Wondering if your guinea pig is allowed to eat apples and what other fruits you can give your guinea pig in order to provide it with a healthy diet?

We gathered lots of useful information on tips on what is poisonous to guinea pigs and what foods can guinea pigs eat daily, as well as aspects of eating apples that are essential when feeding a guinea pig.

Instead of wondering if you can give your guinea pig apples, you should concentrate on whether they are allowed apple skin or peel, apple seeds, apple leaves, apple cores or even apple sauce?

Read on if you want to find out more about guinea pig safety & nutrition.

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Apples?

Yes, guinea pigs are allowed to eat apples, as it is a fruit high in dietary fibre and flavonoids.

However, you should be careful with how many apples you give your guinea pig and avoid apple parts that are dangerous for guinea pigs, such as apple seeds. 

How Do I Know If I Should Give Apples to My Guinea Pig?

You should try to see if your guinea pig enjoys eating apples before including the fruit in their usual diet.

Given that guinea pigs have a sensitive digestive system, any type of food that is high in sugar, as is the case of fruit, you should always start with small amounts and see how your pet behaves. Just cut a small piece of apple and leave it around for a while, in the guinea pig’s cage.

Try to observe its behaviour around the apple. Even if you did not see the guinea pig eating the apple, you should always check their droppings for any sign of change in texture or colour. If you notice something out of the ordinary, it might not be a great idea to give your guinea pig apple slices as a treat. Or you could try again, with a smaller amount next time around.

How Many Apples Should I Give My Guinea Pig?

Even if your guinea pig loves apple, you should make sure not to make this fruit a substantial part of its diet. Apples are treats and you should give them sparingly, along with pellets, timothy hay and other types of vegetables and fruit. 

Letting your guinea pig eat too much apple could mess with their pH, as this fruit is highly acidic. Also, you should aim to avoid apples that are not fully ripe, as they have a sour taste and are more acidic, which can cause havoc on a guinea pig’s sensitive digestive system.

Heavy apple consumption could cause mouth sores and diarrhoea. Give your guinea pig a slice of an apple once a week and see how that goes. You can increase the amount if everything goes well or decrease it if you notice mouth sores or discolouration and softening of the pet’s stool.

If your guinea pig has diarrhoea following apple consumption, you can stop feeding them apples or any other fruit or vegetable and increase the amount of Timothy hay, as this can encourage healthy digestion. 

You should not let your guinea pig eat from a whole apple, as it represents a choking hazard. It is best to slice the apple or cut it in tiny pieces and make sure you remove the apple seeds since apple pips are dangerous for guinea pigs.

What about the different parts of an apple and products resulting from this fruit, such as apple peels or apple sauce? We will tell you which apple parts are safe, and which are dangerous for your guinea pig.

Are Guinea Pigs Allowed Apple Skin?

Apple peels contain the most dietary fibre, so removing the skin of an apple can make the fruit a safer treat for your guinea pig.

Not feeding your guinea pig apple skin will probably prevent the occurrence of diarrhoea. 

Are Guinea Pigs Allowed Apple Seeds or Apple Cores?

Apple pips are regarded as a choking hazard for guinea pigs, so you should remove them before giving apple slices to your pet. Apple seeds also contain cyanide, a substance that may upset your guinea pig’s stomach and disturb the activity of the digestive system.

It is true that apple seeds contain a small amount of cyanide but taking into account that guinea pigs are small animals, a few seeds could deliver just enough cyanide to make them sick. So, you would be better off not risking this by feeding them apples without removing the seeds first.

Apple cores, without the seeds, on the other hand, will not pose any threat to your guinea pig, as they will enjoy chewing on the more rigid parts of the apple core. 

Are Guinea Pigs Allowed Apple Leaves?

Yes, they allowed to eat apple leaves and it is actually recommended to do so! Giving your guinea pig apple leaves is even better than feeding it apples since the leaves do not contain so much sugar.

Apple leaves are good for guinea pigs, as they contain dietary fibre, they reduce the blood sugar level, help maintain a healthy circulatory system and they also treat diarrhoea.

Does your guinea pig have bowel discomfort or problems with weight gain? Apple leaves can help with that too, and they boost your pet’s immune system while improving endurance. Want a healthy guinea pig, with strong bones and a quick recovery time in case of injury?

Feeding it apple leaves brings all these benefits and more, such as reducing bacteria levels in the mouth, thus preventing oral disease in guinea pigs.

Are Guinea Pigs Allowed Apple Sauce?

You could give your guinea pig a little bit of apple sauce once in a while, but be careful, as it is delicious but high in sugar. Home-made apple sauce is a better option, as opposed to store-bought apple sauce, which can have up to 50% sugar or even more. 

Are Guinea Pigs Allowed Cooked Apples?

You should not give your guinea pig cooked apples, as it is not a type of food that they could find in the wild. Only feed guinea pigs with raw vegetables and fruit. 

Other Questions

What Fruits Can I Give My Guinea Pig?

A list of safe fruits you can give your guinea pig: apples, apricots, peaches, Asian pear, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, boysenberries, cactus fruit, cantaloupe, watermelon, carambola (star fruit), cherimoya fruit, cherries, cranberries, dates, durian, figs, gooseberries, grapes, guava, honeydew, jackfruit, jujube fruit, kiwi, kumquat, persimmons, lychee, mulberries, mango, papaya, passion fruit, pineapple, pomegranates, quinces.

You can even make a special treat for your guinea pig, in the form of an apple & other fruit & vegetables salad. Combine spinach and other healthy greens, except romaine or iceberg lettuce, with baby carrots, celery and other preferred fruits and vegetables. Top them with homemade applesauce, to make it even more delicious. Do not use store-bought apple sauce, because it is high in sugar. 

What Is Poisonous to Guinea Pigs? 

If you want to avoid things that can kill guinea pigs, you should keep in mind that foods are an important factor, as there are many poisonous foods for guinea pigs. 

What foods can kill guinea pigs: chocolate human snacks, bindweed, buttercups, celandine, cereal, citrus fruit, dairy foods.

Other foods that are poisonous to guinea pigs: any food containing caffeine, onions, garlic, mushrooms, iceberg lettuce, avocados, nuts, potatoes, seeds, corn kernels, peanut butter, rhubarb, cabbage, bok choy, bread, meat.

You should also avoid feeding your guinea pig with plants and flowers or grass that you grow in your yard, as they can be toxic for your guinea pig, due to pesticides. Same applies for many houseplants.

What Foods Can Guinea Pigs Eat Daily? 

There are foods that guinea pigs can and should eat daily. Hay is an essential part of your guinea pig’s diet, along with pellets, which are specially designed to offer your pet balanced nutrition. As for vegetables, guinea pigs can eat carrots, peas, broccoli, spinach, artichokes, tomatoes, bell peppers and other dark green vegetables.

Variation is important, so here is an extended list of other vegetables that guinea pigs can also eat daily: alfalfa sprouts, arugula, asparagus, barley, basil, bean sprouts, celery, chives, corn, cucumber, fennel, parsnip, snow peas or zucchini.

One food that you might not consider, but it is really important for a guinea pig’s diet, consists of cecotropes or caecal pellets, the soft pellets full of nutrients absorbed from plants during the digestive process.