Not all guinea pigs have the same taste preferences – pay close attention to what they are saying to you at all times! Although cavies know what’s best for them, some questions need to be answered before offering them some food.
Fruits can be tricky sometimes, particularly berry-type fruits. With that in mind, the question “Can guinea pigs eat blueberries?” rises from the depths.
Although berries carry a lot of sugar inside them, blueberries are safe for guinea pigs’ consumption.
How is that possible? Do you need to worry about how to serve blueberries to guinea pigs properly? Can you provide your cavies with blueberries every single day? Will there be any consequences in doing so?
As long as you pay close attention to the number of blueberries you serve to guinea pigs, the sugar levels won’t harm them. Stay tuned to find everything there is about how to offer some blueberries adequately to guinea pigs!
Things You Should Know Before Offering Blueberries To Cavies
There are, at least, a couple of million guinea pigs scattered throughout the world at any given point. No two are alike, but do you know what do all cavies have in common? No matter where they are located, as pets, they all share a similar food regime.
With a proper balance between hay, fruits, and vegetables, guinea pigs will be capable of playing around all day long! Many people have a terrible habit of overeating candy, leading to the manifestation of some stomach problems.
Because of that, many people have a tough time accepting that there are some excellent treats for guinea pigs. Finding those snacks can be challenging, but luckily for you, I’ve collected the data that proves that blueberries are a perfect snack for cavies!
As long as you serve them an adequate portion of blueberries, there won’t be any consequences in the long run. I suggest that you serve your guinea pigs one to two blueberries once per week. Any more than that can lead to some problems for our beloved furballs.
Like with every other food that you put in the bowl for your cavies, there needs to be a set of rules that need to be followed. Some people disregard the general need to keep every type of food for guinea pigs clean, proving detrimental to their overall health.
To prevent that, I’ve listed the most critical steps for you to follow before offering blueberries to guinea pigs:
- Generally, blueberries are available worldwide – head to your local market; I’m sure that they will have some! Before you take some, try to pinpoint the ones with a darkish blue color – any other color present on them is a clear sign of a blueberry being rotten or unripe.
- Blueberries are soft fruits – they tend to break relatively quickly if you aren’t careful. Make sure to adequately pack them in a plastic box before you leave the market.
- When blueberries are still growing, people often spray them with toxins to prevent unwanted attention towards them. These toxins are mainly pesticides and insecticides. It is unsafe for cavies to eat fruits that have these toxins on them.
- To prevent that from happening, try finding organic blueberries. Every bunch of labeled organic blueberries didn’t go through the spraying process with pesticides and insecticides, making them safe for cavies consumption!
- Although blueberries are cleaned before they are offered to customers, they will still have some traces of dirt present on them. Guinea pigs love when their food is dirtless, so ensure that you properly wash the blueberries before you offer them to cavies!
- As I’ve mentioned before, blueberries are soft. Whenever you wash them, you will need to be extra careful when handling them. Put the blueberries in a plastic strainer and place them in a kitchen sink below a faucet that is pouring cold water slowly.
- After you’ve carefully washed the dirt off the blueberries, put them in a kitchen towel so that the excess moisture is absorbed in the towel. I particularly rather put the wet blueberries in a sun-exposed place, and by doing so, I make sure that all the moisture evaporates.
- When all of the blueberries become dry, you can safely put them in the refrigerator. Never put wet blueberries in the fridge, as the water present on them will cause the blueberries to form mold. Always make sure that they are dry before setting them aside!
Before you serve some fresh blueberries to guinea pigs, make sure that they are as close as possible to room temperature. Blueberries that are left in a fridge for some time will become cold. Never serve cold blueberries to guinea pigs; they can’t properly digest them!
Make sure that the bowl in which you put blueberries for cavies is always clean.
Guinea pigs aren’t particularly fond of cleaning the bowl for themselves, which can sometimes lead to some traces of food left behind. Any old food is terrible for cavies to eat, and they might eat everything left in the bowl when you offer them some blueberries.
You might even want to consider spicing the feeding process a bit! Guinea pigs are energetic pets and will love to work for their food. Put a blueberry somewhere in the cage and make your cavy put some effort to reach the berry!
Benefits For Guinea Pigs For Eating Blueberries
Every fruit has its own set of nutritional values that make them beneficial toward the overall health of guinea pigs. Some provide extra water for cavies; others have high amounts of calories inside them, giving guinea pigs extra energy for their long playing sessions.
To understand why blueberries are suitable for guinea pigs, you will first need to read the macros of this berry:
| Calories | 57 |
| Water | 84 % |
| Sugar | 9.96 g |
| Fiber | 2.4 g |
| Fat | 0.33 g |
| Protein | 0.74 g |
| Vitamin C | 9.7 mg |
| Vitamin E | 0.57 mg |
| Potassium | 77 mg |
| Phosphorus | 12 mg |
| Calcium | 6 mg |
| Magnesium | 6 mg |
These numbers might not mean too much to some of you. To help those people out, I’ve assembled some of the essential health-related benefits that blueberries offer to guinea pigs.
Those being:
Solid Bones
Guinea pigs have a tight schedule every day; they need to play from dusk till dawn! Most of the time, cavies won’t do anything extreme while goofing around with other guinea pigs and toys, but, on some rare occasions, some accidents can happen in the heat of the game.
When cavies run in a straight line, they can hasten to a great speed, and in doing so, might hurt themselves if they run into something. They might even fall from a tall place somewhere inside the cage if it has some kind of built-in stairs.
Acquiring some injuries is a part of everyone’s life, and it’s perfectly fine to get yourself hurt, as long as you learn from your mistakes afterward! To ensure that guinea pigs remain in one piece when accidents happen, they will need sturdy bones.
Although too much calcium is bad for your cavies, it’s still essential to have some in the right amount. Blueberries will offer just that as it has the correct phosphorus to calcium ratio. Make sure to provide some blueberries to guinea pigs so that they can maintain a solid-state of bones inside them!
Immune System
You must provide your guinea pigs with all the basic stuff from start to bottom. Be it a proper food regime, freshwater, the regulated temperature in the cage, and even hay for them to munch on – all of the stuff above are needed for cavies to maintain a proper immune system.
Some random stuff occurs, from time to time, to guinea pigs. If any of the stuff above isn’t provided daily to guinea pigs, their immune system can deteriorate. To ensure that that never happens, consider spicing up their diet with some blueberries.
Blueberries have a high amount of vitamin C and K that will aid in maintaining healthy cavies’ internal organs. Vitamin C particularly aids guinea pigs’ health and makes sure that the immune system remains strong at all times!
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Blueberries? – Summarization
Whenever you find yourself inside a market, there is a high chance that you will buy some blueberries for your loved ones. If you own cavies, that might even spark the question; can guinea pigs eat blueberries? If we can eat them, why couldn’t guinea pigs enjoy them too?
Let me put your concerns to rest, as guinea pigs will gladly partake in blueberries whenever you offer them some. No matter what time of the day it is, blueberries will always be a fan-favorite snack for all cavies. Just make sure that you properly offer them some.
Guinea pigs can benefit a lot from eating some blueberries. Many of you are fond of the fact that cavies can sometimes be reckless when playing inside their cage. By offering them some blueberries, you will unintentionally give them a proper amount of calcium.
Be sure to wash the blueberries adequately before you offer them to guinea pigs. Some traces of dirt can be found on them at any given time. Cavies will be forever grateful to you if you present them with some blueberries, so what are you waiting for? Buy some at your local market immediately!
