In short, yes Guinea pigs can eat tomatoes because guinea pigs in general in the wild eat a diet consisting primarily of hay and grains, vegetables, and fruit. in captivity, their diets can be supplemented to provide a more nutritious and varied diet for them, and adding some tomatoes will do good but don’t overdo it.
The main Nutrition benefits of tomato for Guiana pigs are:
- Source of fiber in food habit – helps to run a healthy digestion system.
- Naturally occurring food folate and folic acid – Folate – A B Vitamin – helps in tissue growth.
- Great Source of Vitamin C & Vitamin K in their regular food habit.
Nutritional Facts Per Tomato
Calories: 18.
Water: 95%
Protein: 0.9 grams.
Carbs: 3.9 grams.
Sugar: 2.6 grams.
Fiber: 1.2 grams.
Fat: 0.2 grams.
Source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/tomatoes#:~:text=Here%20are%20the%20nutrients%20in,Protein%3A%200.9%20grams
Tomato feeding to Guinea Pig – The Safety Guidelines
Tomatoes are an important part of your guinea pigs’ healthy diet system.
Is it safe for guinea pigs to eat tomatoes?
Yes! It’s Safe! Guinea pigs can eat only ripe tomatoes – the safest part. Cavies cannot eat unripe tomatoes or Green Tomatoes.
- Vitamin K, Vitamin A, and Vitamin B-6 – an essential part of your Guinea Pig’s diet. These Vitamins keep your cavies’ immune system healthy and take part in preventing cardiovascular diseases. Also, Maintaining good bone health and dental health of your rodent.
- Tomatoes also contain fiber in it for your Guinea Pig – the most fundamental piece of diet – keeps the digestive system healthy.
- Tomato is a low calcium food and essential for the healthy development of bones. So, it is a great addition to the diet for your cavies. But excessive calcium in your guinea pigs’ diet may lead to bladder stones.
- An excessive amount of feeding tomato can cause sores in guinea pigs’ mouth. Tomatoes are also a rich source of Oxalic Acid. This can cause Cheilitis condition to your pets if they eat too much tomato.
- Your Guinea pigs can eat tomato seeds. They love chewing Tomatoes seeds.
Can Guinea Pigs eat baby Tomatoes?
Yes they can. In addition to being a good vitamin source, tomatoes are also a good source of fiber. It is extremely important not to overdo it on the tomato for your guinea pigs though. A small amount, no more than 1/4 of an ounce twice a day is just fine.
Can Guinea Pigs eat Tomato Seeds?
Since tomato seeds are soft and round, very small and easy to swallow as well as tasty, you can feed them as a treat as long as they are given in moderation. They also taste quite yummy and help to satisfy their flavor needs. A few drops of tomato juice on the seeds will provide extra nutrients and flavor to them. All in all, it is a healthy and good source of vitamins and fiber.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Green Tomatoes?
Yes, guinea pigs can eat green tomatoes. In fact, green tomatoes are even better than the ripe ones in terms of nutritional value. Green tomatoes have a very high amount of vitamin A and beta carotene which is converted into Vitamin A by the body. They also have a lot of fiber and have a strong flavor which makes them a great treat for guinea pigs.
Give a Proper amount of Tomato in a Regular way – Keep your Guinea Pig Safe!
- Tomatoes contain Vitamin C – Tomatoes are acidic. So, don’t feed a tomato every day. This may harm your Guinea Pig’s health and lead to diseases like lip sores. A few slices at a time – two to four times a week – should be fine for your Guinea Pigs.
- Always remove the uneaten food as soon as feeding ends to avoid your guinea pig from ill effect. Because such leftover fruit may attract Bactria and become poisonous.
- Some variants of Tomatoes contain more sugar which is excessive for your guinea pigs. Diet high in sugar can cause a bad effect on your guinea pigs’ health. To avoid diseases like obesity, diabetes you should take care of it and you need to regulate the feeding interval!
- Sometimes the allergic reactions of excessive tomato feeding may harm your guinea pig. This includes swelling of the mouth and throat. To avoid this, you should give your guinea pig water right away, to do that perfectly read this article that talks all about water drinking tips for beginners.
- The skin and the seeds are fine for them to consume. Guinea pigs are herbivores – great fans of plants and grasses. But they don’t eat the stems, stalks, vines or leaves of tomato. In these parts of the tomato plant contains a compound called „Tomatine„. Those are poisonous to them and that will harm if by chance they eat those things. This is Similar to Solanine – it is a Glycoalkaloid poison. So, you should keep them well away from them. If you think that you might be wrong and give lovely pets poisonous food, check out this article about all foods that can kill your guinea pig pet.
Prepare Tomatoes for Your Guinea pigs and Risks to consider!
Tomatoes are an important part of your guinea pigs’ healthy diet system. You should prepare that in the right way so that your guinea pig loves that to eat!
- Choose the right tomato for your cavy. You must provide ripe and fresh tomato to your pet. Unripe tomatoes are unhealthy for your guinea pig’s digestive system.
- Clean the tomato safely. Before feeding always wash the tomatoes properly which are sprayed with chemicals to keep safe from pests. If you do not clean them correctly it may cause fatal & bad effects for your guinea pig’s health.
