Why Is Iceberg Lettuce Bad?

[Sanderling]

Everyone says iceberg lettuce should not be fed to piggies, but I don't know why! Don't worry, mine have never had iceberg lettuce (that I know of, I adopted them from an aquaintance).

Is it just that it has no nutritional value but fills them up so that they don't eat their other veg, hay and nuggets?

It may seem a silly question but I was just curious!

 

[PiggySmitten]

Hi it doesn't have any nutritional value as you say and it's very high water content. I'm sure someone else will be able to explain more and better!

 

[Pebble]

Think it's time to dispel some (long-running) myths.

Firstly - Iceberg lettuce is NOT toxic - (which is what I have seen posted by some people on this and other piggie forums)
Yes - it has little nutritional value in terms of vitamins etc - but again this needs to be put into perspective given current "piggie practice"

Secondly - Despite a lot of posts on piggie forums - there is no longer any need to feed your piggies veggies once or twice a day to give them their Vit C.
5-20 years ago it was a necessity because the dried piggie pellets manufactured at the time did not contain a stable Vit C product. That is no longer the case. As long as you feed them the right quantity of fresh pellets that haven't been left in the open air/damp for 3-4 months, they should get all the nutritional vits minerals and carbs etc they need from the pellets. Therefore actually you do NOT have to feed your pigs ANY veggies anymore purely for supplying their Vit C provision

So moving on to the third point - The reason to give your piggies veggies in this current day and age is not for Vit C but because a variety of food and textures provides "enrichment".
The fibre helps their guts keep moving. (although hay is best)
It will do no harm to provide a "veggie combo" consisting of kale or spinach or other veggies....mixed in with some iceberg (instead of cos or romaine lettuce) once in a while to deliver this enrichment

Bottom line- Iceberg may not provide vits or minerals - but it still provides fibre/bulk to help their guts keep moving and can be used IN CONJUNCTION with other veggies with no issues.
It is NOT toxic,. And in cases of poorly piggies - if they are prepared to eat it then it's high water content may help prevent dehydration that otherwise would need to be sorted by syringe feeding or sub-cu fluids.

HTH
x

 

[Sanderling]

Thanks guys! So there's nothing wrong with it, just nothing good in it either (i.e. no more than other veggies)!

 

[Claire W]

When I first had guinea pigs, my OH looked after them for a week for me when I went away. He didn't realise they wasn't meant to have iceberg and fed it to them daily. Thankfully nothing happened to them.

I have been known to buy them a salad mix bag and if it happens to have a tiny bit of iceberg in, I have let them eat it although this is very rare.

As stated, it is purely the fact it has a high water content (so can cause tummy upsets if fed too much) and has no nutritional value why iceberg isn't recommended.