Can guinea pigs eat strawberries?
For guinea pigs to remain healthy, happy, playful, and lead a long and fulfilling life, pet owners include various foods in their diet.
Good-natured, quick-witted, cute, and rather unpretentious, guinea pigs are great pets.
Guinea pigs are easy to manage; they are not picky about foods and take up very little space.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Strawberries?
The key to their long life is proper care and the right nutrition.
Let us find out more about nutrition for guinea pigs, and strawberries can be part of their diet.
Where Do Guinea Pigs Come From?
Guinea pigs were domesticated by the Incas in the 5th millennium BC and used as a source of valuable meat and for decorative purposes.
The people of the Mochica culture worshiped guinea pigs and depicted them in art.
From 1200 until the Spanish conquest in 1532, the breeding of these cute little rodents made it possible to domesticate guinea pigs.
Guinea pigs appeared in Europe during the age of discovery when Spanish, Dutch, and English traders brought them to Europe.
They soon became popular pets in the ruling establishment’s homes (including Queen Elizabeth I of England).
The Appearance of Guinea Pigs
The body length is from 25 to 35 cm depending on the breed.
The tail of guinea pigs is hardly noticeable.
An adult male guinea pig weighs 1000-1500 g, and the female weighs 800-1200 g.
The natural color of guinea pigs varies from brownish to grayish, and a lighter belly.
Many guinea pig breeds have been intentionally bred, and they differ in their body structure, length, and coat color.
Domestic guinea pig breeds are divided into short-haired (self, crested, smooth-haired), long-wire-haired (Abyssinians, American Teddy, Rex, etc.), breeds without wool, and with a little wool.
How Long Do Guinea Pigs Live In Home Environment?
At home, guinea pigs live on average from 5 to 7 years.
Guinea pigs live longer than other indoor rodents such as decorative rats, mice, and hamsters, which rarely live longer than 3 years.
Several factors affect the lifespan of these small animals.
Depending on the breed, treatment, care, and feeding, guinea pigs can live over 10 years.
The longest recorded lifespan of a guinea pig is 14 years and 10.5 months.
In the wild, in South America (Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil) guinea pigs live less, only between 1 and 4 years.
What Do Guinea Pigs Eat?
Before composing your guinea pig’s diet, you need to understand how to feed your guinea pigs properly.
Here is some simple and easy-to-follow advice to feed your pet.
- Try to feed your pet regularly at the same time; animals quickly get used to it, manage to work up their appetite, so they eat all the food fresh and without residue
- Guinea pigs should be fed twice a day – morning and evening
- Snacks kill a guinea pig’s appetite and harm the feeding regimen, but pregnant and lactating female guinea pigs need to have four meals a day around the same time
- Feed fruits, vegetables, and herbs only fresh and raw.
- Thoroughly wash tomatoes, cucumbers, and other fruits and vegetables before feeding them to your guinea pigs
- Cut all the fruits and vegetables into small cubes/ slices before feeding guinea pigs
- If any part of the food remains uneaten half an hour after feeding, throw it away
- Guinea pigs are messy eaters: put hay with green fodder in a special feeder – do not allow the rodent to drag them around the entire cage.
- To prevent diseases and infections, clean your guinea pig’s cage regularly, and thoroughly wash the feeders, dishes, and water bottles.
Fresh Grass and Grass Hay
Guinea pigs need to have access to an unlimited supply of hay at all times.
You can provide fresh grass to your pet, if it’s available, and if you are sure the grass is untreated with chemicals. clean.
Likewise, your guinea pig will need to have constant access to clean and fresh water, so make sure to change it at least twice a day.
Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs
Rodents willingly eat most vegetables and fruits you offer them.
However, before you feed guinea pigs with any type of fruits and vegetables, make sure it’s on the safe list for these small animals.
Not everything healthy for humans is healthy and safe for guinea pigs.
Besides, to make sure your pet stays healthy, keep in mind that all foods have different nutritional values and that some components are unsafe for your guinea pig.
For example, some fruits contain a lot of sugar, and it is better to offer these fruits only as a treat: rarely and in very small amounts.
Also, some foods can cause painful bloating, diarrhea, and other digestion problems.
Before feeding guinea pigs fruits and vegetables, make sure to wash the foods thoroughly.
Usually, the food is sprayed with various chemicals for better storage.
