Vegetables Best vegetables and fruits for guineas?

[jewelst92]

What are the best veggies and fruit for guinea pigs? In terms of vitamin c and them liking it.

 

[jaycriae]

For vitamin C, red bell peppers are your best friend. In general, bell peppers and green leaf lettuce are my staples, with occasional things like cucumber peels or even small bits of fruit. Guinealynx has some very good information about piggy nutrition that I would link you were I not on my phone, but bpatters probably will.


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[mdodge]

Go under diet and nutrition there's a wonderful veggie n fruit chart.

 

[bpatters]

Actually, this one is much easier to use. The GL one is measured in calories, and it's way too much trouble to figure out how much 10 calories of something is.

https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List

Also see https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/105287-How-to-teach-a-guinea-pig-to-eat-vegetables.

 

[koalamissy]

I was looking over the chart the other day to see if there is something I can add to my girls' diet for variety and I see that it has "yams" as frequently. Really? Potato yam, like orange sweet potato? I'm cool with it, was just surprised to see it. I bought a small one and plan on giving them a small piece to start to see if they like it. They didn't like Cilantro the first time I gave it to them, now it's gone before I can turn around and come back into the room. So I'll see about the yam. It won't be an everyday thing, just a few times a week, if they like it.

 

[bpatters]

All of mine have turned up their noses at sweet potato.

 

[jewelst92]

Thank you. I gave my Luna some green bell peppers for the first time and she loved it! I will try some other new ones too

 

[jaycriae]

Congrats! Hope she finds lots of favorites.


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[koalamissy]

So I tried the yam last night. They both grabbed it out of my hand and then tasted it. They aren't wild about it, but I'd say when I woke up this morning, about half of each piece were eaten. They absolutely wouldn't eat Cilantro when I first gave it to them, they left it in the cage and wouldn't go near it. Now they devour it. I left the pieces in the cage and we'll see if they are still there when I get home. I'll wait another week and give them another piece and see if they like it then. I still don't think they ever had veggies before I got them. But heaven forbid I don't give them veggies now, boy are they LOUD little buggers!!! So the yams are debatable, we'll wait and see ......

 

[2cocos]

Cilantro and clover (from our lawn in the summer) are definitely favorites here! Yellow bell peppers are super high in vitamin C, but can be expensive. I tend to buy green peppers for them, but they get yellow and orange ones pretty often since that is our favorite, and what we tend to have around the house. They also loved mixed greens salads. I like that they get several types of greens in there. They love red leaf lettuce. I buy the huge plastic tubs and if we share it with them, none of it goes to waste. When I buy it mainly for them, I get the regular, which is very affordable. But usually, they get organic everything because that is what we eat and they get our leftovers. They are super spoiled!!

 

[AllisonN202000]

Hi, I'm new here. I would like to know if sweet bell peppers or just peppers were good for a guinea pig. I have recently just got a guinea and the person I bought it from said they can easily get diabetes and want to know if I should keep feeding him sweet bell peppers. Thank you so much

 

[bpatters]

You absolutely should feed bell peppers -- they're the best source of vitamin C for a pig, and they MUST get vitamin C in their diets.

Here's some recommended reading for new guinea pig owners:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/113176-Information-for-new-guinea-pig-owners
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/107827-What-NOT-to-do-for-your-guinea-pigs!

 

[CavyTV]

That person has no real knowledge of guinea pigs. Yes, bell peppers can be quite sugary, but unless you feed very large amounts of the red ones (highest in sugar) then your pig shouldn't get diabetes. Bell peppers are the most common and easiest way to get vitamin c for a guinea pig.

 

[bpatters]

Sugar doesn't give an animal, or a person, diabetes. And the problem with giving sugar to guinea pigs isn't diabetes anyway. It's that their guts aren't really designed to process sugar, and it can upset the bacterial balance in the intestines, resulting in a nasty digestive upset.

 

[2cocos]

Yellow bell peppers have more than double the amount of vitamin C per 100g than do green bell peppers. So, even though they are pricey, they are an efficient food to supply them with what they need.

 

[DroidGuineaPig]

You absolutely should feed bell peppers -- they're the best source of vitamin C for a pig, and they MUST get vitamin C in their diets.

Here's some recommended reading for new guinea pig owners:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/113176-Information-for-new-guinea-pig-owners
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/107827-What-NOT-to-do-for-your-guinea-pigs!

My vet said that Guavas are better sources of Vitamin C than bell peppers.

 

[Soecara]

My vet said that Guavas are better sources of Vitamin C than bell peppers.

Looking at nutritional information on both guava and red bell peppers, per 100 grams red bell peppers have more Vitamin C than guava and less sugar than guava. Not to mention Guava is less readily available and often more expensive than bell peppers.

I mean strictly speaking rose hips are in theory a better source of vitamin C than bell peppers as per 100 grams they have a little less than double the vitamin C of red bell peppers and also have less sugar than red bell peppers. They do however have a considerable amount of Vitamin A in them and some calcium which depending on other aspects of the diet could pose some problems, they are also very hard to acquire and difficult to prepare if you get them whole with the seeds inside (you need to wear plastic gloves when you take the seeds out, trust me).