Petsolino is reader-supported blog. If you buy something through our posts, we may get a small commission. Read more here.

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Green Beans?

These entertaining and cute animals are commonly taken as pets these days. They are not so difficult to take care of, but they still need all of your love and tenderness. Guinea pigs are sociable fellows and they don’t like to be neglected, as well as all other animals naturally living in packs.

It is usually recommended to take a pair. They would lead happy and joyful life with you and your family and never feel alone or sad. Guinea pigs enjoy company of other living beings and they love to play with their owners. They are active, playful and curious, so you should always provide them exercise and fun.

Guinea pigs are kind and affectionate furry little creatures. They are not as timid as you may thinks, but they need to be treated with a lot of care and tenderness. Once your new pet get used to your voice and appearance, it will get very attached to you and your loved ones. Guinea pigs love to cuddle, but that doesn’t mean you should knead it and squeeze it all the time. Since they are gentle and small, they are not recommended for families with little children. Children could be pretty unobservant and they could unintentionally harm these little buddies.

Guinea pigs are talkative and they show their emotions producing a variety of sounds! This is amazing and adorable at the same time. You’ll know your pet is feeling good by the sounds it makes. Its fur should be clean and shiny, its eyes bright and its body always in the move. Provide it good living space, well balanced nutrition and exercise.

Good diet for cute guinea pigs

As you may already know, good and nutritional diet plan is an essential when it comes to all of our pet’s health. Guinea pigs are not demanding when it comes to feeding, so you won’t have problems choosing the right diet plan. They are vegetarians that belong to the large family of rodents. Guinea pigs have constantly growing teeth, so they need something to keep them in good shape. The basic ingredient on you pet’s menu should be hay. It is important for their teeth in the first place and good for digestion, as well. Grass and legume hay are both welcome and needed. Grass all the time and legume for particular physical conditions.

Pellets for guinea pigs are also good. You can buy good seeds mixtures in pet stores.  Seeds are meant to be on regular daily menu, but don’t go overboard, in order to prevent your pet from gaining unnecessary weight. Obese guinea pigs would most likely get diabetes, so be careful.

Your pet should always have a bowl of fresh water available. Beside hay, grass and water, it needs fresh fruits and vegetables. Those are good to enrich your pet’s diet plan and provide it other valuable material. Fresh fruits and vegetables are the main source of vitamins and minerals. There is one particular element guinea pigs need most. It is vitamin C. If your pet doesn’t get as much of vitamin C as its body requires, it will most certainly get ill. Lack of vitamin C causes scurvy, a disease very common in guinea pigs. They should also stay away from toxic food, for guinea pigs anyway, such as peanuts.

Green beans as a weekly treat

Green beans are considered super food and they are very good for us and our pets. Those beans are full of very nutritional elements and are common in humans’ nutrition. Green beans are easy to store and prepare, so they are one of the most used viands in our cuisines.

Green beans are also good for our pigs, but only in raw form and given occasionally. Guinea pigs enjoy eating green beans, but you must keep it in moderation. They are high in sugar and contain phosphorus, oxalate acid and calcium. None of these are good in large amounts. You’re certainly familiar with the fact guinea pigs cannot digest sugar as we do. Too much sugary food could lead to stomach problems, weight gain and diabetes.

Green beans are also known to be gassy vegetables, so that is another reason to be extra careful with them.

As long as you keep to your pet’s regular diet plan, based on hay and grass, with some pellets and fruits and vegetables as treats, green beans are good. They belong to treats. Feed your pet small amounts of raw green beans occasionally. Leaves of the plant are also okay. Don’t feed it cooked green beans; it is not good for your pet. Do not offer your piggy any human dish containing green beans, as well. Our meals usually contain a lot of ingredients our pets are not capable to digest. Guinea pigs’ digestive tract is suited for lots of hay and grass and less veggies and fruits!

Green beans contain considerable amount of vitamin C, as well. That is good for your piggy. So, keep it in moderation and treat your piglet green beans on a weekly basis, once per week. The same applies to fruits. For instance, cantaloupes are good for guinea pigs as an occasional treat.