectly called Milk Thistle which is a different plant. Sow Thistle is related to Lettuce family not the Thistle family. Leaves high in Vitamin C (30-60mg / 100g dry) and mineral salts. Vitamin A: thiamine, riboflavin, niacin. Also high in nitrates which could be toxic in large sustained amounts. Many medicinal properties including mild laxative, antibiotic, liver/gall bladder tonic, too many to list.
Comfrey.
Name: Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Safe or Toxic: Safe in medicinal quantities (one small leaf).
Notes: Feed young leaves. A useful plant, which aids healing but must not be fed to excess because of the alkaloids it contains.
Catsear
Name: Catsear, False Dandelion (Hypochaeris Radicata)
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: Contains more vitamins and minerals than most vegetables. High in Potassium and Calcium. Antibacterial properties, blood purifier. Aids in skin disorders, jolint pain and liver disfunction. Powerful diuretic but does not deplete potassium like other diuretics. Aperient (Laxative) properties.
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: Contains more vitamins and minerals than most vegetables. High in Potassium and Calcium. Antibacterial properties, blood purifier. Aids in skin disorders, jolint pain and liver disfunction. Powerful diuretic but does not deplete potassium like other diuretics. Aperient (Laxative) properties.
Dandelion.
Name: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: The presence of potassium makes dandelion a very balanced diuretic but it should not be fed in larger amounts due to its laxative properties.
Borage.
Name: Borage (Borago officinalisj)
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: Feed young leaves & flowers. Borage is rich in calcium, phosphorus and mineral salts. Aids lactation.
Barley Grass
Name: Barley Grass
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: Very high in vitamin C. Good free food source where available. Able to be grown easily at home from seed. Also high in numerous vitamins and minerals.
Plantain.
Name: Plantain
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: Wound healing properties. High in Vitamin A/Beta Carotene, K, C and Calcium. It is also an anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antihemorrhagic, and has expectorant properties. It contains high levels of Acubin which is a powerful anti-toxin.
Safe or Toxic: Safe
Notes: Wound healing properties. High in Vitamin A/Beta Carotene, K, C and Calcium. It is also an anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antihemorrhagic, and has expectorant properties. It contains high levels of Acubin which is a powerful anti-toxin.
Toxic Plants, Weeds and Grasses: Please do not feed to your cavies.
Foxglove
Name: Foxglove (Digitalis Purpurea)
Safe or Toxic: It is toxic to both cavies and other animals including humans. DO NOT FEED TO CAVIES.
Notes: The clinical signs are cardiac arrhythmias, vomiting, diarrhoea, weakness, cardiac failure, death.
Onion Weed
Name: Onion Weed
Safe or Toxic: Toxic
Notes: Many different species of Onion Weed. This particular type smells strongly of onion when broken.
Feverfew
Name: Feverfew (Chrysanthemum Parthenium, Tanacetum Parthenium)
Safe or Toxic: Unknown if safe for cavies, but would not risk it.
Notes: Can cause burning of the lips.
St John's Wort
Name: St John's Wort (Hypericum)
Safe or Toxic: Best not to feed to cavies.
Notes: Because of the known photosensitizing properties of the plant, which can be toxic to cows and sheep, it has been considered a pest in some places.
Safe or Toxic: Best not to feed to cavies.
Notes: Because of the known photosensitizing properties of the plant, which can be toxic to cows and sheep, it has been considered a pest in some places.
Oleander
Name: Oleander
Safe or Toxic: Toxic
Notes: Deadly poisionous even in small amounts, especially the sap. Do not house cavies on the lawn under these trees, as even eating dead leaves or grass contaminated with sap will kill your cavies. Even if emergency veterinary care is provided, outcome is usually death. Highly toxic to humans also, leading to death in children.
Quote:Clinical signs may develop rapidly, and the animal may be found dead with no prior warning. In other cases, depression coupled with gastrointestinal distress is evident: vomiting (in those species that can vomit), diarrhea (which may be bloody), and abdominal pain. Irregularities in the heart rate and rhythm will occur: the heart may speed up or slow down, and beat erratically. As the toxicosis progresses, the extremities may become cold and the mucous membranes pale. Trembling and collapse can occur, followed by coma and death within a few hours.
Safe or Toxic: Toxic
Notes: Deadly poisionous even in small amounts, especially the sap. Do not house cavies on the lawn under these trees, as even eating dead leaves or grass contaminated with sap will kill your cavies. Even if emergency veterinary care is provided, outcome is usually death. Highly toxic to humans also, leading to death in children.
Quote:Clinical signs may develop rapidly, and the animal may be found dead with no prior warning. In other cases, depression coupled with gastrointestinal distress is evident: vomiting (in those species that can vomit), diarrhea (which may be bloody), and abdominal pain. Irregularities in the heart rate and rhythm will occur: the heart may speed up or slow down, and beat erratically. As the toxicosis progresses, the extremities may become cold and the mucous membranes pale. Trembling and collapse can occur, followed by coma and death within a few hours.
Deadly Nightshade
Name:Deadly Nightshade (Solanum Nigra).
Safe or Toxic: Toxic
Notes: This is from the potato family. It is toxic to cavies, other animals and humans. Do not feed to cavies.