On a movie night, everyone likes to have snacks such as popcorn. It makes your movie more entertaining and fills up your stomach. However, if you have a guinea pig, you might question, can guinea pigs eat popcorn?
“Fortunately, your pet guinea pig can eat popcorn in a minimal amount and once a month. Popcorn can only be a rare treat for your pet piggy and should never be fed as part of your pet’s primary diet. They may have a slight benefit for your pet piggy. Unfortunately, the risks and dangers outweigh the benefits and, it can take a significant toll on your pet’s health.”
This is due to the fact that popcorn contains a significant amount of fats and phosphorous. Feeding them in excess will make your pet obese and exposed to numerous risks. Here’s a detailed insight into popcorn.
Guinea Pigs Eating Popcorn – Things To Lookout For
One thing that you need to understand is the fact that popcorn is considered processed food. As you might already know, processed foods are never a good idea for your pet piggy’s health.
Popcorn is made in cooking oil. Due to this, they have a significantly high content of fats and phosphorous. What’s dreadful about these two elements is that they lead to a deficiency of magnesium.
In addition to this, they also contribute to the formation of phosphate stones in the bladder of your pet piggy. It will put your pet guinea pig in severe discomfort and immense amounts of pain.
Based on this, it is wise to avoid feeding them popcorn at all. If you still wish to feed your pet piggy popcorn, you can feed them a small amount but that should be it for the month.
Here are other questions that guinea pig owners usually ask when it comes to popcorn and guinea pigs.
1) Can Guinea Pigs Eat Plain Popcorn?
In short, No they should not. Whether it is plain, caramel popcorn, or salty, they are all processed. Due to the fact that they are processed, it is a bad idea to feed them to your pet piggy.
Your pet guinea pig has a very delicate and sensitive digestive system. Feeding them processed or cooked foods or even a slight imbalance in their diet will end up being troublesome for your pet guinea pig.
Although other rodents will not have trouble eating popcorn, your pet piggy will most definitely struggle. To avoid all of this, you need to feed your pet piggy a balanced diet.
2) Do Guinea Pigs Like Eating Popcorn?
In short, yes they like eating popcorn. However, do not let their likeness or love for popcorn distract you from the fact that they cannot eat cooked or processed foods.
When you feed your pet piggy sweet, salty, or plain popcorn, he or she will love to have a go at it. But, this only proves that your pet piggy cannot decide what’s best for them.
You, as the owner need to make better decisions for them and only feed them fresh fruits, veggies, and their main diet.
If you are still tempted, you can feed small amounts of popcorn to your pet piggy just to taste. Keep in mind, you need to feed them plain popcorn only.
There are other treats that your pet guinea pig will absolutely fall in love with. Other healthy snacks for guinea pigs are mentioned in the latter part of this article.
3) Can Guinea Pigs Eat Popcorn Everday?
The answer to this question is A BIG NO! Popcorn is strictly not recommended to be fed to your pet guinea pigs every day. The risks outweigh the benefits of popcorn for your pet guinea pig.
Feeding them popcorn will expose them to a lot of fat and phosphorous. Both in the short and long term, it will be dangerous for your adorable little piggy.
However, small amounts of popcorn once a month will not do much harm.
4) Can Guinea Pigs Eat Air Popped Popcorn?
In short, No they cannot eat air-popped popcorn. We understand it is sad to hear this considering the fact that air-popped popcorn has a lower concentration of fat than other types.
However, they are still miles away from being a safe treat for your pet piggy. While they may be low in fats, they still have a significantly higher concentration of phosphorus.
As mentioned earlier, it will lead to phosphate stones in your pet piggy’s body. It will end up being painful for your pet guinea pig and will have to get checked out immediately.
5) Can Guinea Pigs Eat Corn?
Fortunately, they can eat corn. It is safe for their consumption as long as you feed them in small amounts and never in large amounts. It has a higher concentration of sugar which should be avoided.
The high concentration of sugar is a red flag for your pet’s health. This is due to the fact that it can lead to diabetes and may make your pet piggy put on excess weight. As a result, your pet will have trouble moving around.
In addition to this, it will also lead to cardiovascular complications and result in poor blood circulation. To avoid all this, you need to feed your pet piggy corn only once or twice a week.
Anything more than this is harmful to your pet’s health and should be avoided at all costs.
