The short answer is yes, guinea pigs can eat rosemary. However, just like most types of fruits and vegetables for guinea pigs, itβs important to feed your guinea pigs produce in moderation. This is because each type has different vitamins and nutrients overall, as well as different amounts of these things.
While guinea pigs do need certain nutrients in their diet, itβs vital that theyβre given in balanced amounts so the guinea pigs donβt get sick!
The average guinea pig diet should consist mostly of hay and water, with some pellets, and only around a cup of fresh fruits and vegetables. Itβs important that your guinea pigβs diet is more hay than anything else, because itβs essential to your guinea pigβs digestive system.Β
If youβd like quick information on the different types of fruits and vegetables that your guinea pig can eat, check out our Fruits Master List and our Vegetable Master List.Β
What vitamins and other nutrients does rosemary contain?
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Vitamin A
Helps protect your guinea pig against free radicals, which can cause different diseases in guinea pigs, as well as damage cells, and cause cancer. Itβs also important to note that guinea pig eyesight isnβt that great, so itβs vital that we preserve and maintain what theyβve got already!
Vitamin A also aids the body in your guinea pigβs growth and development, and this isnβt just their overall physical body, but includes the growth and development of cells. Itβs also working to help the heart, lungs, and other organs to work properly. It even helps with fetal development, so a pregnant guinea pig will need more vitamin A than normal guinea pigs! There is 2924 IU of vitamin A in 100 g of rosemary.Β
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is necessary for preventing scurvy and building up your guinea pigβs immunity to prevent infections, as well as fight off illnesses. Itβs important that we prevent scurvy as much as possible, as it can cause so many secondary health effects that can make your guinea pigβs life quite uncomfortable.
Once a guinea pig has scurvy, they can suffer from things like discomfort eating, excessive bleeding in small and minor wounds, as well as a number of other things. Sometimes, scurvy can even cause death. Vitamin C is also necessary for preventing infection, as well as the recovery process from those infections.
Many different kinds of infections, such as fungal infections, can breed secondary infections. Itβs important to prevent these from happening in the first place! There is 21.8 mg of vitamin C in 100 g of rosemary.Β
Iron
Iron is important for maintaining blood health. It plays a vital role in protein creation for the transport of oxygen throughout the guinea pig body. When it comes to myoglobin and hemoglobin, the production of these proteins is extremely important!
Myoglobinβs main function is to provide oxygen to your guinea pigβs muscles, whereas hemoglobin is the protein that carries oxygen to your guinea pigβs organs and tissues. Hemoglobin even has a role in transporting carbon dioxide out of your guinea pigβs organs and tissues.
Ensuring that your guinea pig has enough iron is important to ensure that all their organs and cells are properly working. If your guinea pig doesnβt have enough iron, they can become anemic! There is 6.7 mg in 100 g of rosemary.Β
What other benefits does rosemary provide for your guinea pig?
Rosemary is high in fiber! This is essential for good digestion in a guinea pig, especially since their ability to fully absorb nutrients isnβt as efficient during their first round of eating their food. Guinea pigs are one of the animals that consumes their own poop!
In order for them to be able to absorb all the necessary components from their food, guinea pigs will eat, then poop, then eat that poop! These poops are called caecotrophs, and theyβre highly nutritious for your guinea pigβitβs perfectly normal and OK for them to eat it.
This is how they make the most of their foodβs vitamins and minerals, so itβs important that theyβre having plenty of fiber in order to keep food moving in and out of their body. Foods rich in fiber are great to feed your guinea pig, and itβs also why hay is such an important part of their diet as well. You can read more about your guinea pigβs digestive system here.
What are the downsides about rosemary for guinea pigs?
Rosemary is quite high in calcium, unfortunately. As you know, guinea pigs shouldnβt have too much calcium, as it can cause problems with their urinary tract. These issues include urinary tract infections that can cause bladder and kidney stones.
When it comes to bladder stones, these can clog the urinary tract and make it painful and difficult for your guinea pig to pee properly. In some cases, it can even stop them from peeing completely if it blogs the urethra. This is where it can get dangerous very quickly, and even fatal.Β
Guinea pigs need calcium in their diet for certain body functions and for their overall health, but itβs important that they have it in moderation in order to prevent these unpleasant urinary tract complications.Β
Rosemary is also quite high in carbohydrates and fats. While itβs necessary for your guinea pigs to have some carbs for fuel, itβs important that they donβt have too much. Itβs also essential for your guinea pig not to have too much fat, and their diet should be as low in fat as possible to avoid any unsavory health defects.
Guinea pigs can eat rosemary, but do they like it?
Guinea pigs have been known to get pretty excited even at the smell of rosemary, so we think itβs safe to say that they do like it! However, it will vary from guinea pig to guinea pig since they all have their own preferences and taste buds!Β
How should you go about feeding your guinea pig rosemary?
As mentioned before, guinea pigs should be fed all types of fruits and vegetables in moderation, and thatβs especially true with rosemary! If youβre planning on including it into your guinea pigβs diet, make sure that you only give them two or three leaves of rosemary once or twice a week.
Any more than that would be overloading them with calcium and the other things that this herb has high content of, including carbohydrates and fats!
Overall, it is OK to feed your guinea pigs rosemary!
As weβve mentioned multiple times, guinea pigs should be fed all of their different types of produce in moderation in order to avoid them over consuming different vitamins and minerals.
Itβs important to keep in mind that guinea pigs should only have around one cup of fresh fruits and vegetables per day, and the rest of their diet should be made up mostly of hay. This is because of the amount of fiber that it provides to your guinea pig, as well as a number of other nutrients that are essential to their health!Β
We have a Vegetable Master List and a Fruits Master List that compiles all of the most commonly fed fruits and vegetables! These charts both include quick information on the nutrition facts of each produce item, while also providing information on how much to feed your guinea pig, as well as how often!
This is great for those who donβt want to spend time reading each blog post on each fruit and vegetable, but if youβd like to do that, the links to each of those posts are provided as well.Β
Want to read more about your guinea pigβs diet?
Check out these blog posts. Also, never miss out on a blog post again! Sign up for our newsletter to get all the latest posts delivered straight to your inbox.