Red or Green Bell Peppers: One slice of a whole pepper, given daily, remove seeds. My favourite fresh food for guinea pigs and is loved by most guinea pigs. Very high in vit c, especially the red, but all colours have high vit c content. Pease note: Bell peppers are not to be confused with red hot chilli peppers which are a totally different food and should never be given to guinea pigs.
Broccoli: Half a floret, including the stalk, twice weekly.
Kale: Two to three small leaves, twice weekly. Not always available in our supermarket.
Carrot: One baby carrot or a small slice of a large carrot, every other day.
Romaine Lettuce: One large leaf, every other day. Never give guinea pigs iceberg lettuce, its not nutritious and it can give them an upset tummmy and diarrhoea.
Celery: One 1/4 of a stick, weekly. Very stringy so needs to be chopped up into small pieces to avoid piggy choking.
Dandelion Leaves: Two or three, average size, twice weekly. A seasonal food during spring and summer.
Fresh Grass: Small handful, three to four times weekly. A seasonal food, spring, summer and autumn. Sometimes my piggies go outside to eat fresh grass for themselves on warm sunny days. Never put guinea pigs out on wet grass, always make sure the grass is dry and never use grass that's been cut by a lawn mower. When spring has arrived and your grass has started to grow, just give your piggies a small amount of grass to begin with so their tummies adjust. More about saftey tips below.
Baby Tomato's: One baby tomato or small plum tomato, twice weekly. Remember to remove the poisonous tomato top ( green part ) If using a slice from a larger tomato, remove seeds.
Cucumber: Very little nutritional value, but has high water content and is loved by most guinea pigs. One slice, include the outer layer which is their favourite part. Given every other day. Cucumber is really appreciated by guinea pigs in hot weather, it acts as a liquid and is nice and cool. A little like us enjoying an ice lolly.
Parsley: A few sprigs , given weekly. Very high in calcium so should be limited if your guinea pig is prone to developing bladder stones.
Apple: One small slice, include peel, give weekly, remove core and pips. Royal gala variety is a favourite. Many fruits are full of natural sugar and have fruit acid. To avoid your guinea pig getting a sore mouth, cut all fruit into small pieces and just give as an occasional treat because of the high sugar content.
Pear: One small slice, include peel, give weekly, remove core and pips.
Seedless Grapes: One or two, must be seedless, give weekly.
Satsumer Pieces: One or two segments, remove rind and pips, give weekly. You can give a little of any orange citrus fruit.
Corn on the Cob: A recent new food. I'm unable to find corn on the cob with outer leaves, but the leaves can be eaten by guinea pigs. Roughly a dozen tiny segments, twice weekly
More information about fruit and vegetables.
A few vegetables need to be given in moderation or just given as an occasional treat. Cabbage is quite a gassy vegetable and has been known to cause bloat in guinea pigs when fed in large quantities. Make sure any cabbage given is dark green. Broccoli, kale and cauliflower are also related to the cabbage family, so they need to be given in small doses too. Some fresh foods need to be avoided completly, which include, rhubarb and potatoes which are poisonous if sprouted or green. Some vegetables are high in calcium, so if your guinea pig is prone to bladder stones, limit the amount. As long as you remember a golden rule when feeding fresh foods to guinea pigs, every thing should be given in moderation
Fresh food preparation and safety
I store the vegetables in our pantry as its quite cool in there. Salad of course, is kept in our fridge. I just leave any salad I'm using for my guinea pigs, out of the fridge for a little while, before serving. Guinea pigs can have an upset tummy and diarrhoea, if they eat fresh food that is too cold. Never give vegetables from the freezer. Disregard any food that is going slightly brown/yellow or is wilting. Feeding food that isn't fresh could also upset their tummy and give them diarrhoea. Remember to remove seeds or pips from bell peppers, large tomatos, apples etc. I limit my guinea pigs fruits and just give fruit as an occasional treat, as they are high in sugar. Also, remember to cut celery up into small pieces as its stringy and could make piggy choke.
Always wash any fresh food first, you don't have to shake the excess water out, its an ideal way to give your guinea pig extra water. Use a clean work surface and a clean knife for cutting up the vegetables and fruit. Any uneaten fresh food, needs to be disregarded after a couple of hours, less time in warm weather.
As a family, I find we are eating more healthier since sharing our life with guinea pigs and hardly any foods gets wasted. I'll update this page whenever my guinea pigs have t