Nutritional Facts Of Popcorn
Popcorn is considered a snack that is full of nutrition. But when it comes to the nutritional content of foods, there are some that your pet piggy needs and some that should be avoided.
Here are the nutritional facts of popcorn just to give you an idea of the nutrition that your pet piggy will receive from eating popcorn.
The below nutritional values are for 100 grams of serving.
| Water content: 2.8% | Calories content: 500 calories | Fat: 28 grams | Saturated fat: 5 grams |
| Fiber: 10 grams | Calcium: 10 mg | Potassium: 3 mg | Vitamin C: 0.3 mg |
| Phosphorus: 250 mg | Folate: 5 mcg | Vitamin A: 7 IU | Magnesium: 5 mg |
| Chlorine: 7 mg | Potassium: 3 mg | Zinc: 2 mg | Phosphorus: 6 mg |
| Manganese: 1 mg | Sodium: 7 mg |
No matter how you put it, popcorn is considered a bad snack for your pet piggy. Some of the nutritional values in the list above might be tempting but it still is a bad idea to be fed to your pet guinea pig.
An Insight Into The Benefits Of Popcorn
To understand the benefits of popcorn for your guinea pig, let’s consider the nutritional content of popcorn.
1) Low In Sodium Content:
Surprisingly, plain popcorn only has 3 mg of sodium (salt) content. Due to the low content of sodium in plain popcorn, you will not have to worry about your pet piggy’s blood pressure levels.
It will be regulated and will be under the normal levels. Moreover, your pet will not suffer from sodium poisoning with popcorn.
2) High In Dietary Fibers:
Popcorn has over 10 grams of fiber content in a 100-gram serving size. This is surprisingly high and absolutely recommended for your pet’s digestive system.
Fibers keep your pet piggy’s digestive system healthy and speed up the process of digestion.
Keep in mind, you can only feed your pet piggy a small amount of popcorn and only once a month.
6 Risks Of Feeding Popcorn To Guinea Pigs
Popcorn will put your pet piggy in severe discomfort and make him or her sick. There are many things that can go wrong with feeding your pet guinea pig popcorn. Here are some of the possible risks involved.
1) High In Calorie Content:
Popcorn has a whopping 500 calories in a 100-gram serving. Considering the small body of a guinea pig, this number is extremely high and can end up being troublesome for your pet piggy.
Even for us humans, it is an unsafe number. The usual healthy treats for guinea pigs have a small number of calories in them that make these treats safe for your pet guinea pig.
The calorie content alone can make your pet obese, let alone the sugar content. Obesity in your pet piggy will make him or her lazy and inactive which can lead to poor blood circulation and other complications.
2) High In Fat Content:
As mentioned earlier, popcorn is a rich source of fat. If you thought a high number of calories is alarming, you should consider the dangers of high-fat content.
The excess of fat in foods does only one thing. It leads to blood clogging and increases the risk of your pet piggy suffering from heart complications.
The fat content including saturated fats in popcorn is unsafe for your pet piggy and poses a serious threat to your pet’s health. Due to this, feeding popcorn frequently to your pet piggy should strictly be avoided.
3) Phosphorus Content In Popcorn:
As mentioned earlier, phosphorus also poses a serious threat to your adorable little piggy’s health. When fed frequently and exposing your pet to an excess of phosphorus, it leads to a magnesium deficiency.
It can also lead to phosphate stones in the bladder of your cute piggy. It is a really painful disease and will make your pet piggy severely uncomfortable.
4) Can Get Stuck In The Teeth Of Your Guinea Pig:
Unfortunately, your pet guinea pig cannot brush its teeth just like we do. When you feed your pet piggy popcorn, it can get stuck in his or her teeth.
While we can simply remove them via brushing, your pet guinea pig does not have the ability to do this. It will make your pet miserable and you certainly do not want that from happening.
Additionally, it can also end up as a choking hazard for your pet guinea pig.
5) High Sugar Content:
Popcorn is essentially classified as processed food. As you might already know, processed foods have certain additives in them and this includes sugar as well.
High sugar content will make your pet obese which will make your pet lazy and inactive. In worse cases, it will also end up being fatal to your adorable little pet piggy.
Not only that, but it can also lead to health complications such as diabetes and other cardiovascular complications. It is certainly not worth the risk.
