Daily blueberries?

gayfurryclown

gayfurryclown

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Hi hi!

TL;DR:
Would it be okay for me to give my guinea pigs two blueberries a day as a treat (unless their dinner already had a sugary veggie, like carrots or fennel)? Or would that be too much sugar?

The longer version:
Fen and Kino have never taken to any of those store-bought, dry Guinea pig treats like pea flakes. They don’t like them, and I know yummy treats are a big factor in bonding with these food-motivated little goblins.

I discovered that they LOVE apples tho, so for a while I’d cut and dehydrate those and use that as a treat, but dehydrated apples are quite sugary (and it’s a pain preparing them). As an alternative, I tried blueberries and they adore it. I’m really really really scared of them becoming diabetic, so would it be too much for them to have two blueberries each per day?

Thank you!
 
Fruit is something to give no more than once a week. It’s not something they’d naturally have so actually fruit doesn’t need to be in their diet at all.

You can use their normal daily veg as a way of hand feeding and bonding with them - you don’t need to use sugary fruit or shop bought treats to do it.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Fruit is something to give no more than once a week. It’s not something they’d naturally have so actually fruit doesn’t need to be in their diet at all.

You can use their normal daily veg as a way of hand feeding and bonding with them - you don’t need to use sugary fruit or shop bought treats to do it.
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Hi! Thank you for your reply :)

I worry that because their daily veg isn’t as “rare” or sweet of a food, it doesn’t have the same treat-value that fruits have. Or is that not how it works lmao?

Regardless I’ll limit their fruit consumption to once a week. Thank you :)
 
gayfurryclown said:
Hi! Thank you for your reply :)

I worry that because their daily veg isn’t as “rare” or sweet of a food, it doesn’t have the same treat-value that fruits have. Or is that not how it works lmao?

Regardless I’ll limit their fruit consumption to once a week. Thank you :)
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No that’s not how it works.
Mine never get any fruit - their food is the four safe daily main veg pretty much all the time (they may get something different every now and then) but their excitement for their veg never wains and they take their veg out of my hands every day
 
Piggies&buns said:
No that’s not how it works.
Mine never get any fruit - their food is the four sage daily main veg pretty much all the time (they may get something different every now and then) but their excitement for their veg never wains and they take their veg out of my hands every day
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Oh, huh! That’s such a relief actually lmao. I’ll use romaine lettuce instead then :) Thanks a ton!
 
Do you ever feed herbs? I feed coriander/cilantro every day and it's always a favourite, plus other herbs, like basil as an addition sometimes, which are always regarded as a treat too.
 
Posyrose said:
Do you ever feed herbs? I feed coriander/cilantro every day and it's always a favourite, plus other herbs, like basil as an addition sometimes, which are always regarded as a treat too.
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I do! I give them quite the varied diet. On a daily, they get romaine lettuce and bell peppers, and with the bell peppers I cycle between green, yellow, and orange—no red due to sugar.

They also get one of the following that I tend to cycle through:
- Cilantro
- Basil
- Red lettuce
- Parsley
- Carrot
- Fennel
- Kale (when available to me)
- Sunflower sprouts (again: when available)
- Carrot tops
- Bok choy
- Cucumber
- Broccoli (rare)
- Turnip (rare)

There might be something else but I’m not remembering it at the moment lol.
 
I’ve found that my guinea pigs don’t really understand the concept of treats.
My Priscilla regarded cucumber as the best ever treat although it was fed almost every day.
She would always grab a piece and run into a hidey purring happily to eat it.
My current pair think red lettuce is a taste of heaven.
 
Merab said:
I’ve found that my guinea pigs don’t really understand the concept of treats.
My Priscilla regarded cucumber as the best ever treat although it was fed almost every day.
She would always grab a piece and run into a hidey purring happily to eat it.
My current pair think red lettuce is a taste of heaven.
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That’s so cute. My pigs are the same with sunflower sprouts, now that I think about it. Unfortunate that they’re so hard to find around where I live.

If you haven’t already, you should try giving yours sunflower sprouts :) They’re really nutritious!
 
gayfurryclown said:
My pigs are the same with sunflower sprouts, now that I think about it. Unfortunate that they’re so hard to find around where I live.
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Can you grow them in a saucer etc the way people grow cress, alfalfa sprouts etc?
Merab said:
I’ve found that my guinea pigs don’t really understand the concept of treats.
My Priscilla regarded cucumber as the best ever treat although it was fed almost every day.
She would always grab a piece and run into a hidey purring happily to eat it.
Click to expand...
That was my experience with my guineas too. Cucumber - always a treat for everypig altho daily event. Most of them acted like @Merab 's Priscilla. Some ate it on the spot w/o having to hide anyway.

I had the occasional guinea who even liked being fed blade of grass or blade of hay blade by blade from my fingers. It seemed to be more about the attention? / interaction? than the actual taste. Because they could have helped themselves from the floor.
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
Can you grow them in a saucer etc the way people grow cress, alfalfa sprouts etc?
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Truffolo said:
Sunflower seeds will sprout in water if you can find ones for eating in their shell which are fertile. I find ones from my hamster's mix usually grow. They can go mouldy in the water, so it's good to rinse with fresh water often 🌱
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I’ve ordered sunflower seeds to germinate, but the way I did it was to plant them in a big container full of soil in my room, and well, it was quite inconvenient and messy. I also have motivation issues due to ADHD so I struggled finding the energy to go through all those steps over and over again.

I didn’t know they’d sprout in water :o Thank you for the tip, I’ll definitely try that instead. Sounds wayyy easier lmao.
 
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