Ever thought about introducing new ingredients to your piggy’s diet?
Did plums come to mind?
This sweet fruit is a useful ingredient in human foods like gems or pies.
There are also various colours of plums.
However, are they the best type of fruits for cavies? Let’s find out!
What are the essential things to note?
An ideal cavy diet should contain mainly fresh grass, hay, and clean water.
You can then supplement this with treats or snacks like fruits and veggies.
They would provide variety to your furry friend’s diet.
However, some fruits are known to cause harm to cavies.
Plums are from a genus called prunus. They are purple but come in other colours, like red and yellow.
They share a family with nectarines, peaches, and almonds. Humans find plums tasty and sweet.
Dried plums also have a lot of uses, and they are called prunes.
Here, we’ll discuss feeding guinea pigs with plums.
So, you will know whether it would make an excellent addition to your pet’s diet.
Are there benefits of the nutrients in plums?
Plums have quite a lot of vitamin C, and this is their main nutritional benefit.
Vitamin C can build up your cavy’s immune system. It can also increase its ability to absorb iron.
Plums also contain vitamin A. Guinea pigs cannot produce these vitamins within their bodies.
So, this vitamin-rich fruit would be a great addition to your piggy’s diet.
Plums have high fibre content, and fibre is right for your pet.
This fruit is safe for your pet in the right quantities. Also, it does not contain any toxic elements.
What problems come along with feeding plums?
Fruits generally have lots of sugar present in them, and plums are not left out.
The sugar content of this fruit can harm your pet if fed in excess.
It is why plums should only be given once in a while as a snack.
Plums consist of minerals like phosphorus and calcium. They are not suitable for your furry friend’s health.
Your piggy will react terribly if it overfeeds on plums.
It might even work up your cavy’s digestive system because it is acidic.
Eating excess plums can also lead to bloating or tummy ache.
If your furry friend continues to eat them daily, it may develop diabetes too.
How should plums be served?
Feed your guinea pig only with raw plums.
Dried plums contain more sugar than the raw ones.
Before feeding it to your cavy, remove the branches, twigs, or leaves.
These include low levels of cyanide. This substance is dangerous to your guinea pig.
Your furry friend is small-sized, and even small quantities of cyanide will quickly cause it harm.
Wash plums thoroughly before giving to your pet. Generally, wash all fruits and veggies first.
Plum pulp can be fed to your cavy. However, remove the seed before feeding this fruit to your piggy.
It can choke your piggy. Give your cavy one-quarter of a plum per meal.
This amount is the ideal quantity. However, you can even choose to feed less.
Feed this fruit to your piggy only once or twice a week.
Plums should be fed only as occasional treats to guinea pigs.
They give substantial amounts of vitamins A and C when taken in.
However, they contain too much sugar, which is harmful to your pet.
Feed them only as supplements to your cavy’s main diet.
Do you have other pets?
Do you want to know the right thing to feed??
Click here to learn about foods that are healthy for your pet, and here to discover so much more about guinea pigs!
