Can Guinea Pigs Eat Thyme? 5 Great Benefits And Risks

Can guinea pigs eat thyme? Yes, of course, why not? This herb is loaded with various vitamins and nutrients that are good for your guinea pigs. If you’re not familiar with thyme, then it’s time for you to delve deeper.

Well, thyme are also called French thyme, huile essentielle de thym, farigoule, and many more. Did it ring a bell? This is one of the herbs that guinea pigs can eat and belong to Lamiaceae, a mint family.

There is a huge variety of herbs that have been proved safe for guinea pigs and provide various health benefits.

We’ll be tackling them later on. But for now, let’s talk about thyme and guinea pigs.

Thyme And Guinea Pigs

Can guinea pigs eat thyme? Isn’t it dangerous for their health? To answer that question, yes. They can freely eat thyme.

They are a good source of Vitamin C, which can help boost your guinea pig’s immune system.

Basically, you can feed your guinea pig with thyme several times a week, but don’t give them too much because thyme contains calcium; though it helps strengthen a guinea pig’s teeth and bones, it can be bad to its health when in excess.

Since guinea pigs are herbivores, there is a common misconception that they are mere vegetarians and are allowed to eat each kind of leafy vegetable or herb as much as they want.

On the contrary, they should only eat it in moderation. Some of the safe herbs include endives, mint, thyme, and parsley for guinea pigs. 

As now it is clear that guinea pigs can eat thyme, let’s discuss how you can have the thyme.

I’m sure that your guinea pig will love the alluring aroma of thyme, so better have them at home or buy it in the market.

For your convenience, it would be better to plant thyme at home. Aside from the fact that it is much fresher, you won’t need to spend your money to buy these herbs.

However, if you are too lazy to plant at home, thyme sold in the market is also equally safe and delicious.

Benefits Of Thyme

Here are the following benefits that thyme can give to your guinea pig:

• They can ensure your pet’s health, especially weight

If you feed your guinea pig with thyme, you don’t have to worry about anything regarding their health. You can feed them the herbs for just a few days every week; small branches or stems.

Thyme helps in maintaining the weight of guinea pigs.

Though it is an herb, it can lead to weight gain in your guinea pig when consumed in excess because it contains carbohydrates, calories, and some proteins.

• It promotes good digestion

Some fibers found in thyme will surely improve the function of their stomach, especially of the intestines as it gives a relaxing bowel movement.

Just give them the right amount, don’t give less or more than the average amount.

• It will serve as an antioxidant

Thyme is a source of manganese and, most of all, vitamin C. Both of these compounds can protect guinea pigs’ health and boost their immune system.

• Thyme can prevent scurvy

As you all know, herbs like thyme contain vitamin C. This vitamin serves as a barrier that fights against Scurvy.

Guinea pigs can acquire this disease, especially when their body has low vitamin C, and thyme can prevent it from happening.

It would be helpful to you to be careful of Scurvy because it can cause a great danger to guinea pigs.

Scurvy can cause a lot of discomfort to your pet and includes symptoms like appetite loss, severe diarrhea, and some bleeding.

• Thyme cleanses a guinea pig’s blood

Simply because it contains a sufficient amount of iron and copper. The following can even strengthen the blood by increasing red blood cells. Thus, the risk of having anemia is lowered.

Risks To Consider Before Feeding Thyme To Guinea Pigs

when feeding thyme to your guinea pigs, beware of the certain risks associated with their excessive consumption. one of which includes infection in the urinary system.

Thyme is a great source of calcium and can help guinea pigs in their growth. However, once your guinea pig is grown-up their body starts ignoring the benefits it can get from calcium that can lead to infections to the urinary system.

Thus, this is why you need to feed thyme in moderation.

Thyme is very useful, you see. Its oil can also be useful in a lot of ways. Let’s discuss the benefits of thyme oil sooner.

How Frequent Should Thyme Be Fed To Your Guinea Pig?

As you know, guinea pigs have a unique digestive system. It allows them to chew twice than what pets usually do.

Therefore, they tend to chew all the time. And that leads to the fact that guinea pigs can eat whatever they want with one condition.

They should always be fed moderately, and you can only give them the food that their body needs. Healthy foods are the best option to provide your guinea pig.

Aside from fruits and vegetables, herbs can be one of them. We are currently talking about thyme, which is an example of an herb that can also give off the vitamins and nutrients that your guinea pig needs.

There is no doubt that thyme does have some benefits that can ensure your guinea pig’s health as we have discussed earlier but the real deal is to feed them with just moderate amounts. 

A moderate amount will be enough for their bodies to function well. So let’s go straight to the point. Guinea pigs can consume thyme in just a few bites.

It can either be three days every week or twice a week. it is strictly prohibited to give them more than what they can take. One reason is that it has calcium in it. Calcium also has benefits, but it is not very necessary for guinea pigs.

You may assume that guinea pigs eat any food, but no. They are better if fed with healthy and tasty fruits and vegetables. As a recap, feed your guinea pigs with thyme for just several days a week.

Conclusion

Thyme is an herb that can provide a lot of benefits for guinea pigs. Therefore, it can be fed to guinea pigs without any hesitation at all. However, feed them with moderation.

Also, add more veggies and fruits to your pigs’ diet, as more variety of these foods will provide pet vitamins and minerals essential for its growth and development.

May this article titled “Can guinea pigs eat thyme”  help you on taking good care of your pet!