Guinea pigs cannot eat rat food as rats are omnivorous whereas guinea pigs are herbivores. So the nutritional components, as well as the overall ingredient content of the food items of the rat food won’t be appropriate for consumption by the guineapigs.
Let’s take a deeper look at this topic…
Why Can’t Guinea pigs eat Rat foods?
1. Rat foods can have a lack vitamin C in them
Rats can synthesize their own vitamin C and hence they do not need to consume any kind of supplement for their better health. Whereas, guinea pigs cannot synthesize their own food and commercial guinea pig food items contain a suitable amount of vitamin C in them.
They are also advised to be kept on a diet full of vitamin C on a daily basis otherwise it can lead to malnutrition or immunity-related issue in them.
2. The Rat Foods are not of strictly plant origin
Guineapigs are purely herbivorous in nature. They unlike mice or rats are not omnivorous. Omnivorous are animals that eat both food items of plant and animal origin.
Like humans, rats are also omnivorous in nature which means they can literally eat most edible food items devoid of artificial flavors or preservatives. However, that is not the case with guineapigs as they should never eat food items that are not of animal origin. In most instances, they will completely avoid eating food items of such origin.
3. Rat food can turn guineapigs ill
Guineapigs throughout evolution have only lived on a food item that is strict of plant origin. Their digestive system is only capable of digesting natural food items obtained from green sources.
Their system is incapable of processing any other food item of different origin, especially that of the animal origin. So eating food items having animal-based ingredients in them can make them fall ill and can lead to a visit to the vet.
Are guineapig’s diets very different than rats’ and mice’s diets?
As mentioned previously mice and rats are omnivores so they can eat many other food items of animal origin and their diet is not limited to stuff of plant origin only. They can literally eat all kinds of edible food items, However, guineapigs can never eat any food of animal origin.
Mice are found to be deficient in vitamin A, folate, and magnesium so they need to be on food items rich in these food sources. They can handle a little bit of fat in their diet and does well with seeds and nuts.
Rats like mice can eat everything but for betterment, they should be on an extremely low-fat diet as they are prone to obesity and the diseases associated with it. So a diet with seeds and nuts can be risky.
Guineapigs need food items they can gnaw on as their teeth are continuously growing and they need something to chew on. Leafy veggies, carrots, and hay are perfect for this. They also need to be kept on food items rich in fiber and vitamin C content.
So yes guineapigs, mice, and rats can share certain food items in their diet(leafy veggies, fruits, etc) however for the majority part and for the sake of their own better health, they should be kept on the diet unique to their own breed.
It is not only an issue of whether they can eat a particular food item or not but it’s more about what is better for their better nourishment and overall well-being. So you shouldn’t feed rat food to guineapigs or vice versa.
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Thanks for reading…