Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

Grow Your Own Sweet peppers?

Craftymelli7

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Posts
32
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
32
Are sweet yellow peppers okay for guinea pigs to eat? I want to know if they are safe or not please. I will be growing some this spring.
Here is the info to the seeds I am planting:
 

Attachments

20201202_175402.jpg Screenshot_20201202-174550_Chrome.jpg

Soecara

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Posts
1,985
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
1,985
I've grown my guinea pigs many different varieties of capsicums/bell peppers before. The variety "sweet banana" was one similar to the one you are considering, they never turned their noses up at them. When selecting a capsicum variety you are looking for a milder kind, some I have grown are "california wonder", "purple beauty", "yolo wonder", "sweet banana", "sweet romano", among another few.

I will say however I haven't had much luck growing from directly sowing seeds in my area, I have always had significantly more luck growing/buying seedlings and only planting out when they were well established and quite large.
 

Craftymelli7

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Posts
32
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
32
Ok thanks so much for the info. I will try growing several of these this spring then! Do you know a carrot variety for containers that would be healthy too for guinea pigs?
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,246
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,246
They should be OK. But in general, yellow peppers are high in sugar, so you may need to ration how much of them you feed.
 

Craftymelli7

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Posts
32
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
32
Ok how many days per week and how much for each serving would you recommend?
 
Last edited:

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,246
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,246
I don't know how big they get, but I'd give 1/4 - 1/3 cup per day per pig.
 

Craftymelli7

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Posts
32
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
32
Ok thanks so much for the help. What leafy greens would you suggest growing for guinea pigs?
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,246
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,246
Red or green leaf lettuce. Romaine, while no higher in calcium than the other lettuces, can cause excess urinary calcium in some pigs. Not in all, so there's something about the make-up of the pig that makes it happen, but I wouldn't want to run the risk. You can give small amounts of kale or spinach, but those aren't the main staples.
 

Soecara

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Posts
1,985
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
1,985
Other good leafy greens would be like butterhead lettuce, radicchio/chicory (they will even eat the bitter green "field radicchio" leaves which are what grow when you don't starve the plant of light), endive. For containers you might be better off going for the globe carrots such as "paris market" rather than the traditional carrots depending on the depth of the container.

Also consider what vegetables you eat yourself, and if guinea pigs can also eat them, or even if they can eat bits you don't (for example cucumbers and cucumber leaves).
 

Craftymelli7

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Posts
32
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
32
I appriciate the help from everyone on my questions. Thank you for the great information. I am certainly learning a ton!
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,246
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,246
Radicchio was the favorite leafy veg of every pig I ever had. I never thought about trying to grow it, though.
 

spy9doc

Well-known member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Oct 9, 2011
Posts
48
Joined
Oct 9, 2011
Messages
48
They should be OK. But in general, yellow peppers are high in sugar, so you may need to ration how much of them you feed.

Sorry to disagree, but my information is that yellow peppers are highest in Vit. C and red are the highest in sugar. Maybe check for both of us?
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,246
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,246
I wasn't implying that they're the highest, just that they're high enough not to be given in unlimited quantities.

I looked yesterday, and couldn't find a comparison of this particular kind of pepper with other yellow (or other colored) peppers without doing a lot of digging, which I didn't have time to do at the moment. I'll try to remember to get back to it later today.
 

TheGuineaPigGal

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2020
Posts
273
Joined
Sep 23, 2020
Messages
273
Red or green leaf lettuce. Romaine, while no higher in calcium than the other lettuces, can cause excess urinary calcium in some pigs. Not in all, so there's something about the make-up of the pig that makes it happen, but I wouldn't want to run the risk. You can give small amounts of kale or spinach, but those aren't the main staples.

I have heard iceberg is not good to feed either...
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,246
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,246
Nobody here ever recommends iceberg. It has next to no nutritional value -- it's mainly crunchy water.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

T
Replies
4
Views
732
gpihgos
gpihgos
MerryFriarTuck
Replies
2
Views
532
teambenji543
teambenji543
kaylacerasoli
Replies
3
Views
635
bpatters
bpatters
K
Replies
6
Views
779
kelly86
K
Top