Guinea pigs are very gentle creatures, sensitive to harmful substances.
Special Mixtures
The key to a guinea pig’s health is a balanced diet and moderation.
Good, quality hay, is a must in your pet’s daily diet.
Guinea pigs need to have constant access to hay and fresh, clean water.
However, guinea pigs also need vitamin C, which they cannot produce on their own, so they need vitamin C supplements or foods that are enriched with vitamin C, such as guinea pig pellets you can buy at Amazon or your local pet store.
The best way to provide vitamin C to your guinea pigs is to feed them fruits and vegetables that are safe for them.
Lack of vitamin C causes scurvy, which is a potentially fatal disease for guinea pigs.
Besides vitamin C, guinea pigs also need other vitamins and minerals.
Ensure that your pet gets enough nutrients, vitamins, and calories.
The recommended daily allowance that an adult guinea pig eats is about 40 grams of a granular composition; the rest of the nutrients should come from other products such as dry grass and other plants.
Most guinea pigs are very fond of sweet fruits.
This is a great habit as fruits are low in calories but high in vitamins.
At the same time, most fruits contain too much sugar, which can lead to diabetes and obesity if you feed your guinea pigs without taking care of the amount of food you are giving them.
You can easily increase your guinea pig’s blood sugar levels to unsafe heights, which can be lethal.
Food You Should Never Give To Guinea Pigs
Guinea pigs are herbivores.
They cannot digest anything that cannot be found in nature – grass, hay, raw herbs, and fresh fruits and vegetables are all guinea pigs need.
You cannot feed them bakery products, pastries, chocolate, even though the pigs love it very much, cheese, cottage cheese, and other dairy products, meat, juices, dried fruits, etc.
Any food that has been processed is a great danger to these small animals and can lead to many health issues, of which digestive problems are the least.
Yes, you can kill your pet by feeding it unsafe processed food.
Also, some raw fruits and vegetables are a danger to these small animals.
For instance, if you feed apples to guinea pigs (which, by the way, is great), make sure to eliminate all the seeds.
Apple seeds not only represent a choking hazard to guinea pigs but are also poisonous to these small animals.
Similarly, make sure to avoid certain types of vegetables, such as regular potatoes.
Potatoes practically consist of starch, which is easily absorbed but turns into subcutaneous fat, which a guinea pig has nowhere to burn.
When thinking about industrial food made for small animals, here comes a warning: never feed guinea pigs with mixtures and prepared feeds intended for other types of animals.
In other words, never feed guinea pigs with rabbit food or vice versa.
All small animals have different nutritional needs and the ability to digest various foods.
Also, be careful when introducing new foods into the rodent’s diet; your guinea pigs shouldn’t eat untested ingredients, exotic fruits, or products of questionable quality.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Strawberries?
Yes, guinea pigs can eat strawberries in moderation.
This fruit is perfectly safe for piggies.
However, if you try to feed strawberries to guinea pigs, you might be surprised if you notice that your pet won’t eat this fruit.
Each guinea pig has its taste for food, just like humans.
Most guinea pigs will love strawberries, but some might show their dislike for this fruit.
When introducing strawberries to your guinea pigs’ diet, make sure to offer them only a small slice.
If you find that your guinea pigs like strawberries, you can feed strawberries to your guinea pigs, but always in moderation.
A couple of slices of strawberry once or twice a week is enough for your pet’s dietary needs.
Feeding too much fruit to guinea pigs can lead to health problems.
So, always offer only once sliced a guinea pig
So, apart from the strawberry fruit being safe for guinea pigs, you should know that guinea pigs can eat strawberry plant leaves as well.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Strawberry Leaves?
Yes, strawberry plant leaves are also safe for guinea pigs.
Sometimes, commercial guinea pig food will contain dried strawberry leaves mixed with other forage.
Therefore, you can safely feed your guinea pig with fresh strawberry leaves as well.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Strawberry Tops?
Yes, your guinea pigs can eat strawberry tops.
Here’s an interesting fact: strawberry tops, called the calyx, are completely safe and edible for humans as well.
Both you and your guinea pigs can have strawberry tops without any worries.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Strawberry Stems?
Yes, guinea pigs can eat strawberry stems.
Just like strawberry fruits, tops, and leaves, you can safely offer your pets strawberry stems as well.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Strawberry Seeds?
Yes, guinea pigs can eat soft strawberry seeds.
Soft seeds do not represent a choking hazard to your piggy.
For that reason, you can safely feed your guinea pigs with cucumber or tomato seeds as well.
However, hard seeds, such as the ones in oranges or cherries, or watermelon seeds, are dangerous for your pet.
Besides, some seeds, such as apple seeds, are also poisonous to guinea pigs.
Nonetheless, strawberry seeds are perfectly safe for your pet guinea pig.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Strawberry Jam?
No, never let your guinea pigs eat strawberry jam.
Although guinea pigs love the sweet taste of fresh fruits and vegetables, processed food is not healthy for them; they cannot digest such food and it can cause great health problems for these small animals.
Besides, the amount of sugar in strawberry jam is extremely dangerous for your pet.
Can Guinea Pigs Drink Strawberry Juice?
No, never give strawberry juice to your guinea pig.
All the liquid your pet needs is water and the rest comes from other fruits and vegetables served raw and fresh.
Let me remind you: usually, all juices are processed and guinea pigs cannot digest such foods.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Frozen Strawberries?
You shouldn’t let your guinea pig eat frozen strawberries unless you have frozen them yourself without any preprocessing procedures.
If you want to give commercially frozen strawberries to your piggy, you should know that such food is processed before freezing and guinea pigs cannot digest it.
Therefore, by letting your guinea pig eat frozen strawberries bought in a supermarket, you will cause more harm than good to your pet.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Dried Strawberries?
No, guinea pigs cannot eat dried strawberries or other fruits that’s been processed in any way.
It would be too unsafe to offer your pet dried fruits.
Some pet owners think it is safe to offer their pets some dried fruits, such as raisins, but the risks outweigh the benefits.
What Are the Benefits of Feeding a Guinea Pig Strawberries?
Feed strawberries to guinea pigs because they have many health benefits; they are high in nutrients and high in vitamin C.
The nutrient C in strawberries is very high compared to various ground-grown foods.
Consuming vitamin C helps improve your pet’s overall health by boosting immunity and protecting against harmful free radicals.
The fruit is loaded with manganese, fiber, and potassium.
Eating this fruit can also reduce inflammation.
Nutrient C is an essential part of their diet as it prevents diseases such as scurvy in guinea pigs.
How Many Strawberries Can Guinea Pigs Eat?
You shouldn’t give too many strawberries to your guinea pigs because of their high sugar and high calcium content.
Strawberries should serve as occasional tasty treats.
Strawberries are high in sugar content, which goes up to 5%, or 5 grams of sugar per 100 grams of strawberries.
They have a relatively low sugar content for humans but it is high for guinea pigs.
Excessive sugar leads to digestive problems, including upset stomach, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can be fatal for your guinea pigs.
Too much sugar can also lead to weight problems; bell peppers are also high in vitamin C but with half the sugar compared to strawberries, which makes them a much better food for guinea pigs.
Keep in mind that a diet high in calcium causes kidney or bladder stones in guinea pigs.
Moreover, strawberries are also an acidic food, so giving too many strawberries to guinea pigs can cause mouth sores, which can be very painful to your small pet.
Finally, a big problem when feeding guinea pig strawberries are pesticide residues, and strawberries are fruits on the “hazard” list for storage.
Wash strawberries thoroughly beforehand to remove any pesticides or chemicals, so your pet can safely eat this fruit.
The amount of serving should not exceed 1 strawberry per one guinea pig, cut into pieces.
Final Thoughts
Are strawberries good for guinea pigs?
The answer to this question is yes.
Strawberries are good for guinea pigs.
Moreover, it is safe to let your guinea pigs eat whole strawberries: strawberry fruits, strawberry stems, and strawberry leaves.
Strawberries are a great source of vitamin C, which is a crucial component in your guinea pig’s healthy diet.
Never feed guinea pigs with processed food, only raw and fresh food.
Therefore, raw and fresh strawberries are the best occasional treat for your pet.
However, be careful about how many strawberries you are feeding your pets.
One small strawberry cut into pieces one to two times a week is sufficient for your guinea pig’s balanced diet.
As strawberries are acidic, they can cause mouth sores, which is another reason why you should be careful when planing your guinea pig’s diet.
