Are there any foods that's are harmful to guinea pigs?

Answer 1

yes there are

Answer

Hello! First off I would like to suggest a wonderful site of forums...it is full of friendly and polite people who love guinea pigs! If you are interested, the website is www.caviesgalore.com/forums

You will need to register to join, but it is a wonderful site

OK, I "borrowed" their list, If you can, you should print this off..It is a TRUE lifesaver! I hope it is helpful!!

GUINEA PIG SHOPPING LIST:

COMPILED, WITH LOVE, BY SANDFACE :)

Recommended :

1 cup of mixed veggies per pig per day. Unlimited hay. Unlimited pellets.

HIGH Vitamin C foods:

- Guinea pig pellets with stabilized vitamin C - alfalfa based for youngsters, pregnant & nursing sows, slim or sick pigs; timothy based for healthy, grown, chubby pigs (do not substitute rabbit or chinchilla pellets; avoid mixes with nuts, seeds or colored bits)

- Parsley - curly or plain (high in calcium)

- Cilantro / Chinese Parsley / Corriander greens

- Celery leaves

- Collard greens

- Mustard greens / Leaf Mustard

- Water Cress

- Garden Cress

- Swiss Chard, Red Chard

- Beet greens

- Spinach (feed in moderation, linked to formation of kidney & bladder stones)

- Carrot tops / leaves

- Peas in pods, Pea Shoots (not dried)

- Dandelion greens

- Grass - wheat, winter rye (grown in pots from seed)

- Kale - curly or plain

- Broccoli, Broccolini (stems are liked better than flowers)

- Broccoli Rabe / Rabe / Rapini

- Cauliflower / Broccoflower

- Brussels Sprouts

- Cabbage

- Red Cabbage

- Tuscan Cabbage / Cavolo Nero

- Savoy Cabbage

- Kohlrabi leaves

- Bell / Sweet Peppers - red, green, yellow (not hot or Chile)

- Tomato (sores around mouth can develop; leaves poisonous; artificially grown can be low in vit C)

- Tamarillo (leaves poisonous)

- Orange (caution - sores around lips can develop)

- Tangerine / Mandarin (caution - sores around lips can develop)

- Grapefruit (caution - sores around lips can develop)

- Lemon, Lime (home-grown best, otherwise feed cautiously)

- Cantaloupe Melon

- Honeydew Melon

- Currants - yellow, red or black (leaves also edible)

- Gooseberries

- Strawberries

- Kiwi Fruit

- Mango

- Guava

- Feijoa / Pineapple Guava

- Papaya / Paw Paw / Tree Melon

- Persimmon - American or oriental

- Rosehip

LOW Vitamin C foods:

- Hay - timothy, meadow, alpine and others (must always be available)

- Alfalfa - green or dried (high calcium & calories - good for youngsters, pregnant & nursing sows)

- Romaine Lettuce

- Lettuces - red, green, butter, Boston and other (avoid iceberg)

- Frisee Lettuce

- Arugula / Rocket / Roquette / Rucola

- Green Endive

- Belgian Endive

- Radicchio / Italian Chicory

- Treviso Radicchio

- Salad mix (without iceburg lettuce)

- Artichoke

- Asparagus

- Anise

- Basil

- Dill

- Mint

- Thyme

- Chives (caution, feed in moderation)

- Green Onion tops (caution, feed in moderation)

- Green Leek tops (caution, feed in moderation)

- Sweet Onions (caution, feed in moderation)

- Celery stalks (cut into small pieces)

- Corn on the cob (strings, leaves & stalks are edible too)

- Bean Sprouts

- Green Beans in pods / String Beans (not dried)

- Carrots (feed in moderation, vit A in carrots said to cause liver problems)

- Yam / Sweet Potato (high in vit A? - leaves edible)

- Beets

- Celery Root / Celeriac

- Kohlrabi bulbs

- Radishes (if mild)

- Turnip

- Parsnip

- Rutabaga (aka Swede)

- Parsley root

- Cucumber (fresh only, not pickled)

- Squash - acorn, banana, butterhorn, spagetti, and others (feed in moderation)

- Zucchini

- Pumpkin

- Pineapple - fresh (sores around lips & mouth can develop)

- Apple (avoid seeds; if too tart, sores around lips & mouth can develop)

- Crabapple

- Pear

- Asian Pear

- Plum, Prune (dried high in sugar - as treat only)

- Nectarine

- Apricot

- Peach

- Cherries (remove pits)

- Cranberries (whole fruit, not concentrate or juice)

- Raspberries

- Blackberries

- Bilberries

- Blueberries

- Watermelon (can cause diarrhea - high water content)

- Banana (feed in great moderation - can cause constipation)

- Passion Fruit / Granadilla

- Grapes (in moderation, high in sugar)

- Figs (dried high in sugar - as treat only)

- Dates (dried high in sugar)

EDIBLE wild grasses, plants and herbs:

(make sure you know what you are picking! be sure to pick from places free of contaminants such as pesticides , exhaust fumes or animal urine ; pick plants that are healthy looking, without insect damage, fungus spots, breakage, or wilting)

- Grass (common grasses are edible, avoid ornamental grasses)

- Clover (Trifollium repens or Trifolium pratense)

- Dandelion (Teraxacum officinale) - pick leaves, stems, flowers (even root OK)

- Anise (Pimpinella anisum)

- Blackberry leaves (Rubus plicatus) - pick young & tender leaves and shoots

- Calendula (Calendula officinalis) - leaves and flowers

- Caraway (Carum carvi)

- Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)

- Chickweed (Stellaria media)

- Cleavers / Stickyweed / Goosegrass / Bedstraw (Galium aparine)

- Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)

- Cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaeae) - berries, leaves in moderation

- Cow Parsley (Anthiscus sylvestris)

- Dog Rose (Rosa canina) - ripe fruits

- Duckweed (Lemna minor) - aquatic

- Fennel (Foeniculum capillaceum)

- Field Violet / Wild Pansy (Viola tricolor)

- Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)

- Lemon Mint / Melissa (Melissa officinalis)

- Linden / Lime Tree (Tilia cordata or Tilia platyphyllos) - flowers with pale yellow leaflets

- Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)

- Pepermint (Mentha piperita)

- Plantain (Plantago major or Plantago lanceolata)

- Raspberry leaves (Rubus idaeus) - pick young & tender leaves and shoots

- Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

- Shepherd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)

- Silverweed (Potentilla anserina)

- Vetch (Vicia x)

- Yarrow (Achllea millefolium)

- Whortleberry / Heidelberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) - berries, leaves in moderation

- Wild Chamomile (Matricaria chammomilla)

- Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) - berries and leaves

AVOID Danger foods:

- Iceburg Lettuce (low nutrition, high water)

- Hot Peppers / Chiles / Paprikas

- Hot herbs and spices

- Pickled veggies (dills, capers, sour krauts)

- Garlic or pungent onions (will not poison pigs, )

- Tomato leaves & stalks (poisonous)

- Tomatillo leaves & stalks (poisonous)

- Rhubarb (poisonous)

- Seeds (choking hazard)

- Dry beans and peas

- Nuts (too high in fat)

- Avocado (too high in fat)

- Coconut (too high in fat)

- Horseradish (leaves probably ok, root too pungent)

- Mushrooms

- Potatos (poisonous if green or sprouted) - sweet patatos / yams are ok

- Taro (dangerous if eaten raw / unprepared)

- Jams, jellies and fruit preserves (too high in sugar)

- Fruit juices (sugar-free, or unsweetened juices are OK)

- Teas, coffee, colas

- Fried, cooked and otherwise prepared foods

- Peanut butter, cakes, cookies, baked goods

- Milk and milk products

- Wild grasses, plants and herbs that you are unsure of, or that look different from ones you know

- Flowers (commercially grown decorative plants contain preservatives & pesticides)

QUESTION foods:

(just don't know much about them, or unsure if ok for pigs to eat)

- Canned veggies

Asian Fruit and Vegetables: (I tried to include names in various languages when possible)

- Abiu / Caimo / Canistel / Dan Huang Guo

- Bamboo Shoots

- Banana Leaves

- Betel Leaves / La Lop

- Bitter Melon / Bitter Gourd / Balsam Pear / Balsam Pod (must remove seeds)

- Chinese Broccoli / Gai Lum / Kai Lan / Kairan

- Chinese Flowering Cabbage / Choy Sum / Sawi Manis / Saishin

- Chinese Cabbage / Wong Baak / Kubis Gna / Hakusai

- Pe-Tsai Cabbage

- Chinese Chard / Bok Choy / Pak Choy / Pak Tsoi / Pechay

- Baby Bok Choy

- Chinese Spinach / Amaranth / Een Choy / In Tsoi / Bayam / Santonsai

- Chinese Mustard / Gai Choy / Kaai Tsoi / Mustaa / Ha Karashina / Cai Xanh

- Chinese Keys / Khao Chae / Suo Shi / Temu Kunchi (like ginger)

- Chinese Long Beans / Yard-Long Beans / Asparagus Beans / Dau Gok

- Chocolate Fruit / Black Persimmon / Black Sapote / Kaki Noir

- Durian / Dourian / Lau Lin

- Ginger Root

- Hairy Melon / Moa Gua

- Jute / Jew's Mallow / Meloukhia / Meloukhiya Sheitaani

- Kaffir Lime Leaves

- Longan / Litchi Ponceau / Loon Ngan / Lengkleng (like Lychee)

- Lychee

- Mangosteen / Saan Jook / Manggis

- Sin Qua / Luffa - smooth and angled

- Soursop / Guanabana

- Star Apple

- Taro / Woo Tau / Dalo / Sato-Imo leaves (leaves ok? raw taro root poisonous )

- Water Spinach / Convolvulus / Ung Choy / Yeung Choy / Kang Kung

- White Radish / Daikon / Loh Baak / Mu

- White Sapote / Casimiroa

- Winter Melon / Wax Melon / Dong Gua

- Yam Bean / Jicama / Di Gwa / Sinkamas / Seng Kuang / Kuzuimo (root ok?, leaves & stems poisonous)

- Yam / Shuyu / Ubi / Yama Imo (this tuber is safe for guinea pigs to eat)

Other Fruit and Vegetables:

- Acerola- West Indian, Pitanga, Surinam, Sour, Sweet

- Babaco

- Borage

- Breadfruit

- Burdock

- Cardoon

- Cassava / Yucca Root

- Catus

- Chayota

- Cherimoya

- Custard apple

- Dock

- Eggplant

- Fern bracken - Fiddlehead Fern shoots

- Ginger

- Jujube (high vit C)

- Kailan

- Kiwano

- Komatsuna

- Kumquat

- Lemon Grass

- Longan

- Loquat

- Mizuna

- Okra

- Opuntia Cactus

- Oregano

- Plantain banana (needs cooking, high starch)

- Pomegranate

- Quince

- Rosemary

- Sage

- Sakata

- Salsify / Oyster plant

- Sapodilla

- Sorrel

- Soy beans and soy products (too high in protein?)

- Star fruit

- Sugar Cane (too high in sugar?)

- Tapioca (too high in starch & calories?)

- Yucca