More food Questions

Hope this isn't a sensitive subject (got the impression the milkshake thing might be, so sorry if I'm stepping on toes), but I like to know the why of things so here goes...

I understand why we should not feed our cavies milkshakes (or any dairy product). Human beings are the only animal that can digest lactose past infancy (I was going to look this up a couple of days ago to be sure when I actually heard it confirmed on the radio--what luck). And even most of the world's human populations can't (European descended folks can tolerate it at something like 80-90 percent among the population, but Asian descended folks reverse the numbers...only 10-20 percent can tolerate it). Thus, milk products in animals can cause gas, bloating, and diarrhea.

My question concerns the why of other food products:

Popcorn, bread (toast), and sugar yogurt drops. What are the problems here? Empty calories? Is it that if the cavy fills up on this he or she won't eat the nutritious food? I know for instance that feeding ducks and birds white bread is supposed to be bad because if they fill up on that or get only that, they don't get the proper nutrition because they don't eat enough of their regular diet. Or is it that the kernels of say popcorn can get stuck in the teeth? Or will the sugar produce gas (like many starches)?

Chocolate. I understand chocolate is bad for dogs. The vet said he didn't know about guinea pigs, but he suggested that it was better to be safe than sorry...so, sorry piggies, no chocolate at my house! (Although I did here one report a few years ago that thought chocolate wasn't bad for dogs

Oops, my last post too long! And I didn't want to let that chocolate thing stand where it was. What I was saying was...

Although I had heard a few years ago a report that thought chocolate might not be as bad for dogs as they say, I haven't heard anything on that report since. So I figure it was just another one of those reports that no one else could repeat or proove. My question is...has anyone heard anything about that specifically or chocolate and animals in general. What is is specifically that is bad about the chocolate in, say, dogs, that makes it worse for them than for us? Again I ask out of curiousity about the why of it...not because I'm advocating chocolate to our animals (heck if I were really smart, I'd put it off limits to me, too...alas I've tried...and failed!).

take care all

[Marlania]

Giving dogs chocolate, specifically in large quantities, can cause pancreatitis (inflamation of the pancreas). Supposedly, it's a difficult illness to combat and can be prevented by avoiding harmful foods and large amounts of table scraps. I've also heard from my vet that onions are not good for dogs. The way I view that one is that my dog has enough bad gas. He doesn't need anything else to promote it!

As far as guinea pigs go, I feed mine pellets, veggies, and Timothy Hay along with a weekly extra boost of Vitamin C. I'm not sure what such foods as chocolate will do to a guinea, but I don't recommend it at all. Hope this helped any.

Marlania
www.hopeforanimals.com