A juicy and healthy fruit like pomegranate should be liked by all, but is it healthy for all too? For the pet lovers they all indicate themselves as well as their pets, and there comes the confusing question. There can be various issues when we humans try to feed our pets with the same food that we are eating for the sake of taste or health.
Guinea pigs are a sucker of vegetables and fruits. They eat various kinds of greens and also they prefer to eat but when feeding them something unusual you should know the right and wrong things about the practice.
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Can guinea pigs eat all parts of the pomegranate?
The skin is obviously not an eatable part of the pomegranate. We humans eat the seeds along with the flesh, but when you will feed the guinea pig with this fruit, you will either have to go for the seedless pomegranate which is too sweet and sometimes unhealthy for the pet. Or else you can go for seeds and then your pet guinea pig will have the chance of getting choked. The seeds are small but guinea pigs have the tendency to swallow things that are too small.
What is the goodness of pomegranate?
This very sweet and bright-colored fruit contains loads of antioxidants which will be helping the guinea pig to stay away from the aging process. There will be no issue of cell-damaging or bone problems with age when you feed the guinea pigs with pomegranates.
Also, this wonder fruit contains vitamin C and K which are great for immunity boosting. When your pig will be safe from all kinds of diseases then there will be a long and healthy life of the creature which they will spend with you.
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient for the human body as well as guinea pigs. The whole body functioning is processed with the help of vitamin C. As this vitamin does not get stored in the body, you need to keep the amount on intake regular. The small but daily feeding of vitamin C will ensure that your guinea pig will not suffer from respiratory problems or any kind of allergies.
Pomegranate also contains vitamin K which keeps the blood clotting ability intact. This is necessary because when any wound appears on the body of the guinea pig, the blood flow will stop soon due to the presence of vitamin K in the body of the guinea pig. This way the blood loss will be of minimum amount.
Folate is vitamin B which is necessary for the growth and to convert carbohydrates to energy in the body of the guinea pig. This is present in pomegranate and that ingredient is something that is very much necessary for the guinea pigs as their inner organs stay in good condition as well as vitamin absorption will be easier for the guinea pigs.
How much pomegranate is food for guinea pigs?
If you wish to give pomegranate to your guinea pig then it should be in a small portion. This fruit is packed with several nutrients but it is not good for the guinea pigs when you feed them this fruit in great amounts. The seeds are the real problem when it comes to feeding this fruit to the guinea pigs.
These small seeds are present in too many numbers and thus you should be cautious about feeding this fruit to your guinea pig when providing with this fruit.
The portion of the pomegranate should be small and also it should be fed sparsely. The fruit contains a good amount of vitamins and nutrients but the sugar quotient is too high in this fruit. Guinea pigs are always at the chance of getting obese and thus pomegranate in good amounts will make them fat.
Why pomegranate consumption can be harmful to guinea pigs?
As we have discussed, pomegranate is good for the guinea pigs unless it is fed in a good amount. Too much feeding of this fruit can cause several problems, which we are going to discuss now.
The side effects of feeding pomegranate to the guinea pigs can cause obesity. This problem is caused by the amount of sugar that is contained in the pomegranate.
100 gms of pomegranate contains 14 gms of sugar which is really a high dose. You can keep the amount of pomegranate up to a few spoonfuls once a week, but when you will feed the guinea pig with one spoon daily then it will cause a high sugar level in the guinea pig. As a result, you can see your guinea pig gaining weight too fast and that will be a lethal condition for this small rodent pet.
The acidic nature of the pomegranate is also a problem for guinea pigs. As a fruit, it contains some natural acids but then guinea pigs are prone to having mouth sores or mouth ulcers. When you are feeding pomegranate in a small portion then there can be no problem but regular feeding of it or too much pomegranate can cause a mouth sore in your pet guinea pig.
Diarrhea is another problem that can occur in your guinea pig when it is fed with too much pomegranate. This can even happen when you are feeding it pomegranate once but the portion is large. Guinea pigs have a sensitive digestive system and they can hardly digest a good amount of new food. So when you are offering this fruit in too high an amount, you are risking this small pet guinea pig to have diarrhea anytime soon. The food that is new to them can cause problematic digestion and that will result in damage of health for the guinea pig.
How pomegranates can help the guinea pigs in staying healthy?
There are certain diseases that are pretty common among pet guinea pigs and those issues can be somehow sorted by the feeding of pomegranate. Scurvy is one such problem that can be seen amount pet guinea pigs. If you can feed pomegranate in a small amount to the pet guinea pig then it will be much easy for the creature to get rid of such issues as scurvy. A small dose of vitamin C can help the pet to get safe from such problems.
Inflammation is caused among guinea pigs for various reasons. Punicalagin is one such ingredient that is found in pomegranate and that is much helpful in reducing inflammation among guinea pigs. A small portion of pomegranate will be vital for the guinea pigs. That is how the creature can be saved from inflammatory issues and yet will not become obese.
Healthy growth of the whole body at any age is also initiated by the feeding of pomegranate. Nutrients like calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, or iron will be much helpful in this growth process. So from a young age, you can start feeding pomegranate to your guinea pig but once a week. The dose and the time gap between two feedings will be the key to making the fruit helpful for the guinea pig and yet the bad effects can be omitted.
When feeding pomegranate to the guinea pig you have to serve only one piece of the fruit. Though you have to take out the seeds by scooping up the part from the skin yet you can have the issue of getting the pet choked by them.
Also by offering a spoon of pomegranate at first will help you to understand that if it is liking the taste and flavor of the fruit, and then you can offer it more servings.
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