Can Guinea Pigs Eat Guava? (Hazards, Serving Size & More)

Guava is a high source of Vitamin C, antioxidants, and manganese. Guava has numerous benefits for humans as it helps to boost immunity, protects against various types of cancer, helps to balance blood sugar levels. But what about our guinea pigs? Can guinea pigs eat guava? I did some research and here is what I have learned.

Guinea pigs can eat guava. Guava is an excellent source of Vitamin C and other essential minerals for our guinea pigs. However, it contains a decent amount of sugar in it; that can lead to several health issues. Thus, we should only feed it in moderation.

Guinea pigs don’t digest sugar well, which is why fruits are not the regular part of their diet. Fruits are mostly served as a treat.

However, they do provide our guinea pigs with much-needed Vitamins and minerals that hay alone cannot fulfill.

Now that you know you can feed guava to your guinea pigs, you must be wondering how much and how often can you feed the same?

Don’t worry; we have every detail from top to bottom covered for you.

But before moving further, let us learn about some nutrition in guava.

Contents

Nutrition in guava

Nutrients	Amount
Vitamin C	228.3 mg/ 100 g
Vitamin K	2.6 µg/100 g
Vitamin A	31 µg/ 100 g
Carotene	374 µg/ 100 g
Calcium	18 mg/ 100 g
Phosphorous	40 mg/ 100 g
Potassium	417 mg/ 100 g
Fiber	5.4 g/ 100 g
Sugar	8.92 g/ 100 g
Magnesium	22 mg/ 100 g
Carbs	14.32 g/ 100 g
Calories	68 Kcal
Fat	0.95 g/ 100 g
Water	80.8 g/ 100 g

Source: USDA National Nutrient database

Guava is an excellent source of Vitamin C, antioxidants, potassium, and fiber. It is also rich in many other nutrients. Let us have a closer look at the same:

Vitamin C: According to studies, consuming Vitamin C can increase your blood antioxidant level by 30%. In addition to this, Vitamin C also has many other benefits like it helps to reduce the risk of chronic disease, lower the risk of heart disease, and boost the immune system.
Antioxidants: Antioxidants are also called as free radical scavengers, which helps to prevent damages to cells that are caused by free radicals. One more important fact about antioxidants is that without its presence, free radicals in our body can cause damage, which can even result in severe health issues.
Potassium: Potassium is a very much essential macrominerals required by our body, helping to reduce blood and water retention. Potassium also helps to prevent kidney stones. Lack of potassium can lead to many problems like weakness and constipation. But excessive intake of potassium can lead to hyperkalemia.
Fiber: An artificial substance that is found naturally in plant-based products and can not be digested by a human is fiber. Fiber gives many benefits to the body as it helps to maintain cholesterol levels; it also protects the body from intestine cancer and provides relief against constipation.

Are guinea pigs able to eat guava?

Your guinea pig can eat guava as it is a delicious fruit that is also a rich source of Vitamin C, antioxidants, and fiber.

According to studies, an adult guinea pig should in-take 25mg of Vitamin C daily, and a pregnant guinea pig should intake 30-40 mg of Vitamin C daily.

But it also contains a good amount of fructose, phosphorus, and acidic content.

So it should not be served regularly. There are many benefits of guava to your guinea pig. Let us dive into the same:

Prevention of scurvy: Vitamin is the most necessary for guinea pigs as it helps prevent scurvy and illness. Guinea pigs cannot develop Vitamin C on their own. So feeding guava in moderate quantity can give a good amount of Vitamin C to our guinea pig.

Hydration: Guava also contains a good amount of water, which helps our guinea pig stay hydrated and active throughout summer.

Antioxidants: Guava holds a good amount of antioxidants which protect our guinea pigs from several heat diseases and minimize the risk of many other health conditions.

Is guava bad for our guinea pig’s health?

No guava is not bad for our guinea pig health as it provides a lot of nutritional benefits to our guinea pigs. But if it is consumed beyond a limit, it can give hazardous results.

Any fruit, including guava, which has a good amount of sugar content, should be fed in a moderate quantity to our guinea pig as they have a susceptible digestive system that cannot handle sugar well.

Fruits that contain sugar and fiber must be served as a treat to our guinea pig and must not be included in their regular meal. Their regular meal must consist of hay and fresh veggies.

