As a guinea pig owner, you will likely be tempted to feed your little one with several snacks. Whether it is for training your pet piggy or simply as a treat, peanuts may seem like a good choice. But, can guinea pigs eat peanuts?
Yes, your guinea pig can eat peanuts. But, you shouldn’t feed your little one peanuts. They are rich in fats and have a high concentration of carbs. Whereas, your pet guinea pig needs a diet that is rich in fibers, and low in carbs. Based on this, peanuts are definitely not recommended for your pet piggy.
Peanuts are a good source of vitamins and numerous minerals, but due to their carb content, only a tiny amount can be fed to guinea pigs. Continue reading to find more about peanuts and their effect on guinea pigs.
Are Peanuts Bad For Guinea Pigs? – 101 Guide To Your Pet’s Safety
Before we get into how bad peanuts are for your pet piggy, let’s look at the nutritional facts of peanuts to determine whether your pet is missing out on the nutritional content of peanuts.
1) Nutritional Content Of Peanuts:
A ¼ cup serving size of roasted peanuts provides approximately:
| 165 calories |
| 6 g carbohydrates |
| 2 g fiber |
| 9 g fat |
| 6 g protein |
It contains the following nutrients:
| 184 mg potassium | 1 mg calcium |
| 3 mg magnesium | 6 mg iron |
| 100 mg phosphorus | 6 mcg folate |
| 9 mg vitamin E | 8 mg phosphorus |
| 5 mg choline | 6 mg manganese |
For starters, there is no vitamin C in peanuts. It is the building block of your pet guinea pig’s immune system since they cannot produce or store vitamin C on their own.
Peanuts contain vitamin E, but the odds of risks outweigh the benefits of vitamin E for your little one.
So, although vitamin E may benefit your guinea pig, due to the high concentration of fats, and carbs, it is certainly not worth risking your pet’s health.
Based on this, it is safe to conclude that peanuts don’t offer much to your guinea pig. However, if you feed your pet guinea pig peanuts, it will take a significant toll on your pet’s health.
More on this will be discussed in the latter part of this article.
2) What Will Happen If A Guinea Pig Eats Peanuts? – 7 Major Health Complications:
If your pet piggy eats peanuts, there are 4 major things that can go wrong. Here’s a detailed insight into this:
A) Peanuts Will Affect Your Pet’s Digestive System:
Peanuts contain a variety of unhealthy nutrients. These include unsaturated fats, carbs, and proteins. When your pet eats all of these together, it will suffer from digestive complications.
It will lead to trouble in the bowel movements and put your pet piggy in ultimate discomfort. Additionally, your pet will also suffer from diarrhea, bloating, and other gastrointestinal issues.
So, all in all, it will make it difficult for your pet friend to digest his or her favorite meals.
B) Peanuts Will Lead To Bladder Stones:
Peanuts contain a higher concentration of calcium. It might not look much to us, but for your little friend, it is more than what he or she can take. The excess calcium can build up in your pet piggy’s kidneys and bladder.
The calcium content from peanuts and other calcium-containing foods from your pet’s diet can collectively lead to the formation of kidney and bladder stones in the long haul.
It will be severely painful for your guinea pig and no pet owner would certainly want that for their adorable little pet.
C) Your Pet May Be Allergic To Peanuts:
Just like humans, guinea pigs too are allergic to certain foods. Peanuts are one of those foods that your pet may be allergic to. Keep in mind, not all guinea pigs are the same and your pet may or may not be allergic to them.
But, is it worth risking your pet’s health to find out if he or she is allergic to peanuts? Certainly not. You should never put your pet in such pain.
If your pet is allergic to peanuts, here are some symptoms to keep an eye out for:
- Frequent sneezing
- Having trouble breathing
- Itching
- Diarrhea
If you notice any of the following symptoms, you should reach out to your vet immediately and consult with him for further diagnostics.
D) Peanuts Will Make Your Pet Obese:
As you might have noticed, peanuts contain a significantly high amount of calories. Similarly, it also has a higher amount of fat per ¼ cup serving of peanuts.
The high amount of fat can take a place in your pet’s organs and arteries. As a result, your pet will become obese which further opens up a pathway for further health complications such as diabetes.
Additionally, it will also lead to clots in the blood vessels of your little one.
E) Peanuts Carry A Potential Choking Risk:
Feeding your pet shelled peanuts is a potential choking hazard. Guinea pigs are usually fast eaters and they don’t actually focus on what they are eating. This means, your pet will likely eat the shells of peanuts.