6) It Can Choke Your Guinea Pig:
Due to the delicate and sensitive nature of your pet piggy’s digestive tract, popcorn is considered a potential choking hazard for your pet. If it gets stuck in the trachea of your pet piggy, your pet may die.
46 Healthy And Safe Alternatives To Popcorn For Guinea Pigs
There is a wide variety of healthy treats that are perfectly safe for your pet guinea pig. There are many fruits and veggies that your pet will love to eat. However, the wide variety of these treats may complicate things for you.
It may become difficult to research everything prior to feeding your pet guinea pig. But, we have got you covered. Below is a list of most of the fruits and veggies that your pet piggy will absolutely love.
| Cucumber | Bell pepper | Endive | Cabbage | Basil |
| Beets | Sweet potato | Bibb lettuce | Escarole | Beet tops |
| Cilantro | Radishes | Buttercrunch lettuce | Pineapples | Green beans |
| Artichoke | Swiss chard | Carrot | Carrot tops | Romaine |
| Mangoes | Peaches | Figs | Watercress | Bok choy |
| Asparagus | Yu Choy | Zucchini | Summer squash | Pumpkin |
| Mint | Arugula | Rocket | Spinach | Butter lettuce |
| Parsnip | Broccolini | Broccoli | Brussels sprouts | Oranges |
| Apples | Tomato |
Other Foods:
Keep in mind, you need to feed them in moderation only. If you overfeed them, you will be exposing your pet piggy to a lot of health complications.
These include diabetes, cardiovascular complications, kidney problems, and many other diseases. When feeding your pet piggy fruits and veggies, make sure they are fresh and wash them thoroughly.
Farm produce usually has pesticides on them in order to make sure they are protected against pest attacks. Washing them thoroughly will make them safe for your pet’s consumption.
Moreover, once your pet piggy is has eaten his fair share of the meal, make sure your clean up the cage. An untidy cage will lead to a smelly guinea pig.
Fun Fact: Your pet piggy has a sweet tooth. Their love for sweet foods may get them all excited and they will nibble on your finger.
5 Quick Facts On Popcorn
- Popcorn is simply a class of corn that expands. It requires heat to expand (pop) which gives it the name “popcorn.”
- It has a significantly high number of calories which is why popcorn is only served as snacks only.
- Popcorn has a higher concentration of iron compared to the concentration of iron in eggs, and roast beef.
- It has a significantly higher concentration of proteins compared to other snacks such as cereals.
- Popcorn also has more fiber than potato chips.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) How Many Times Can My Guinea Pig Eat Popcorn?
Simply put, your pet guinea pig should only be fed popcorn as a rare treat only. Once a month would suffice and will be more than enough for the delicate and sensitive digestive system of your guinea pig.
Another thing that you need to remember is that you can only feed your pet plain popcorn. Feeding your pet caramelized popcorn or salted popcorn will further add up to the already dangerous snack.
According to vets, flavored popcorn can only be fed once a year. This should give you an idea of how dangerous flavored popcorn can be for your adorable little guinea pig.
2) What To Do If Guinea Pigs Eat Too Much Popcorn?
Although it is not recommended, if you still feed your pet piggy popcorn, make sure you feed them in small amounts. However, if your pet accidentally eats too much popcorn, it will create problems.
It will expose them to an excess amount of fat and phosphorus. In this case, you should immediately take your pet piggy to the local vet. Do not delay this or you will be risking your pet guinea pig’s health.
3) Is Popcorn Toxic To Guinea Pigs?
In short, no it is not toxic to your pet piggy. However, that still does not make it safe for your pet guinea pig. Popcorn is processed food and feeding processed foods to your pet piggy should be avoided.
It will lead to numerous health complications if frequently fed and may end up being fatal for your pet guinea pig. So, although it is not toxic, it still is not recommended for guinea pigs.
Conclusion:
Can guinea pigs eat popcorn? Yes, they can. But is it safe for them? No, it is not. Popcorn is processed food and any processed foods are strictly not recommended for pet animals like guinea pigs.
If you still want to feed your pet popcorn, you can feed him or her once a month. This is due to the fact that it contains fats and phosphorus which can be detrimental to your pet’s health.
When feeding your pet piggy popcorn, make sure it is unflavored and plain. Flavored popcorn either has a significantly higher concentration of sugar or sodium. Both of these are harmful and should be avoided at all costs.