So with that in mind, let us learn some hazards of serving excess guava to your guinea pig:

High fructose content: Guava contains high fructose, which, if taken in an excessive quantity, can cause harm to our guinea pigs. Our guinea pigs have a very sensitive digestive system that can not handle sugar well. Intaking high fructose can even lead to diabetes and other severe health issues to our guinea pigs.
High phosphorus diet: Guava contains a good amount of phosphorus, which, if taken in an excessive quantity, can affect the growth and survival of our guinea pig. Not only guava but any other fruits that contain sugar and phosphorus if not taken in a moderate quantity can cause severe damage to our guinea pigs.
Urinary Complications: With growing age, the requirement of calcium decreases in our guinea pigs. Calcium is required initially for the formation of bones. In later stages having a diet rich in calcium can lead to several health issues like bladder stones, sludge, etc.

Although most of these complication could be avoided if you feed guava in right quantity to your guinea pigs.

How often can guinea pigs eat guava?

You can serve guava two times a week to your guinea pig but in a moderate quantity. Overfeeding of the fruit can lead to significant health issues as it contains a good amount of fructose.

Any Fruit, including guava, which contains sugar, should be served in a moderate quantity and should not be added to their regular meal. Their regular meal must consist of hay and fresh veggies.

Apart from these, there are many other fruits and vegetables that you can feed to your guinea pigs.

How much guava can we feed to our guinea pigs?

You can feed 1-2 slice of guava to your guinea pigs. However make sure not to serve the same more than that because of its high sugar, phosphorous and acidic content.

Serving excess quantity affects the health of your guinea pig.

Always remember that you must serve in a moderate quantity as moderation is a key to a healthy life.

Can guinea pigs eat guava leaves?

Yes, guinea pigs can eat guava leaves as we had no problem with our guinea pigs when we served the same earlier.

However, lately, we have stopped the same and we will suggest you avoid feeding guava leaves to your guinea pigs as there is no proper information regarding the same.

Can guinea pigs eat guava seeds?

Yes, guinea pigs can eat guava seeds as they are smaller and softer.

Hard seeds can not be consumed by guinea pigs, as they can be a choking hazard for them.

Guava seeds are edible and also contain a good amount of fiber.

But you must remember that any fruit, including guava, which contains sugar, should be served in a moderate quantity and should not be added to their regular meal. Their regular diet must consist of hay and fresh veggies.

Can guinea pigs eat guava skin?

Yes, guinea pigs can eat guava along with their skin.

However, we recommend peeling the skin away before serving as most commercial fruits are sprayed with chemicals for quicker harvest and long shelf life.

Thus, make sure you keep that in mind while working guava to your guinea pigs.

Is guava tree stem safe for guinea pigs?

No, we should not give Branches or stem of guava trees to our guinea pigs.

Since there is no concrete evidence, if it is safe for our guinea pig or not, it is better to stay on the safe side and avoid feeding those to your guinea pigs.

How to prepare guava for guinea pigs?

Preparing guava for your guinea pig is simple and straightforward. Here are some simple steps to follow:

The first step is to select ripe guava for your guinea pig even though unripe guava has equally all nutritional benefits, but it may be hard for your guinea pig to eat.

The second step is to wash the fruit properly to remove all the dirt from the surface.

After washing the fruit, the third step is to cut it properly in small slices so that your guinea pig does not face any problem while having its delicious treat.

And the last step is to serve the delicious treat of guava to your guinea pig. You can either handfeed the same or mix it with other vegetables.

Lastly, you need to remove any uneaten fruits or vegetables from the cage to avoid fly and rats infestation in the cage.

Conclusion: Guinea pigs and Guava

Guava is a high source of vitamins and minerals that provides numerous benefits to humans as well as to our guinea pigs.

You can feed guava to your guinea pig, not more than twice a week, because it contains a good amount of fructose, which is not good for our guinea pig.

Overfeeding of guava or any other fruit that contains a good amount of sugar can lead to severe health issues.

You can feed guava seeds to your guinea pig as they are smaller and softer and also contain a good amount of fiber.

There is no sufficient information regarding guava leaves and stem, so we recommend avoiding feeding these to your guinea pig.

Lastly, it would be best if you always remembered that moderation is key to a healthy life. Fruits that contain sugar can only be served as a treat and should not be included in their regular meal. Their regular meal must consist of hay and fresh veggies.

Sources: Guava Fruit, Health benefits of guava, Diet Composition and Mineral Balance in Guinea Pigs, Dietary Vitamin C, and Vitamin E on Guinea Pig Immune Responses to Mitogens, Vitamin C requirements of the guinea-pig, Is Your Guinea Pig’s Diet Providing the Right Nutrients? Care of Guinea Pigs.