- Prepare the food perfectly. Slice the tomato into small pieces. Then feed with the small chunks/slices as they are more comfortable for guinea pigs to eat.
- Provide only the recommended amount of tomato. Always serve the suggested quantity of tomato good for your guinea pig. Overfeeding can cause lip sores and diarrhea.
Cherry Tomatoes – A healthy food habit for your Guinea Pig
Sure! Cherry Tomatoes are fine for guinea pigs to eat.
- Avoid too much cherry tomato. Because the acid in the cherry tomato may burn their mouth.
- Small baby guinea pig (near about 4 weeks old) half a cherry tomato per day is enough. I wrote a step by step guide to learn everything about guinea pigs babies (Care, feeding, vaccines and more).
- If you have an adult guinea pig – One cherry tomato per day is enough.
- The Cherry tomato is a very healthy vegetable – for your guinea pig. It contains nutrients that help to heal the skin. If your cavy has skin issues – this can help!
Guinea pig loves the red parts of cherry tomatoes. As you know cavies cannot synthesize vitamin C from normal food. So, regular feeding of cherry tomato is a good food habit for your pets.
Health Benefits of Grape Tomatoes for your Guinea Pig
Yum! Guinea Pigs can eat grape tomatoes – they love them too!
There are some health benefits of grape tomatoes for your rodents.
- Grape Tomatoes are low in calories and fat – a light and easy diet food. This is perfect for the guinea pigs’ nutrition plan.
- No cholesterol as well – A perfect food for your cardiovascular health of cavies.
- Potassium also includes in this veggie – less risk of stroke, pressure problems, kidney problems, and there is less stress. Of course! they can get stressed as well!
- Fibers in the Grape Tomatoes – This can improve the digestion of your pets.
- Vitamin C and Iron – This will protect your guinea pig from the dangerous scurvy disease. In this disease, your piggies’ health decreases – leads to swellings in joints, internal bleeding, loose stool, rough fur, etc.
- Iron is also vital for your lovely pet to cure anemia and more Blood-related Problems.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Yellow tomatoes?
The golden yellow slicer tomatoes – popular for their meaty texture. You can slice those tomatoes easily as they are a bit large in size.
The varieties include in golden yellow – Lemon Boy, Earl of Edgecombe, Dixie Golden Giant, and Dr. Wyches Yellow Tomato. You can feed your cavy all variants of yellow tomato.
This helps your guinea pigs to maintain a healthy nutrition habit and keep healthy too. Like other variants you must not feed them too much tomato – just a few small amounts at a time is enough.
Different pigments in different colored tomato variants produce different balances of sugars and acids. In this Yellow Variant, the acidity levels are a bit lower and have naturally high water content.
Is it safe to feed your guinea pigs plum tomatoes?
Plum tomatoes or paste tomatoes or the processing tomatoes are one of the great food choices for your guinea pigs. These tomatoes are usually oval or cylindrical in shape – much fewer seeds i.e. higher solid content.
This Plum tomato is sometimes favorite for your pet because of fewer seeds and more solid content. But excessive raw plum tomatoes may hurt them and make them unwell.
How often Can Guinea Pigs Eat Tomatoes?
It is extremely crucial that you don’t exceed the recommended daily dose. It is recommended that you give your Guinea pig not more than one-fourth of an ounce of tomato or small cherry tomato, once or twice a day.
Remember, guinea pigs can eat tomatoes but you have to be careful how much you give them because their bodies are not used to processing a lot of tomatoes and it can cause diarrhea.
The Tomato variants not suitable for your Guinea Pig’s food habit
Canned Plum Tomatoes: Canned Plum tomatoes are pre-cooked before preservatives. This Processed food is unfortunately not a healthy food for your guinea pigs.
Canned Plum lose a lot of their nutrients comparing with their raw state. So, you may have a nibble of them without a problem to feed your cavies, but nothing more than that.
Blue Tomatoes: Blue Tomatoes – sometimes called Purple Tomatoes – produce high levels of anthocyanins. Like regular red tomatoes or grape tomatoes, these types are not good at all for your pet.
Black Tomatoes: Black Tomatoes, possibly the dark tomatoes of variant Black Krim and Cherokee purple. Here beta-Carotene and lycopene produce a brown or black color. This is not a good regular food habit for your pigs.
Tomato alternatives for Guinea Pigs
There are several other fruits and vegetables which you can feed your Guinea pig including:
Apples, pears, and peaches: These are good sources of soluble and insoluble fiber.
Make sure they can be peeled and can be cut into small pieces so that guinea pigs can eat them easily. They should be given in moderation because too much sugar intake is not good for Guinea pigs. and Other veggies including romaine lettuce, Kale and fresh parsley.
Conclusion
It’s an amazing feeling when you are going to feed your guinea pigs! Every time they eagerly hear you and wait for the time when you come with food to feed them!
When you are in the kitchen or opening your refrigerator, they start skipping and bouncing around with joy. They know that some nourishment treats are coming!
And for this, it’s your responsibility to give them the best and the most beneficial nourishment.
Lydia King is a huge animal lover and has always been fascinated with learning about the animal kingdom. She enjoys writing about anything animal related from scientific information about rare species to animal references in pop culture.
