Can Guinea Pigs Eat Bok Choy? Vital Things To Know!
Can guinea pigs eat bok choy? The answer is yes, but it should be just in a reasonable manner. If you have a guinea pig, it is an adorable thing to have and experience.
Guinea pigs love to munch and munch, which makes them super cute! They’re my favorite pets since their cheeks would be the fluffiest of all, and you will want them too! Moreover, guinea pigs love to eat anything organic like vegetables, roots, fruits, herbs, and even flowers.
To make sure that they eat safe food, try to do some research to avoid toxic ones. Even though vegetables are healthy, there are some vegetables that are poisonous or prohibited for an animal to eat.
Just for you to be sure, read more from the internet to not have disappointments shortly. In this article, we will understand whether or not guinea pigs can eat bok choy, and we will answer you in the most definitive way that we can.
What Is Bok Choy?
Can guinea pigs eat bok choy? Before we delve into the answer further, let’s find out what it is.
A bok choy is a unique kind of vegetable that some of us may haven’t even heard about. Bok choy has an appearance that is similar to a cabbage that seems like a garlic bulb. It has big leaves, and it can sometimes be mistaken for a big onion.
Furthermore, it is Chinese cabbage, and usually, a tricky food that has a significant effect on the digestive system. Now the question arises, can guinea pigs eat bok choy without experiencing any adverse effects?
This bok choy vegetable is genuinely safe and reasonable to eat for the guinea pigs. The guinea pig that I named ginger does love this bok choy as a snack! It’s just that you have to make sure that you are not letting them overeat.
This healthy vegetable has calcium, but if your guinea pig pet eats a lot, there will be some health problems that will arise. Everything you do that is excessive has a lousy effect, so you better watch out in case of your beloved pet is having bok choy.
Health Benefits Of Bok Choy
Let us now discuss the health benefits of bok choy. Bok choy keeps the immune system healthy and effective and helps prevent cancer and other harmful illnesses.
As a concrete example, the nutrients present in the bok choy can help prevent cancer in the prostate, colon, and lungs. More so, it can also make your other organs super healthy. The antioxidants present in this vegetable can fight free radicals that damage health, cause fatal illness, and bad aging.
Besides, this fantastic plant contains vitamin C which is essential for your guinea pigs. These animals are not capable of making vitamin C naturally and cannot even store them properly. So you need to provide the required amount through food and snacks.
In case your pet does not have enough vitamins in the body, it is prone to having scurvy. So with moderate bok choy as food, it will surely help avoid scurvy.
Another great benefit of vitamin C in the bok choy is that it helps make collagen because collagen will help your pet with the excellent formation of its ligaments, tendons, and connective tissues. This is essential for the smooth movement of your pet and for keeping him healthy.
Bok choy nutrition facts
Since vegetables have a high level of nutrients, we made a breakdown list of benefits of bok choy to have enough knowledge about it.
- 9 calories in total
- 5 grams of protein
- 7 grams of fiber
- 53 grams of carbohydrates
- No cholesterol (it is nice that bok choy does not contain any cholesterol because it will clog up the blood vessel that damage the heart)
- 7% calcium (to give enough strength to the bones)
- 1% magnesium (for the muscles to be healthy as well as the bones and the heart)
- 26 milligrams of phosphorus
- 176 milligrams of potassium (for electrolyte balance)
- 13 milligrams of zinc (for a good immunity for a more robust immune system to fight against illnesses)
- 17% Vitamin A
- 35% Vitamin C
- 5% Vitamin K
Risks Of Overfeeding Guinea Pigs With Bok Choy
Your guinea pig may suffer from bladder stones or kidney stones as side effects of overeating bok choy. That is something that you do not want to happen.
That is why bok choy should be moderately given to your pet because it can cause a guinea pig to be bloated, have a change in feces, flatulence, and even too much gas in the stomach. It will make guinea pigs feel uncomfortable, and that is not a good thing to happen. These animals are sensitive and can die quickly after being overfed.
My ginger would only eat bok choy as a snack or mixed with its usual meals for me to control its intake.
Feeding Guinea Pigs With Bok Choy
For a more specific definition of moderate, give bok choy to your pet just once or two times a week. The right serving is only a small handful. You can also mix it with other vegetables so that your pet will gradually adapt to the taste.
When you feed your guinea pig with this for the first time, your guinea pig might not get used to it that fast, so gradual feeding is the best you can do.
However, some guinea pigs do not like the taste of bok choy. So if it is your first time feeding bok choy to your guinea pig, give it in a little amount to know if your pet likes it or not.
If they liked it, then be a good pet owner and give them standard servings to avoid health problems; as mentioned earlier, otherwise, do not force them to eat it.
It will only lead to the wastage of the vegetable because they will sniff and ignore it. Be sure that they will eat it before you give them an adequate amount for a meal. When I want my pet to try new food, I would only give it to them in a bit size to know if they would like it or not.
Final Words
If you already reached this part of the article, you are now knowledgeable of the benefits and the risks of feeding your guinea pig with bok choy.
Therefore, the question of “can guinea pigs eat bok choy” has been answered. The risks of overfeeding bok choy to your guinea pig include flatulence, and accumulation of gas in stomach and these can cause the death of your pet.
Just like any other meal or snack, bok choy should only be given in a typical serving so that you won’t risk your cute little pet’s life despite being a healthy veggie.
Thank you for reading this article, and we hope that it is of much help to you and your guinea pig. Always remember that your guinea pig’s health is our biggest priority. So now it is safe to say that your beloved guinea pig can eat bok choy but with moderation.
Good luck!