It will get stuck in your pet’s neck and may even end up being fatal for your guinea pig if you don’t seek professional help immediately.
F) Peanuts disrupt the gut system of your pet guinea pig:
Feeding your pet peanuts or any kind of nuts will take a toll on its gut system. It will result in an imbalance of the healthy bacteria in your pet’s gut or digestive system.
As a result, the number of harmful bacteria in your pet’s body increases. They then feed on oxalates and sugar in the intestine of your poor little pet.
This induces life-altering enzymes in your pet’s body which can end up being fatal.
G) Peanuts & Other Nuts Affect Your Pet’s Nervous System:
The nervous system is responsible for the bodily functions of your guinea pig. Unfortunately, if you feed your pet peanuts, it will lead to improper functioning of the nervous system.
This is often caused due to the lack of vitamin C and small amounts of E in your pet’s body. In the long haul, if you keep your pet on a diet that lacks proper vitamin C and E, he or she will become paralyzed and may die.
Based on this, if you are planning on feeding your pet peanuts, you should stop. There are plenty of other foods that you can feed your pet piggy.
3) Can Guinea Pigs Eat Any Kind Of Nuts?
Whether it is peanuts, almonds, brazil, cashews, pine, walnuts, pistachio nuts, you cannot feed them to your pet guinea pig.
We understand the vitamins and minerals may tempt you to feed these nuts to your little one. But due to the high calories, carbs, and fats in them, you shouldn’t feed them to your pet piggy.
As mentioned earlier, your pet will become severely sick and suffer from many health issues that no pet owner would want for their pet.
Avoid feeding your pet nuts, and choose healthy foods for your furry one from the list below.
24 Healthy Foods That You Can Feed Your Guinea Pig
If you’re looking for snacks for your dear pet, you’ve come to the right place. Here are our top picks that are perfectly safe for guinea pigs. These include:
| Radishes | Cabbage |
| Summer squash | Pumpkin |
| Mint | Arugula |
| Rocket | Spinach |
| Parsnip | Buttercrunch lettuce |
| Bok choy | Apples |
Other Foods:
- Pineapples
- Raspberries
- Parsley
- Brussels sprouts
- Bell peppers
- Oranges
- Mangoes
- Peaches
- Blackberries
- Cauliflower
- Basil
- Cilantro
Keep in mind, you need to feed these foods as treats or snacks only. These are never meant to replace your pet’s main food which is hay.
When fed in moderation, your pet will enjoy numerous vitamins including vitamin C from the foods mentioned above.
If you overfeed them, your pet will suffer from numerous health complications such as digestive issues, obesity, diabetes.
Another thing that you need to remember is that you have to wash fruits and veggies before feeding them. Both fruits and vegetables are sprayed with chemicals and pesticides to help protect them from pest attacks.
Store-bought fruits and veggies contain leftovers of these pesticides. Due to this, you need to wash them thoroughly prior to serving them to your little one.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Can Guinea Pigs Eat Peanut Butter?
In short, no they cannot eat peanut butter. Peanuts, nuts, and their derivatives such as peanut butter are a huge no-go for your little one.
They have a sensitive digestive system that lacks the capability to process huge amounts of fat. Additionally, peanut butter has added sugar and other ingredients that are harmful to your pet’s health.
Peanut butter also poses a major threat to your pet’s life since they can choke on it due to its sticky texture.
2) Do Guinea Pigs Like Peanuts?
Due to the dangers involved in peanuts, it is not wise to feed your pet peanuts to determine whether they like or dislike eating peanuts.
There are plenty of other foods that you can feed your little one and he or she will absolutely love them!
3) Can Peanuts Make My Guinea Pig Sick?
As mentioned earlier, peanuts will make your guinea pig severely sick. Your pet lacks the skills to digest peanuts and even if he or she manages to digest a peanut or two, it will likely suffer from the consequences.
These include indigestion, diarrhea, and allergies that you may not know about your pet.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Peanuts – Conclusion:
Guinea pigs cannot eat peanuts due to the high number of calories, amount of fats, and carbs in them. Peanuts generally don’t offer much for your pet piggy and based on this there is no point in feeding them to guinea pigs.
A guinea pig needs a balanced diet with foods that contain vitamin C, and unfortunately, there is no vitamin C in peanuts. This is another reason why you shouldn’t feed your pets peanuts.
If, however, your pet eats peanuts, he or she will suffer from digestive issues including pain in the gut and a general imbalance of the gut system.
Additionally, peanuts can also make your pet obese, and if you’re like me, you wouldn’t want that for your furry one.