Guinea pigs are usually great pets to have in your household; however, knowing what to feed the guinea pigs can sometimes be challenging. Your guinea pigs need to feed a specific diet or contract a nutritional deficiency, which may lead to health problems. So, can guinea pigs eat meat? No, you should know that guinea pigs are herbivores, which implies that they only consume plant-based food and do not eat meat.
Guinea pigs’ diet should always consist of 80 percent good quality hay. Moreover, they can consume grass with 15 percent fresh greens and vegetables, are considered suitable furry friends, and 5 percent of the complete guinea pig pellet food.
The answer to whether meat is good for guinea pigs is no. They are obligate herbivores, and when you feed your guinea pig any meat, you should know that they may contract the disease and become sick.
Although most guinea pigs would not sniff meat, it is important to keep any meat out of reach of your furry friend; instead, you should try to provide your furry friend alternative and much healthier sources of proteins, including hay and pellet.
Guinea Pig and Meat
Some people know guinea pigs as obligate omnivores. This means that they are physically capable of digesting processed meat. So, if the guinea pigs were to consume meat, their body would throw it away, and they would be quite sick. According to Hutch and Cage, guinea pigs would significantly experience GI blocks when eating meat.
Foods That Are Poisonous to Guinea Pigs
Meat is considered at the top list among the poisonous foods to your guinea pig. So, if you ever consider that your guinea pigs can eat meat in small portions. There are never some foods that your guinea pigs would consume.
Moreover, meat has absolutely nothing to offer for guinea pigs, just calories, fat, and protein and undeniably no fiber. As with meat, your guinea pigs are usually not designed to digest dairy products either. You should know that any dairy product feed on your guinea pig could make them quite sick.
Nutritional Facts of Guinea Pigs Eating Meat
Since meat is not considered good for guinea pigs to eat, then this means that meat does not have any nutritional or beneficial value for your guinea pigs. Meat has its benefits to human beings; however, in this case, none for your guinea pig.
Risks to Consider When Feeding Meat to Your Guinea Pigs
Meat is quite perilous for your guinea pigs. The following are a few potential threats encountered with meat feeding:
Excess Iron
Meat is the best-known basis of iron. Meat usually brings positive as well as negative effects. Iron plays a critical role in the body since it enhances the red blood cells. However, too much iron in the body would cause complications such as cancer, liver problems, and issues related to the heart.
Beef Tapeworm
This is a parasite usually found in the meat, and although it may not lead to death, it is associated with severe symptoms. Some of these symptoms are associated with abdominal pain, nausea, and weight loss.
Probability of Heart Diseases
Cholesterol is a compound voluntarily found in the meat and can influence some severe complications in the heart. Thus, the chance that you can reduce your guinea pigs from heart attack is by not feeding them meat. Similarly, feeding vegetables can reduce the chances by 30 percent, making it harmless to feed your guinea pig fresh veggies and fruits.
Meat Reduces Lifespan
With various complications associated with meat, it is practically impossible to imagine any possibility of having a long lifespan. You should know that meat consumption usually makes it complex for your guinea pig to live long because most body organs are damaged.
Lots of saturated fats
Saturated fats in the meat may cause an increase in the cholesterol level in the body. So, feeding your guinea pigs meat may increase cholesterol, thereby increasing the possibility of heart failure.
Do You Know?
Guinea Pigs can eat a variety of foods, we have researched lots of them. Check out this one here: Can Guinea Pigs Eat Eggs?
What should Guinea Pigs Eat? Can Guinea Pigs Eat Meat?
Guinea pigs firmly feed on plant-based foods vital to their health. The plant-based food includes; green, fresh fruits, herbs, leafy vegetables, hay, and pellets. You should know that each type of food mentioned above should be keenly observed in certain quantities and frequency since high feeding may pose a health threat.
Meat should not be fed to a guinea pig.
