45 Foods Your Guinea Pig Should Not Eat (Dangers, Toxic Foods and Plants)
Everyone knows that guinea pigs love to eat. However, there are many foods that guinea pigs simply can’t eat without serious consequences.
The following list of foods can cause an upset stomach or worse if guinea pigs were to eat them.
Some of these are extremely toxic, while others will cause varying degrees of digestive issues or long-term health problems if fed over time.
I’ll start with the most dangerous foods at the top of the list and gradually work down to the foods that are not toxic but best avoided.
You can also find a chart of all the foods guinea pigs can eat along with the frequency it can be given on the guinea pig food chart page.
1. Meat
Meat is one of the biggest ones on this list to avoid feeding your guinea pig. Guinea pigs are strict vegans and cannot digest meat at all.
Eating even small amounts of meat can make them very sick. This includes any kind of meat or fish, cooked or raw.
2. Dog or Cat Food
Since guinea pigs can’t eat meat, this also disqualifies any kind of kibble, treats, or other foods you would feed to your cat, dog, or ferret.
If your guinea pig free roams for floor time, make sure they do not have access to any food bowls of other pets.
3. Dairy
As mentioned above, guinea pigs are strict vegans. Dairy of any kind is very bad for your guinea pigs and cannot be digested properly.
This includes milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, sour cream, cream cheese, whipped cream, etc.
Consuming any of these can cause stomach aches or make your piggy ill.
4. Animal By-Products
Besides meat and dairy, guinea pigs should stay away from all other kinds of animal by-products as well. This includes eggs, honey, mealworms, and anything that includes gelatin or other animal-derived ingredients. Guinea pigs are not designed to digest any kind of food that comes from an animal. Honey is also far too sticky and high in sugar.
5. Chocolate or Candy
At best, chocolate and candy of any kind are very unhealthy for your guinea pig. Certain kinds can also be very toxic. For these reasons, chocolate and candy should be avoided completely. Any kind of food with lots of sugar can have harmful effects on guinea pigs.
6. Garlic
Garlic is poisonous to guinea pigs and will cause bad stomach pains for your piggy.
They contain a compound that damages red blood cells and can cause severe breathing problems and weakness in guinea pigs.
Small amounts can cause a lot of discomfort for your piggy and can elicit toxic effects. For these reasons, it’s important to keep garlic far away from your guinea pig.
7. Onions
Anything from the onion family, including onions, spring onions, onion grass, leeks, chives, and shallots, should never be fed to guinea pigs. Similar to garlic, they are very toxic and damage the guinea pig’s red blood cells. Be sure to keep them strictly off your guinea pig’s menu.
8. Potatoes
Potatoes are toxic and should not be fed to guinea pigs. Potato tops and leaves are also poisonous.
Green potatoes are even more dangerous for guinea pigs because they contain large amounts of solanine, which is very poisonous to piggies.
Potatoes also have high levels of carbohydrates, so they’re not healthy for guinea pigs from a nutritional perspective either.
9. Rotten or Moldy Food
This one may seem obvious, but it’s an important reminder to double-check any food before feeding it to your guinea pig.
Turn any vegetables over in your hand to check for little mold spots before giving them to your guinea pig. Sometimes these little spots can be easy to miss!
Also, remove any uneaten vegetables from your guinea pig’s cage after a few hours. Make sure nothing has become buried in bedding, as this quickly leads to moldy food in the cage.
Also, check hay for mold when you first buy it and periodically before feeding it to your pigs. Hay that has been exposed to moisture can start growing mold quickly. Usually, mold in hay is easy to detect by smell.
10. Alcohol
This is also an obvious but important one that should no doubt be avoided with guinea pigs. Alcohol can burn the throat and make your piggy very ill.
11. Coffee
Guinea pigs should not have anything that contains caffeine. Beans are also not good for guinea pigs and can cause serious stomach problems.
12. Tea
As mentioned above, guinea pigs should not consume any kind of caffeine. Tea may also contain herbs that are not safe for guinea pigs.
13. Plants or Veggies With Pesticides
Beware of pesticide or herbicide-treated plants if you collect grass or dandelions for your guinea pigs outside. Guinea pigs are very sensitive to chemicals like this and can get very sick if exposed to them.
It can be hard to tell if plants have been treated, but if in doubt, avoid feeding them to your guinea pig.
As a general rule, avoid picking grass from neighbors’ yards unless you’ve talked to them first. Parks, public walkways, and boulevards can also be risky.
Grass in public areas may have been soiled by other animals or exposed to exhaust fumes from cars driving by.
Try to stick to grass on your own property if possible, and avoid picking anything too close to sidewalks or property lines where other people may have treated grass nearby.
Also, be aware that most non-organic vegetables from the grocery store contain subtle traces of pesticides. This is less dangerous than most weed-killer pesticides you’ll find outside, but they can still be hazardous to your guinea pig. This is why it’s important to thoroughly wash vegetables before feeding them to your piggies.
Did you know?
Untreated grass is healthy and great for grinding down your guinea pig’s molars. It is one of a few foods that can be safely fed to your piggies daily. This makes it a great option to feed your guinea pigs if you run out of food for your piggy temporarily.
For a list of more healthy staples, check out this list of 10 foods you can feed your guinea pig daily.
14. Lawnmower Clippings
Lawnmower clippings can also be potentially dangerous for your guinea pig. Grass clippings can cause serious digestive upsets and can make your guinea pigs very ill.
This is because lawnmower fuel gets mixed in with the grass clippings. The chemical residue on the grass is quite toxic to guinea pigs and can cause bloat and other gastrointestinal issues.
You also may have poisonous weeds around your yard that could easily get mixed in together with the grass clippings. This can cause a whole host of other problems if your guinea pig eats them.
To avoid any problems with grass clippings, avoid feeding them to your guinea pig altogether. Always hand-pick the grass that you feed to your guinea pigs. Also, be sure to rake up any lawnmower clippings before taking your guine