Thursday, February 11, 2010

The basics- updated

Credit for these list goes to Guinea Lynx

Guinea pigs are vegetarians, meaning they do not eat meat. Also water is a must. They need fresh water daily. Guinea pigs do not make their own Vitamin C. This is why vegetables are so important. A cup of vegetables is required. A good Guinea pig pellet is also needed.


Danger Foods

- Avocado (too high in fat)
- Coconut (too high in fat)
- Dry beans and peas
- Flowers (commercially grown decorative plants contain preservatives &
pesticides)
- Fried, cooked and otherwise prepared foods
- Fruit juices (sugar-free, or unsweetened juices are OK)
- Garlic or pungent onions (will not poison pigs, )
- Horseradish (leaves probably ok, root too pungent)
- Hot herbs and spices
- Hot Peppers / Chiles / Paprikas
- Iceburg Lettuce (low nutrition, high water)
- Jams, jellies and fruit preserves (too high in sugar)
- Milk and milk products
- Mushrooms
- Nuts (too high in fat)
- Peanut butter, cakes, cookies, baked goods
- Pickled veggies (dills, capers, sour krauts)
- Potatoes (poisonous if green or sprouted) - sweet potatoes / yams are ok
- Rhubarb (poisonous)
- Seeds (choking hazard)
- Taro (dangerous if eaten raw / unprepared)
- Teas, coffee, colas

High Vitamin C
-Beet greens
- Bell / Sweet Peppers - red, green, yellow (not hot or chile)
- Broccoli Rabe / Rabe / Rapini
- Broccoli, Broccolini (stems are liked better than flowers)
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage (in moderation)
- Chinese cabbage (in moderation)
- Cantaloupe Melon
- Carrot tops / leaves
- Cauliflower / Broccoflower
- Celery leaves
- Cilantro / Chinese Parsley / Coriander greens
- Collard greens
- Currants - yellow, red or black (leaves also edible)
- Dandelion greens
- Feijoa / Pineapple Guava
- Garden Cress
- Gooseberries
- Grapefruit (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Grass - wheat, winter rye (grown in pots from seed)
- Guava
- Honeydew Melon
- Kale - curly or plain
- Kiwi Fruit
- Kohlrabi leaves
- Lemon, Lime (home-grown best, otherwise feed cautiously)
- Mango
- Mustard greens / Leaf Mustard
- Orange (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Papaya / Paw Paw / Tree Melon
- Parsley - curly or plain (high in calcium)
- Peas in pods, Pea Shoots (not dried)
- Persimmon - american or oriental
- Red Cabbage
- Rosehip
- Savoy Cabbage
- Spinach (feed in moderation, linked to formation of kidney & bladder stones)
- Strawberries
- Swiss Chard, Red Chard
- Tamarillo (leaves poisonous)
- Tangerine / Mandarin (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Tomato (sores around mouth can develop; leaves poisonous; artificially
grown can be low in vit C)
- Tuscan Cabbage / Cavolo Nero
- Water Cress


Low Vitamin C
- Hay - timothy, meadow, alpine and others (must always be available)
- Alfalfa - green or dried (high calcium & calories - good for youngsters, pregnant & nursing sows)
- Anise
- Apple (avoid seeds; if too tart, sores around lips & mouth can develop)
- Apricot
- Artichoke
- Arugula / Rocket / Roquette / Rucola
- Asian Pear
- Asparagus
- Banana (feed in great moderation - can cause constipation)
- Basil
- Beets
- Belgian Endive
- Bilberries
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Carrots (feed in moderation, vit A in carrots said to cause liver problems)
- Celery Root / Celeriac
- Celery stalks (cut into small pieces)
- Cherries (remove pits)
- Chicory/Endive
- Chives (caution, feed in moderation)
- Choy sum
- Corn on the cob (strings, leaves & stalks are edible too)
- Crabapple
- Cranberries (whole fruit, not concentrate or juice)
- Cucumber (fresh only, not pickled)
- Dates (dried high in sugar)
- Dill
- Figs (dried high in sugar - as treat only)
- Frisee Lettuce
- Grapes (in moderation, high in sugar)
- Green Beans in pods / String Beans (not dried)
- Green Endive
- Green Leek tops (caution, feed in moderation)
- Green Onion tops (caution, feed in moderation)
- Kohlrabi bulbs
- Lettuces - red, green, butter, Boston and other (avoid iceberg)
- Mint
- Nectarine
- Paksoi / Bok Choi
- Parsley root
- Parsnip
- Passion Fruit / Granadilla
- Peach
- Pear
- Pineapple - fresh (sores around lips & mouth can develop)
- Plum, Prune (dried high in sugar - as treat only)
- Pumpkin
- Radicchio / Italian Chicory
- Radishes (if mild)
- Raspberries
- Romaine Lettuce
- Rutabaga
- Salad mix (without iceburg lettuce)
- Squash - acorn, banana, butterhorn, spagetti, and others (feed in
moderation)
- Sweet Onions (caution, feed in moderation)
- Thyme
- Treviso Radicchio
- Turnip
- Watermelon (can cause diarrhea - high water content)
- Yam / Sweet Potato (high in vit A? - leaves edible)
- Zucchini


EDIBLE wild grasses, plants and herbs


Credit goes to guineapigcages

  • Grass (common grasses are edible, avoid ornamental grasses), cat grass/wheat grass is also popular and can be grown in pots or containers.

  • Clover (Trifollium repens or Trifolium pratense)

  • Dandelion (Teraxacum officinale) - pick leaves, stems, flowers (even root OK)

  • Anise (Pimpinella anisum)

  • Blackberry leaves (Rubus plicatus) - pick young & tender leaves and shoots

  • Calendula (Calendula officinalis) - leaves and flowers

  • Caraway (Carum carvi)

  • Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)

  • Chickweed (Stellaria media)

  • Cleavers / Stickyweed / Goosegrass / Bedstraw (Galium aparine)

  • Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)

  • Cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaeae) - berries, leaves in moderation

  • Cow Parsley (Anthiscus sylvestris)

  • Dog Rose (Rosa canina) - ripe fruits

  • Duckweed (Lemna minor) - aquatic

  • Fennel (Foeniculum capillaceum)

  • Field Violet / Wild Pansy (Viola tricolor)

  • Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)

  • Lemon Mint / Melissa (Melissa officinalis)

  • Linden / Lime Tree (Tilia cordata or Tilia platyphyllos) - flowers with
    pale yellow leaflets

  • Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)

  • Peppermint (Mentha piperita)

  • Plantain (Plantago major or Plantago lanceolata)

  • Raspberry leaves (Rubus idaeus) - pick young & tender leaves and shoots

  • Spearmint (mintha spicata)

  • Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

  • Shepherd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)

  • Silverweed (Potentilla anserina)

  • Vetch (Vicia x)

  • Yarrow (Achllea millefolium)

  • Whortleberry / Heidelberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) - berries, leaves in
    moderation

  • Wild Chamomile (Matricaria chammomilla)

  • Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) - berries and leaves


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