Experimenting with guinea pigs’ diet is fine as long as you thoroughly research what is good and what isn’t for them. They can eat most of the vegetables, but not all. With that in mind, the question “Can guinea pigs eat beans” will undoubtedly cross your mind.
I’m glad to inform you that cavies can eat beans, but only if you properly serve them some! What does that mean? Is there a limit on how much beans guinea pigs can eat at a time? What about the overall ingredients that are present within beans? Can they eat cooked beans just like we can?
My friend tried to offer some canned beans to guinea pigs, and they weren’t fond of its scent so much. Why was that the case? Aren’t cavies capable of eating beans in every variety as we do? Stick around if you want to find the answers to the questions above!
How To Properly Introduce Beans To Guinea Pigs?
Cavies are energetic pets. They are forced to be on a constant move, searching for new adventures. It’s OK to release them from their cage from time to time to let them explore the room. Just make sure that there are no potentially dangerous objects around.
On the other hand, some of you might not have as much free time as others, and you can’t waste any of your free time. To ensure that your guinea pig remains happy without letting it out, make sure that you provide him with a spacious cage fully equipped with toys!
There aren’t any proven consequences in keeping guinea pigs in a tight cage, but some have developed mental issues. The most common one is depression. They don’t need any of that fancy stuff; just give them lots of free space!
Being on a constant move will prove tiresome for your cavy. Providing your guinea pigs with a proper food regime will give them all the energy supplies they need to sustain their extreme habits. Luckily for us, that is easily manageable.
Cavies’ diet is mainly composed of:
- Commercial food and hay
- Vegetables
- Fruits
If you want to know more about their diet, a complete guide is available to you; just click on the link here!
Discovering new stuff to implement into guinea pigs’ diet isn’t always a fun task – they don’t tolerate most new foods. I always recommend my clients visit their local veterinarian and have them examine their cavies so that they can determine an optimal food regime for their furball.
Let me save you some free time and money by introducing beans. It is a cheap vegetable that is found in every market all around the world. If you own a garden, you can even consider growing them yourself for your family and guinea pigs.
Knowing where the beans came from will put you at ease as many people produce them in the wrong way. Insects tend to ravage farmers’ crops, especially beans, and to prevent that; they spray insecticides on all of them to save them from being eaten.
If you don’t plan on growing beans yourself and remain skeptical towards beans sprayed with toxins, I propose a solution. Pay a visit to your local market and ask the personnel there if they have some organic beans.
Organic beans are the same as regular beans, with one huge exception. All beans that haven’t been treated with insecticides or pesticides remain organic. So wipe that sweat off your forehead and buy some organic beans for your beloved furballs!
But before you introduce beans to guinea pigs, you need to serve them properly. First and foremost, the beans need to be washed. Put the beans in the clean colander and release cold water from the faucet. Put them under the stream of water and stir them up for several seconds.
Although organic beans don’t have traces of insecticides like regular beans, specks of dirt are still present. It’s necessary to offer your guinea pigs only fresh beans, and these may contain dirt. The presence of dirt in food may harm their little tummies – they won’t like that, would they?
After washing the beans, you should dry them out. Many people tend to put them in the kitchen towel, but that doesn’t do the job correctly. Hear me out on this one – find a place in your house that has lots of sunlight and put your washed beans there. It will dry them out more efficiently!
Once the beans have dried out, they become safe for consumption. Only offer one to two raw strings of green beans at a time to your guinea pigs. Exceeding that limit might cause some potential problems to the digestive system of your cavies.
I’ve spoken with many veterinarians, and all answers point to giving beans two to three times per week to your guinea pigs. A cup of fresh vegetables is recommended daily for your guinea pigs; you can put some green beans in that cup when offering your regular mix of vegetables!
I’ll point out all the possible bean variants that are found in your market:
- Many plant leaves aren’t recommended for your guinea pig, but green bean leaves are safe for them! Just make sure that you offer them some in moderate amounts.
- Raw green beans possess the most quality nutrients and therefore are best when offered raw.
- People often ask me if green bean seeds are safe for guinea pigs. They are but only if you serve them immature pods. I wouldn’t recommend offering green bean seeds that are old as they lose most of the beneficial nutrients present in them when they are still young.
- Guinea pigs can eat frozen green beans, but only after you bring them back to room temperature. Offering them some beans directly from the fridge can cause digestion issues to cavies.
- We all love to eat cooked green beans, and why wouldn’t we? They have a phenomenal taste that goes with most other dishes! Remember only to keep them on your plate as guinea pigs should never eat cooked beans. When cooked, they lose most vitamins that cavies need to consume!
- When we don’t have time to cook the beans, we often eat them from the can. The preservatives aren’t harmful to humans but should be avoided when thinking about guinea pigs. All canned food contains lots of preservatives that are bad for the overall health of cavies.
| Only offer them fresh green beans that are thoroughly washed before! |
Nutritional Values Of Beans
Every vegetable has its unique set of nutritional values that positively aid the health of guinea pigs. Take a closer look at the macros present in beans:
| Calories | 345 |
| Fat | 2.6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 61 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Sodium | 12 mg |
| Potassium | 1.042 g |
| Calcium | 166 mg |
| Iron | 7.01 mg |
How do beans affect cavies overall health:
Active Source Of Protein
Guinea pigs will tend to stay on the constant move. To do so, they need to have strong muscles that allow them to overcome any obstacle in front of them. By implementing beans into cavies’ diet, you are giving them an active source of protein that will aid in maintaining strong muscles.
Controls Appetite
It’s not surprising to us that cavies want to eat all the time. Balancing their diet is essential to ensure that your guinea pigs stay fit. Overeating is a bad habit that some cavies tend to have, leading to some problems concerning weight management.
Fortunately, you can start adding some raw beans to their diet, which will aid in weight loss and control guinea pigs’ appetite. Beans are rich in starch and fiber, limiting the amount of food that they can eat at a time!
Great Source Of Antioxidants
Excess radicals can be harmful to your guinea pigs if present in high levels. Some foods they eat have certain ingredients that are bad for the overall health of cavies if consumed in high amounts.
Help them out by giving them some beans. They are rich in antioxidants and will eliminate free radicals from cavies’ little bodies!
Many plants are great for cavies but not as great as raw beans!
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Beans? – To Sum Up
Guinea pigs’ diet mainly consists of hay and vegetables. Regarding that, it is absolutely fine to ask yourself can guinea pigs eat beans. The human ability to evolve and adapt is a necessary attribute to us and our beloved pets.
As it turns out, cavies can and will enjoy eating beans, but only if you offer them raw variants! Some parts like bean leaves and seeds are also safe for guinea pigs to eat. Remember that cooked and canned beans aren’t the most appealing food for cavies as they contain low nutritional values.
Beans fit in wonderfully in guinea pigs’ diet as it provides them with:
- Proteins
- Antioxidants
- Fibers
Not to mention that beans reduce cholesterol levels, helps with digestion, prevent gut-related problems, and even stop fat accumulation. It’s a fantastic snack that will help out your guinea pigs!
Not many vegetables provide this many health benefits to guinea pigs, so don’t be shy; head to your local market and buy some. I guarantee that your cavies will be thankful for offering them raw beans!
