Can Guinea Pigs Eat Flour?(In Depth Guide)
Guinea pigs should not be fed food with flour in it as they may find it hard to digest flour and it can cause them serious stomach distress. As humans, it is tempting for us to feed our beloved pets newer snacks or recipes but for the sake of your piggie, you should stick to the natural diet only.
Let’s take a deep dive into this topic…
Is flour good for guinea pigs?
Guinea pigs have very sensitive stomachs and they cannot handle flour-based food products well. Their ideal diet is made up of fruits and vegetables and is devoid of any kind of processed food items.
Their stomach is not acquainted with foods like flour as it is something guinea pigs out in the wild never get to taste and hence their disgesting system cannot handle such food items.
If your little piggie is on a pet food diet then chances are high they may have got a little bit habituated with wheat products as wheat are a very common ingredient of such food items.
In that case, they may handle the food items having flour in them to some extent. However, even then, you should be wary of feeding them food with high flour content.
If the guinea pig is on a grain-free diet, you should avoid feeding them anything with flour in it as it can lead to stomach issues.
Reasons Why Guinea Pigs Could Not Eat Flour
1. Flour does not contain any significant nutritional value on its own
Flour does contain a nutritional value of its own but it’s not worth the risk to feed guinea pigs flour as they can obtain similar and different other kinds of nutrition by eating fruits and vegetables. Flour won’t offer them something unique that they won’t from other food items they normally eat as a part of their diet.
Guinea pigs eat for the sake of fulfilling their hunger and not for the taste, yes they may like certain snacks more than others but for the best-case scenario, you should strictly stick to the natural diet only.
2. Presence of Gluten
The majority of guinea pigs don’t handle gluten very well and can show some adverse health problems. They can have vomiting and constant bloating and it can be followed by intense stomach pain and diarrhea.
3. Flour is not a natural diet option for herbivorous animals
Guinea pigs are strictly herbivorous animals and flour is not something that is a part of their natural diet.
Animal digestive systems, especially that of smaller animals, are not well equipped to handle processed food items, they do great if you stick to vegetarian food sources that can be found out in the wild. Flour, honey, or any kind of artificial sugar is uncalled for and can do more damage than good.
Are guinea pigs allowed to eat wheat?
Guinea pigs can have stomach issues digesting wheat products. You may experiment with organically grown wheatgrass and may feed them that once in a while but you should avoid feeding them either raw wheat or wheat-based products.
In the case of guinea pigs, you should keep things simple and when in doubt avoid feeding that food item.
Is corn flour safe for guinea pigs?
Corn flour is not safe for guinea pigs as they cannot digest flour-based food items. They by nature cannot process food items from a granular source very well, moreover, flour also contains gluten in them which most guinea pigs are intolerant to.
So it’s best to just avoid them as any kind of processed food items or even the minimally processed food items like fours are like junk food for them, this means that those food items are unnecessary for them.
Can guinea pigs eat rice flour or wheat flour?
Guinea pigs have got a very sensitive digestive system that cannot handle food items that aren’t a part of their natural wildlife diet. Rice flour and white flour won’t provide them with any groundbreaking nutrition that they won’t gain by consuming veggies and fruits.
So for their sake, it’s best to stick to an identical diet they would have out in the wild, and as per that logic, you should never feed them rice flour.
Guinea pigs are frequently known to suffer from stomach distress because of stress and shock. Their stomach is very sensitive to any kind of new changes in the diet.
So you need to be wary of this fact and for the little piggies, it’s best to keep things simple and stick with what is known to work and not to experiment too much, especially with processed food items that we like to eat.
Some natural snack items that act as alternatives to recipes using flour
Some veggies you can regularly offer as snacks include:
- Broccoli
- Beetroot
- Rocket leaves
- Parsley and Kale (in moderation, once in a while)
- Carrot
- Celery
- bell peppers
- Cucumbers
- Brussels sprouts
Fruits are always high in sugar and hence can cause digestive issues. So you should feed them with little pieces of fruit , once in a while and not daily. Some fruits that you can feed guinea pigs are:
- Apples
- Bananas
- Kiwi
- Papayas
- Peaches
FAQ
Is it OK for guinea pigs to eat bread?
Guinea pigs can rarely eat bread but it is best for them to not eat bread as these like cereals are starchy food items and can disturb the digestive system of the little piggies.
Instead of feeding them bread just stick to their basic wildlife diet made of veggies and fruits.
Can guinea pigs eat oats?
Oats of any type(whole, old-fashioned, raw, instant) are not suitable for inclusion in the guinea pig diet. They cannot eat oats as they cannot digest these sorts of food items well. It further can lead to bloating, stomach pain, and diarrhea.
Also, oats are known to be rich in phosphorous as well which in such greater amounts is bad news for these little piggies.
So whatever works for our diet is not bound to work for the guinea pig diet as well. This is particularly because their digestive system is of a simple type and is not habituated with food items that are not found naturally.
So that’s it, folks! If you have any queries let me know in the comments!
