Fresh Food It's Taco Night!

No on both, I'm afraid. But I'm sure they would love some lettuce if it's romaine, and some cilantro. And probably some green peppers, too.

spudsthepiget said:

No on both, I'm afraid. But I'm sure they would love some lettuce if it's romaine, and some cilantro. And probably some green peppers, too.

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Why not? It has onions, tomatos, cilantro, & jalepeno peppers in it.

It's also very watery, acidic and the jalepenos are too spicy.

Pico de Gallo Is to spicy for their immune system, Plus the acidity. So I agree with Spuds and Mama, They would love to have other veggies/greens, Or as just a treat a piece of fruit like a piece apple,blueberries etc.

So they can't have onions at all either? I'm just really curious as to why (esp. the hot peppers), because if they were wild in South America, you'd think that surely that would be part of their natural diet. For instance, how is it bad for their immune system?

Nope. No onions either. Domestic guinea pigs are very far removed from their wild ancestors, including what their digestive system will allow.

Take a look at this diet & nutrition chart to have a better idea of what is okay and what isn't: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...y-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html

If you're determined for it to be a mexican night mix up some bell pepper, cilantro, and tomato! It's basically the same thing minus the bad stuff.

That's cute, @SheWolfSilver, but not what I was going for. I guess this post has gone from, "I have fresh pico de gallo, can I give my piggy some? The charts aren't clear.." to "Okay, everyone is saying no, but I want to know WHY." I'm not trying to be offensive, & when @CavyMama said, "Domestic guinea pigs are very far removed from their wild ancestors, including what their digestive system will allow," I accepted that--but I would still like to know more. How does she know that? What does it do to them? Is it the equivalent of heartburn? Piggys on this forum are compared to humans all the time for their different personalities and quirks; so why is it that they can't be offered certain vegetarian, natural foods, but can be offered others when either one of those foods could be bad for that particular guinea pig? Correct me if I'm wrong, but new foods are supposed to be introduced gradually, even the "safe foods," in case of intolerance. Right? I realize that I may be coming on a bit strongly, but it's not in my nature to accept answers without information to back them up. And, in case you were wondering, Moomoo did not have any pico de gallo.

Onions are toxic, not just to cavies but also to most animals. Chilis upset the digestive system.

MooMoosMomma said:

That's cute, @SheWolfSilver , but not what I was going for. I guess this post has gone from, "I have fresh pico de gallo, can I give my piggy some? The charts aren't clear.." to "Okay, everyone is saying no, but I want to know WHY." I'm not trying to be offensive, & when @CavyMama said, "Domestic guinea pigs are very far removed from their wild ancestors, including what their digestive system will allow," I accepted that--but I would still like to know more. How does she know that? What does it do to them? Is it the equivalent of heartburn? Piggys on this forum are compared to humans all the time for their different personalities and quirks; so why is it that they can't be offered certain vegetarian, natural foods, but can be offered others when either one of those foods could be bad for that particular guinea pig? Correct me if I'm wrong, but new foods are supposed to be introduced gradually, even the "safe foods," in case of intolerance. Right? I realize that I may be coming on a bit strongly, but it's not in my nature to accept answers without information to back them up. And, in case you were wondering, Moomoo did not have any pico de gallo.

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You said they would have that in their diet in the wild. You must realize just because something grows in the wild, that doesn't mean an animal will eat it. Many animals stay away from food instinctively that could harm them. Evolution has made this happen. Because everyone's answer was not what you wanted to hear, you are demanded a scientific fact on why they can not have them. That is something you showed look for yourself. As a matter of fact, I find the charts work great, I wouldn't think of offering a food not on the charts and I could not find jalapenos on any chart that I have seen nor onions. BTW Dogs can not have onions either. I wouldn't chance feeding them that because my ego was too big to accept that something ok for humans are not ok for animals. We have the allowed food charts so discussions like this are not needed. If its not on the charts, its not allowed.

lunarminx said:

You said they would have that in their diet in the wild. You must realize just because something grows in the wild, that doesn't mean an animal will eat it. Many animals stay away from food instinctively that could harm them.

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That's true. Thanks for pointing that out.

I really like the charts too, and use them almost daily.

Some of the replies came across as patronizing, and that's not cool. It has nothing to do with my ego. Seriously, honestly, I really just wanted to know why. I know this isn't a forum full of cavy savy vets, but I thought somebody would know. I've only had my pig about a month, so most of you are more experienced than I am..

I googled it again just a bit ago, and google suggested a green onion search. Anyway, I loved this result: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/about-guinea-pigs/10238-green-onions.html

Thanks for the responses!

The comments may have come off patronizing because some of us think of it as common sense to not give animals these types of "fresh foods". I certainly didn't think twice when my husband asked if they could have onions.

MooMoosMomma said:

That's true. Thanks for pointing that out.

I really like the charts too, and use them almost daily.

Some of the replies came across as patronizing, and that's not cool. It has nothing to do with my ego. Seriously, honestly, I really just wanted to know why. I know this isn't a forum full of cavy savy vets, but I thought somebody would know. I've only had my pig about a month, so most of you are more experienced than I am..

I googled it again just a bit ago, and google suggested a green onion search. Anyway, I loved this result: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/about-guinea-pigs/10238-green-onions.html

Thanks for the responses!

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That's ok, i've had mine about two weeks more. I just know most animal stay away from what would hurt them in the wild. And I knew onions were bad for dogs and I never saw the peppers(hot) on the chart. The spice is hard on a lot of our stomach must less an animal. As a matter of fact< I would have thought they wouldn't like cilantro. Sorry if I seemed so....witchy.

MrWhistles said:

The comments may have come off patronizing because some of us think of it as common sense to not give animals these types of "fresh foods". I certainly didn't think twice when my husband asked if they could have onions.

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Exactly, I mean some people like onions on other things like burgers or pizza but we certainly wouldn't go ahead and take a big old bite out of a raw onion, which is exactly why it's common sense that a guinea pig would not either. It's not a food that is supposed to be eaten by itself.