Can Guinea Pigs Eat Eggplant? Benefits, Risks, Guide
Can guinea pigs eat eggplants? The answer to your question is YES! You can feed eggplants to your guinea pigs. There are actually great benefits to doing so.
But have you ever tried feeding your guinea pig an eggplant? Some of you may think, “Is it possible?” “How would you feed it to them?” Are you getting excited about how to feed your guinea pigs with an eggplant?
Let’s erase that curiosity in your mind and answer your question; just read on.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Eggplant?
Aubergines, most commonly known as eggplants, are also referred to as garden eggs. They are often mistaken as fruit, but they are a vegetable.
Surprisingly, eggplants contain the highest level of nicotine compared to any plant. Nine kilograms of eggplants is equal to 1 cigarette for nicotine content. Eggplants are best grown in tropical climates like Asia. They are said to have originated from India.
Guinea pigs are best fed with veggies and fruits. Since guinea pigs are herbivores, they provide healthy fruits and vegetables. Fresh leafy vegetables or fresh hay is also a must.
They are a great source of vitamins and minerals for the body. Vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, K, B6, manganese, copper, folic acid, potassium, etc., are present in abundant amounts in eggplants. They can help with digestion.
They are also widely used in culinary. Not to mention, this veggie is part of the nightshade family, so preparing them can be quite meticulous before they are completely edible for humans. What about its effects on your pet guinea pig?
Here are some things you should consider before making your piggy eat anything. But whatever you plan on adding to your piggy’s diet, consider the following.
Benefits Of Eating Eggplants
Eggplants are a great source of minerals and vitamins for the human body. However, we are not talking about their nutritional values essential for humans. Instead, we’re talking about their benefits for our cute pet guinea pigs.
When it comes to guinea pigs, eggplants usually don’t have that many nutritional vitamins. But they are perfectly edible for your piggy. So they may not have enough nutritional value, but they still have some things your guinea pigs can get from them.
Aubergine or eggplants have vitamin C, which is essential for your guinea pigs’ diets. They also have twice as much fiber content as bell peppers, which is beneficial for your guinea pigs’ digestion. You can read more about bell peppers for Guinea pigs in this article.
Even with the lack of nutritional value, guinea pigs love eating eggplants. Due to their low nutritional value, it’s better to take them as a rare treat for your piggy. Feeding eggplant to your guinea pigs is like feeding those snacks or junk food. Having some leftover eggplants from the kitchen when you cook, you can give them as a treat like junk foods are for humans.
Feeding eggplants to your guinea pigs is not bad, but their lack of beneficial nutrients makes them a poor choice for your guinea pigs’ health. Just don’t provide them with too many eggplants.
Risks Of Feeding Eggplant
Just like any other food you eat, you need to be cautious. Always think first, “Is there a risk in taking this?” The same goes for feeding your guinea pig.
In everything you do, too much is always not good. Yes! Feed your guinea pig those scrumptious delicious violets but not too much. The nasunin found in the eggplant skin works well together with the iron in our body; however, if your guinea pig has iron deficiency, it’s best not to feed eggplants to your pet. This can aggravate the problem of iron deficiency.
Some scientists believe that it’s best not to feed our guinea pigs with eggplant. But eggplants are not that dangerous. They will be when you provide them with too much.
Another thing to remember! DO NOT feed your guinea pigs with the greens and leaves of eggplants. The presence of solanine—a naturally occurring toxin that is highly poisonous for guinea pigs, in its flowers and leaves makes it toxic and can cause a painful death to your pet.
Care should be taken to feed guinea pigs as they are very delicate creatures. Some things may seem harmless to us, but they can be fatal for pets. You can read more about these different causes in this article how did my Guinea pig die.
The same goes for its fruits—the unripened ones. The green eggplants have a higher concentration of solanine than the fully ripened ones. So make sure that you don’t mistakenly give the green ones to your piggy.
How To Feed Eggplants To Your Guinea Pigs
The safest way to feed aubergine to your guinea pigs is to cut off the unripened ones and avoid including green ones. As mentioned before, the presence of solanine could be fatal for them.
Make sure to check that there are no greens included in the eggplant. Green ones in the interior indicate that those are not yet ripe.
Avoid giving the leaves(can Guinea pigs eat sprout leaves) or flowers mixed up with your treat. They are poisonous to your pet. After making sure of those things, you can now let your guinea pigs munch away those treats.
Recommended Feeding Amount
Think about how much you should take when it comes to taking in something. For example, always observe how much you feed your guinea pigs. If you feel that they are thin, overfeeding them is not helpful.
Since eggplants have no significant nutrient value for your guinea pigs, try to maintain it to the minimum best. Including them in their regular diet might be a bad idea.
Adding them to their regular diet can interfere with your guinea pig’s food consumption since eggplants have denser nutrition essential to their health.
You can feed them eggplants once or twice a week when you have some leftovers from your kitchen cooking.
Like feeding them, take only a small serving of eggplant. However, overfeeding the pigs can develop symptoms like rashes, diarrhea, ingestion, nausea, and vomiting. It all affects your guinea pig’s digestion.
Final Words
If you are thinking twice about your decision to make your pet guinea pig eat eggplants, there is no harm to it. It’s only natural to think first before adding something to your pet’s food.
Being cautious is never a crime. It just makes you feel secure and safe when deciding on something. Now, you know that eggplants are okay for your piggy. Take special care and caution in preparing eggplants for them. Giving them in chunks as a treat for their excellent behavior could be a good thing.
Can guinea pigs eat eggplant? Well, adding them to their diet is not a problem. However, do not overfeed them with it. Always keep in mind that too much is toxic.
