Fresh Food for Guinea Pigs

In addition to high-quality hay, fresh or green fodder is one of the main foods for guinea pigs. Various herbs, vegetables, and fruit provide the animals with all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Find out everything about the fresh food requirements of guinea pigs here.

Contents hide

1 How much green fodder do guinea pigs need?

2 Suitable fruits and vegetables for guinea pigs

3 Intolerable fruits and vegetables for guinea pigs

4 Herbs, flowers, and leaves as fresh food for guinea pigs

Since guinea pigs, like humans, cannot synthesize vitamin C in their bodies themselves, they have a particularly high need for this vitamin. For good care and the health of your guinea pigs, fresh foods such as parsley, kale, broccoli, paprika, and spinach should be on the daily menu.

How much green fodder do guinea pigs need?

Give your guinea pigs at least 50 to 70g of greens per day. It is best to divide the fresh food into at least two to three portions daily. If your guinea pigs are used to little or no green fodder, the diet is slowly switched to a healthier diet. The juice feed must of course always be fresh. Rotten green fodder and kitchen waste do not belong in the feeding bowl, as they can cause diseases in guinea pigs.

Suitable fruits and vegetables for guinea pigs

You can give your guinea pigs fruit for the necessary vitamin intake. The following types of fruit and berries are suitable for this:

Apple
pear
blackberry
strawberry
blueberry
raspberry
currant
bunch of grapes

Due to the high sugar content, fruit should only be fed in small amounts. It is, therefore, all the more important to offer the guinea pigs vegetables as food:

spinach leaves (in small amounts)
cauliflower
broccoli
chicory
Chinese cabbage
iceberg lettuce
endive
Lamb’s lettuce
fennel bulbs
Kale
cucumbers
Kohlrabi (with leaves)
swede
lettuce
carrots (with greens)
paprika
parsley root
radish leaves
Romaine / Romaine lettuce
Romanesco
arugula/rocket
celery
turnip
Jerusalem Artichoke
Sweetcorn (leaves only)

Caution with cabbage: Some types of cabbage can lead to slight gas formation in the intestine. Animals that are new to cabbage are best accustomed to it slowly. If your guinea pig often suffers from intestinal problems or is sensitive to cabbage, it is better not to feed it.

Intolerable fruits and vegetables for guinea pigs

However, not all types of fruit and vegetables are well tolerated by guinea pigs, and some plants are even poisonous to them. You should therefore be careful when feeding and stay away from the following foods:

avocados
exotic fruits (e.g. papaya, pomegranate, physalis, kumquat, lychee, mango, etc.)
Legumes (lentils, peas, beans)
potatoes
radishes (except for the leaves)
radish
Stone fruit (cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, mirabelle plums, etc.)
Bulbous plants (e.g. leeks, onions, and chives)

Herbs, flowers, and leaves as fresh food for guinea pigs

Herbs can also be fed to guinea pigs. Some of them have healing properties. However, they should only be offered to the guinea pigs from time to time in small quantities or in the event of illness.

Dried herbs, flowers, and leaves are particularly rich in vitamins and minerals. About 20 g of dried herbs per animal can be fed weekly as a feed supplement. Giving too many dry herbs can lead to an oversupply of calcium. Dried leaves and blossoms from trees and shrubs, on the other hand, may also be served in larger quantities. These plants are suitable for this: