[Gpdd] [GPDD] Care: Guinea Pig Shopping List

[Susi Eastin]

Several people have asked me lately about which foods are good for piggies, 
  and which are dangerous, etc, so I found this wonderful list again. 
  And here's the link to it, it's on the forum at Cavy Compendium -
  yes, there are more great cavy folk out there!
  Save this list!
  http://www.cavycompendium.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7501 
  Guinea Pig Shopping List

HIGH Vitamin C foods: 
- Guinea pig pellets with stabilized vitamin C - alfalfa based for youngsters, pregnant & nursing sows, slim or sick pigs; timothy based for healthy, grown, chubby pigs (do not substitute rabbit or chinchilla pellets; avoid mixes with nuts, seeds or coloured bits) 

- Beet greens 
- Bell / Sweet Peppers - red, green, yellow (not hot or chile) 
- Broccoli Rabe / Rabe / Rapini 
- Broccoli, Broccolini (stems are liked better than flowers) 
- Brussels Sprouts 
- Cabbage (in moderation)
- Chinese cabbage (in moderation)
- Cantaloupe Melon 
- Carrot tops / leaves 
- Cauliflower / Broccoflower 
- Celery leaves 
- Cilantro / Chinese Parsley / Coriander greens 
- Collard greens 
- Currants - yellow, red or black (leaves also edible) 
- Dandelion greens 
- Feijoa / Pineapple Guava 
- Garden Cress 
- Gooseberries 
- Grapefruit (caution - sores around lips can develop) 
- Grass - wheat, winter rye (grown in pots from seed) 
- Guava 
- Honeydew Melon 
- Kale - curly or plain 
- Kiwi Fruit 
- Kohlrabi leaves 
- Lemon, Lime (home-grown best, otherwise feed cautiously) 
- Mango 
- Mustard greens / Leaf Mustard 
- Orange (caution - sores around lips can develop) 
- Papaya / Paw Paw / Tree Melon
- Parsley - curly or plain (high in calcium)
- Peas in pods, Pea Shoots (not dried) 
- Persimmon - american or oriental 
- Red Cabbage 
- Rosehip 
- Savoy Cabbage 
- Spinach (feed in moderation, linked to formation of kidney & bladder stones) 
- Strawberries 
- Swiss Chard, Red Chard 
- Tamarillo (leaves poisonous) 
- Tangerine / Mandarin (caution - sores around lips can develop) 
- Tomato (sores around mouth can develop; leaves poisonous; artificially
grown can be low in vit C) 
- Tuscan Cabbage / Cavolo Nero 
- Water Cress 




LOW Vitamin C foods: 

- Hay - timothy, meadow, alpine and others (must always be available) 
- Alfalfa - green or dried (high calcium & calories - good for youngsters, pregnant & nursing sows) 

- Anise 
- Apple (avoid seeds; if too tart, sores around lips & mouth can develop) 
- Apricot 
- Artichoke 
- Arugula / Rocket / Roquette / Rucola 
- Asian Pear 
- Asparagus 
- Banana (feed in great moderation - can cause constipation) 
- Basil 
- Beets 
- Belgian Endive 
- Bilberries 
- Blackberries 
- Blueberries 
- Carrots (feed in moderation, vit A in carrots said to cause liver problems) 
- Celery Root / Celeriac 
- Celery stalks (cut into small pieces) 
- Cherries (remove pits)
- Chicory/Endive 
- Chives (caution, feed in moderation) 
- Choy sum 
- Corn on the cob (strings, leaves & stalks are edible too) 
- Crabapple 
- Cranberries (whole fruit, not concentrate or juice) 
- Cucumber (fresh only, not pickled) 
- Dates (dried high in sugar) 
- Dill 
- Figs (dried high in sugar - as treat only) 
- Frisee Lettuce 
- Grapes (in moderation, high in sugar) 
- Green Beans in pods / String Beans (not dried) 
- Green Endive 
- Green Leek tops (caution, feed in moderation) 
- Green Onion tops (caution, feed in moderation) 
- Kohlrabi bulbs 
- Lettuces - red, green, butter, Boston and other (avoid iceberg) 
- Mint 
- Nectarine 
- Paksoi / Bok Choi
- Parsley root 
- Parsnip 
- Passion Fruit / Granadilla 
- Peach 
- Pear 
- Pineapple - fresh (sores around lips & mouth can develop) 
- Plum, Prune (dried high in sugar - as treat only) 
- Pumpkin 
- Radicchio / Italian Chicory 
- Radishes (if mild) 
- Raspberries 
- Romaine Lettuce 
- Rutabaga 
- Salad mix (without iceburg lettuce) 
- Squash - acorn, banana, butterhorn, spagetti, and others (feed in 
moderation) 
- Sweet Onions (caution, feed in moderation) 
- Thyme 
- Treviso Radicchio 
- Turnip 
- Watermelon (can cause diarrhea - high water content) 
- Yam / Sweet Potato (high in vit A? - leaves edible) 
- Zucchini 


EDIBLE wild grasses, plants and herbs: 
(make sure you know what you are picking! be sure to pick from places free of contaminants such as pesticides , exhaust fumes or animal urine ; pick plants that are healthy looking, without insect damage, fungus spots, breakage, or wilting) 

- Anise (Pimpinella anisum) 
- Blackberry leaves (Rubus plicatus) - pick young & tender leaves and 
shoots 
- Calendula (Calendula officinalis) - leaves and flowers 
- Caraway (Carum carvi) 
- Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis) 
- Chickweed (Stellaria media) 
- Cleavers / Stickyweed / Goosegrass / Bedstraw (Galium aparine) 
- Clover (Trifollium repens or Trifolium pratense) 
- Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) 
- Cow Parsley (Anthiscus sylvestris) 
- Cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaeae) - berries, leaves in moderation 
- Dandelion (Teraxacum officinale) - pick leaves, stems, flowers (root OK) 
- Dog Rose (Rosa canina) - ripe fruits 
- Duckweed (Lemna minor) - aquatic 
- Fennel (Foeniculum capillaceum) 
- Field Violet / Wild Pansy (Viola tricolor) 
- Grass (common grasses are edible, avoid ornamental grasses) 
- Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) 
- Lemon Mint / Melissa (Melissa officinalis) 
- Linden / Lime Tree (Tilia cordata or Tilia platyphyllos) - flowers with pale
yellow leaflets 
- Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) 
- Pepermint (Mentha piperita) 
- Plantain (Plantago major or Plantago lanceolata) 
- Raspberry leaves (Rubus idaeus) - pick young & tender leaves and shoots 
- Shepherd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) 
- Silverweed (Potentilla anserina) 
- Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) 
- Whortleberry / Heidelberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) - berries, leaves in
moderation 
- Wild Chamomile (Matricaria chammomilla) 
- Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) - berries and leaves 
- Yarrow (Achllea millefolium) 



AVOID Danger foods: 
- Avocado (too high in fat) 
- Coconut (too high in fat) 
- Dry beans and peas 
- Flowers (commercially grown decorative plants contain preservatives & 
pesticides) 
- Fried, cooked and otherwise prepared foods 
- Fruit juices (sugar-free, or unsweetened juices are OK) 
- Garlic or pungent onions (will not poison pigs, ) 
- Horseradish (leaves probably ok, root too pungent) 
- Hot herbs and spices 
- Hot Peppers / Chiles / Paprikas 
- Iceburg Lettuce (low nutrition, high water) 
- Jams, jellies and fruit preserves (too high in sugar) 
- Milk and milk products 
- Mushrooms 
- Nuts (too high in fat) 
- Peanut butter, cakes, cookies, baked goods 
- Pickled veggies (dills, capers, sour krauts) 
- Potatoes (poisonous if green or sprouted) - sweet potatoes / yams are ok 
- Rhubarb (poisonous) 
- Seeds (choking hazard) 
- Taro (dangerous if eaten raw / unprepared) 
- Teas, coffee, colas 

- Wild grasses, plants and herbs that you are unsure of, or that look different
from ones you know 

Poisonous plants:
- Aconite
- Amaryllis
- American Holly
- American Nightshade
- Anemone 
- Angel's Trumpet
- Antirrhinums 
- Azalea
- Bird of Paradise
- Birdseye Primrose
- Bittersweet
- Blue Cardinal (Lobelia)
- Bluebells 
- Bryony 
- Bulbs-(any plants grown from bulbs)
- Buttercup (Ranunculus)
- Caladium 
- Cherry leaves (contain cyanide and are most potent when they are wilting)
and leaves of other stone fruits (fruits with pits)
- Chrysanthemum 
- Clematis 
- Columbine 
- Corn ****le (type of grassy plant with a rather large lacey grain head)
- Crocus
- Cyclamen 
- Daffodil
- Dahlias 
- Daily
- Dog mercury 
- Evergreen trees
- Fig 
- Figwort 
- Fools parsley 
- Foxglove (Digitalis)
- Hellebore 
- Hemlock 
- Holly 
- Hyacinth 
- Hydrangea 
- Iris 
- Ivy 
- Jerusalem cherry 
- Juniper 
- Kingcup 
- Laburnum 
- Leyland cypress 
- Lily (All species)
- Lords and Ladies 
- Lupine 
- Lupins 
- Marsh marigold 
- Meadow saffron 
- Mistletoe
- Monkshood 
- Morning glory 
- Nightshade (deadly and woody) 
- Oleander
- Onion
- Philodendron
- Pigweed (amaranth - certain North American varieties may be toxic)
- Poinsetta 
- Poppies 
- Potatoes (poisonous if green or sprouted) - sweet potatoes / yams are ok 
- Privet 
- Ragwort 
- Red maple leaves
- Rhododendron
- Rhubarb 
- Spurges 
- St Johns wort 
- Tulip 
- Tomatillo leaves & stalks
- Tomato leaves & stalks 
- Vetch
- Walnut or Black Walnut
- White clover(red clover in small amounts is okay)
- Wisteria 
- Wolfsbane
- Yew



QUESTION foods: 
(just don't know much about them, or unsure if ok for pigs to eat) 

Asian Fruit and Vegetables: (I tried to include names in various languages when possible) 
- Abiu / Caimo / Canistel / Dan Huang Guo 
- Baby Bok Choy 
- Bamboo Shoots 
- Banana Leaves 
- Betel Leaves / La Lop 
- Bitter Melon / Bitter Gourd / Balsam Pear / Balsam Pod (must remove
seeds) 
- Chinese Broccoli / Gai Lum / Kai Lan / Kairan 
- Chinese Cabbage / Wong Baak / Kubis Gna / Hakusai 
- Chinese Chard / Bok Choy / Pak Choy / Pak Tsoi / Pechay 
- Chinese Flowering Cabbage / Choy Sum / Sawi Manis / Saishin 
- Chinese Keys / Khao Chae / Suo Shi / Temu Kunchi (like ginger) 
- Chinese Long Beans / Yard-Long Beans / Asparagus Beans / Dau Gok 
- Chinese Mustard / Gai Choy / Kaai Tsoi / Mustaa / Ha Karashina / Cai Xanh 
- Chinese Spinach / Amaranth / Een Choy / In Tsoi / Bayam / Santonsai 
- Chocolate Fruit / Black Persimmon / Black Sapote / Kaki Noir 
- Durian / Dourian / Lau Lin 
- Ginger Root 
- Hairy Melon / Moa Gua 
- Jute / Jew's Mallow / Meloukhia / Meloukhiya Sheitaani 
- Kaffir Lime Leaves 
- Longan / Litchi Ponceau / Loon Ngan / Lengkleng (like Lychee) 
- Lychee 
- Mangosteen / Saan Jook / Manggis 
- Pe-Tsai Cabbage 
- Sin Qua / Luffa - smooth and angled 
- Soursop / Guanabana 
- Star Apple 
- Taro / Woo Tau / Dalo / Sato-Imo leaves (leaves ok? raw taro root
poisonous ) 
- Water Spinach / Convolvulus / Ung Choy / Yeung Choy / Kang Kung 
- White Radish / Daikon / Loh Baak / Mu 
- White Sapote / Casimiroa 
- Winter Melon / Wax Melon / Dong Gua 
- Yam / Shuyu / Ubi / Yama Imo (this tuber is safe for guinea pigs to eat) 
- Yam Bean / Jicama / Di Gwa / Sinkamas / Seng Kuang / Kuzuimo (root ok?,
leaves & stems poisonous) 

Other Fruit and Vegetables: 
- Acerola- West Indian, Pitanga, Surinam, Sour, Sweet 
- Babaco 
- Borage 
- Breadfruit 
- Burdock 
- Canned veggies 
- Cardoon 
- Cassava / Yucca Root 
- Catus 
- Chayota 
- Cherimoya 
- Custard apple 
- Dock 
- Eggplant 
- Fern bracken - Fiddlehead Fern shoots 
- Ginger 
- Jujube (high vit C) 
- Kailan 
- Kiwano 
- Komatsuna 
- Kumquat 
- Lemon Grass 
- Longan 
- Loquat 
- Mizuna 
- Okra 
- Opuntia Cactus 
- Oregano 
- Plantain banana (needs cooking, high starch) 
- Pomegranate 
- Quince 
- Rosemary 
- Sage 
- Sakata 
- Salsify / Oyster plant 
- Sapodilla 
- Sorrel 
- Soy beans and soy products (too high in protein?) 
- Star fruit 
- Sugar Cane (too high in sugar?) 
- Tapioca (too high in starch & calories?) 
- Yucca



    
---------------------------------
  


Susi Eastin
  The Okie Piggies of Cavy Lodge
  Green Country Cavy Club
   
  "Lots of people talk to animals," said Pooh. "Not too
  many listen, though. That's the problem."
                                             -- The Tao of Pooh
   
   

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