As the owner (or future owner) of a guinea pig, you want to know what you can and cannot feed them. These adorable little rodents need to be looked after with precision and with care generally. Therefore, feeding them the wrong thing could put their health at risk needlessly. Many guinea pig owners focus on feeding them vegetables, but what about fruits? For example, can guinea pigs eat oranges?
Given that oranges are highly good for us and are rich in vital Vitamin C, many feed oranges to their guinea pigs. Should you, though? Or is this something that could come back to harm your little guinea pig?
Can a guinea pig eat oranges?
The simplest way to answer this would be yes, they absolutely can. Orange is a rich, sweet treat that you could easily feed to a guinea pig if you want to give them something a little bit different. These delicious treats can be fun to give to a guinea pig, and they will almost certainly chew away on them without issue. Given that you are going to be giving your guinea pig a nice blend of fruit and vegetables, adding some oranges to the list should be something that you do as a priority.
It is a good source of Vitamin C for a guinea pig, and it also can play a good role in helping them to overcome various health ailments. Vitamin C deficiency is surprisingly common in guinea pigs, so this can help to alleviate that particular issue.
However, the secret to feeding guinea pigs oranges is, like anything else, to do so in moderation.
Many people will read this and then start giving their guinea pig daily oranges. We do not recommend you overdo it, though. While your guinea pig will be thankful for the additional ascorbic acid and Vitamin C intake, it is not something they should be eating day-in, day-out.
Why should I feed my guinea pig oranges?
There are several reasons, and the most important reason comes down to their high nutritional value. They are rich in things like calcium and vitamin C, as well as various acids that they need. Vitamin C is something we cannot self-produce, and so we need things like oranges to make sure that we can get this vital vitamin into our diet.
For that reason, we highly recommend you look to add some of this into your guinea pigs’ diet. That being said, it is also a product that is very rich in sugar – it can contain as much as 8.5 grams of sugar per 100 grams of orange. That is quite rich for a guinea pig and could lead to problems including weight gain and other problems as time goes on.
If your guinea pig eats the peels, too, then they are going to be getting a bit of extra fiber. This will naturally help them to enjoy simpler and easier trips to the toilet.
The main reason to think about giving your guinea pig some orangs, though, is the Vitamin C. this is something that is needed to give guinea pigs – and other forms of life, including humans – a better quality of life. It can play a key role in avoiding organ damage, skin problems, and other irritations that could eventually become life-threatening.
Once you see how much your guinea pig enjoys eating oranges, too, it will be easy to get them to do so. As we have noted above, though, it is very important that you do not take needless risks when it comes to the number of oranges that you feed your guinea pig.
The dangers of feeding oranges to guinea pigs in excess
The problem that you might have is that your guinea pig loves oranges so much that they want them all the time. The issue is that the high sugar content can be very bad for your little GP. They might soon find that they are getting a lot heavier, which puts extra pressure on their bodies and their hearts.
They also have very sensitive digestive systems, so excess sugar can cause them to have some very messy toilet troubles. It could easily make your little guinea pig rise in weight to a worrying level, too, so you need to make sure you pay attention to this.
How many oranges should I feed a guinea pig?
Generally, the accepted amount that you should give a guinea pig should come down to a very small portion each time. Something larger than your thumb is simply going to be too much. Also, you want to make sure you only give them orange or twice per week. This is enough to get them the nutritional value they need, whilst allowing them to enjoy the treat, all the while ignoring any risk of the problems listed above.
You should make sure you keep a close eye on their orange intake. If you see your guinea pig eating more than it should, you might want to put the oranges away for a while. If you notice them getting larger physically, you should absolutely avoid giving them oranges for a little while.
To feed your guinea pig, you should simply look to drop in some peels of orange to let them enjoy the taste and to get some extra fiber. At the same time, though, make sure you only feed your guinea pig organic oranges. Non-organic produce has often been given pesticides and other treatments that could be worrisome, fatal even, to your guinea pig.
All you need to do is to take some peels and drop them down for your guinea pig to eat. Be sure to be vigilant for the presence of seeds, though, as these could choke your guinea pig.
The secret is to experiment with different orange types – some are sweeter than others – and see what your guinea pig takes to. Once you find a type of orange (most dislike clementines, for example) that they like, give them small amounts once or twice per week and let them enjoy the richness and flavor of the taste. If you see them getting too fat or they appear to be eating too much of the stuff, it is better to take the oranges away for a short period of time.