Fruit is a favourite snack for many hoomans out there, especially during the warm summer season. Can your floofs equally enjoy this treat? While a guinea pig diet consists mostly of hay & fresh veggies, handing out small portions of safe fruits can be a great way to enrich their meals. In this blog, we’ll look at what can guinea pigs eat when it comes to fruit, and how much of it they can safely enjoy.
The benefits of feeding fruit to guinea pigs
Vegetables make a more nutrient-rich treat (that's why they can be eaten daily!), but there are still some benefits to adding fruit to your piggy’s diet. Fruit can give a great boost in Vitamins and help keep your guinea pig hydrated in hot weather.
Plus, it can be a fun enriching activity for both you and your piggy! Their diets may not be as varied as the ones of hoomans, but they’ll still enjoy trying out new foods. Just as much as you can have fun discovering what kind of fruit they love!
How much fruit can guinea pigs eat?
While tasty and enriching, fruit should always be fed in moderation. Only give fruit to your guinea pig once or twice a week, as it’s high in sugar. Just as you wouldn’t give a kid a bag full of candy every day, the same applies to your excited floof.
Overfeeding fruit to a guinea pig can lead to weight gain and gastrointestinal issues. So don’t let those pleading eyes and excited wheeks convince you to give them more than a small portion!
Safe fruits for guinea pigs
Apple
Not only can guinea pigs eat apples, they also benefit from them as their skin contains their favourite nutrient: fibre! Just make sure to thoroughly wash the apple to remove any pesticides, before cutting a small wedge and feeding it to your floof. Piggies can also safely enjoy the apple core (high in fibre and a great workout for their teeth!) and the leaves from the apple tree (which are higher in nutrients than the fruit!).
Watermelon
Watermelon is another fruit that guinea pigs can safely eat. It’s a tasty way to keep your piggies hydrated in the summer and it’s high in vitamins. Your piggies can enjoy munching on the pulp and the rind (as long as it’s carefully washed to remove pesticides!), but the seeds must be removed as they’re a choking hazard. Since watermelon is high in sugar, don’t give them more than a small cube or two!
Grapes
It’s safe for guinea pigs to eat grapes, but no more than one or two a week. This fruit is antioxidant and rich in Vitamin C & calcium but also high in sugar. However, you can reduce some of the sugar content by opting for red or black grapes. As always, thoroughly wash the skin and remove any seeds (or simply opt for the seedless variety!).
Strawberry
Guinea pigs can eat strawberries and in fact, they can enjoy everything about this fruit - from its green top to the stem and even the leaves of its plant. Strawberries contain antioxidants and are lower in sugar than some other fruits, while their small seeds are completely safe to eat. However, they should still only be fed in small amounts and no more than a few times a week.
Banana
You’ll be happy to know that guinea pigs can eat bananas, and in fact, many love this fruit. It’s rich in minerals, Vitamin C, calcium, and even fibre but it’s also one of the fruits with the highest sugar content. That’s why it’s best to limit this treat to just a thin slice a few times a week.
Piggies not only like to eat the banana, they also enjoy its peel! We’d just recommend you opt for organic bananas if you plan to give them the peel as the alternative is likely to have been treated with pesticides.
Blueberries
Guinea pigs can safely eat blueberries and enjoy their antioxidant qualities, minerals, fibre, water content, and vitamins. You can treat your piggies to one or two blueberries a week, as their high sugar content requires moderation. Once again, wash their skin thoroughly and enjoy watching your piggy munching away happily!
Orange
Can guinea pigs eat oranges? Yes, your piggies can enjoy this juicy treat rich in Vitamin C. They can enjoy its peel too, as it’s high in fibre and easy to munch with their powerful teeth. As always, we recommend you give oranges to guinea pigs in moderation, and only once or twice a week as they’re high in sugar.
Have fun trying different types of oranges to find the ones they like the most as every piggy is different. For example, most dislike clementines, but your piggy might turn out to be in the minority who loves them, you’ll never know until you try!
Can guinea pigs eat frozen fruit?
No, frozen fruit can upset a guinea pig’s delicate tummy as they’re more likely to cause bloating and be affected by bacteria. Fresh fruit is best!
Can guinea pigs eat cooked or canned fruit?
Cooked fruit would contain fewer nutrients than fresh fruit so we’d generally recommend against it, especially if the fruit has been cooked with any other ingredients. The same goes for canned fruit, which often contains extra sugar and so would be quite unhealthy for a piggy!
How to introduce new foods to guinea pigs
Now that you know what fruits can guinea pigs eat, let’s look at how you can introduce these new foods into their diet. As we mentioned before, all fruit should be a treat and given in moderation. So only give them a small piece of fruit once or twice a week to enrich their meals.
To get started, give them an even smaller amount than normal just to monitor their reaction. Every piggy is different, so it may be that the first fruit you give them gets no reaction while the next provokes a chorus of excited wheeks!
If they seem to enjoy any of the fruit you’ve given them, don’t let them convince you to increase the amount, stick to a small portion regardless of how happy it makes them (we know, saying no is hard!). Overfeeding fruit to your guinea pig can lead to diarrhoea and other digestive issues.
Conclusion
Guinea pigs can safely eat fruit, as long as it’s given in moderation, thoroughly washed, and any potential choking hazards have been removed. The fruit we have listed above can be found at different times of the year, so you can play around trying all kinds of treats in every season. Just monitor their reaction to see whether what you’re handing out is something they love or dislike. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing your floof’s happiness at discovering a new favourite food!
Now that you know what can guinea pigs eat in terms of fruit, you can further enrich their diet and have fun learning more about your piggy’s taste. Enjoy!
