Can Guinea Pigs Eat Celery?

Not a week goes by that we don't get asked about feeding celery to guinea pigs. Or that we run across someone who is feeding too much celery to their guinea pigs on a daily basis.

Admittedly, celery has some attractive qualities, two being that it's crunchy and filling. Guinea pigs do love celery leaves, and some do love the satisfying crunch of the celery stalks. But there's a few things to keep in mind about celery:

• It has a high water content.
• It causes bloating and gas in humans (when eaten frequently or in large quantities), so you can imagine what it does to a guinea pig's belly.
• All those strings that we peel off celery stalks so they don't get caught in our teeth or in our throats also wreak havoc on a guinea pig's teeth, throat, and intestinal tract.

It's best to think of celery as an "accent" to your guinea pigs' daily salad, served in small quantities.

• Mix celery leaves in with a serving of lettuce and other vegetables.
• Thinly slice celery stalks, which makes it easy to find and remove strings. 
• Consider giving it on alternate days to help keep some variety in your pigs' diet.

Using these tips can help you ensure that you don't overfeed celery, or that your guinea pigs don't become quickly bored with it. Additionally, by mixing it in with other veggies, you can make meal time a little more interesting for your guinea pigs as they forage through breakfast (or dinner).

Don't forget to set aside a stalk or two for yourself!

Comments

[Whitney]

Elise:

At http://www.guineapigcages.com/ there's a table at the top of the page that has recommended cage sizes for 1, 2, 3, 4, and more pigs.

These measurements are the standard recommendation offered by guinea pig rescues, and the high-profile community sites like Guinea Lynx, Cavy Madness, and so on.

Whitney

[Elise]

Hey I'm back well the guinea pig thing is going well. Should I get a bigger cage? Cause the cage they have right now is pretty darn small! Replie back

[rayray11]

make sure you dont give to many it can give them
gas pains

[Whitney]

Elise:

If you re-read my response from a couple of weeks back, you'll see that my point was that we don't encourage pets as gifts unless there's a well-considered, family decision behind the choice.

Impulsiveness rarely yields a lasting commitment to an animal for its entire life. Careful family discussions and decision-making can help make sure that true commitment, and not impulsiveness, is driving the gift.

If that's the case in your family, then that's good.

[Elise]

Hey Whittney my brother got that guinea pig that you told me not to get! WEll they are great together! Well if you want to you can tell me How mad you are BUT you have so many questions to awnser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Whitney]

Hi Liz:

You are absolutely right! You do need to worry about celery strings getting wrapped around inside.

We primarily give the pigs celery leaves. Cindy will occasionally give the rescue pigs garden-fresh celery, thinly sliced, from the top of the stalk, just below the leaves, but above the main part of the stalk that we humans are accustomed to using for dipping.

Guinea pigs seem to run hot or cold with celery -- they either love it (and the leaves) or they don't.

[Elise]

I will come back on this website if i need something

[Elise]

Hi Whittney you know what I'm going to get my brother a guinea pig anyway! And you can stop me HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!! AND IM BETER OFF WITH OUT THIS STUPID QUESTION AND ANSWER THING! Bye !

[Liz]

I meant wraped around his insides not raped. Sorry!

[Liz]

Hello! My guinea pig has breakfast and dinner every day! I give him a side of lettuce, a side of carrots and a different fruit in the middle every time he eats. He always enjoys it. I have never given him celery before. I'm afriad that the strings could get raped around his insides and he could die!!!!!!!!!

[Whitney]

Elise:
Guinea pigs are commitments -- not toys, not gifts. That's the short answer.

We are not in favor of any animal -- not just guinea pigs -- being brought into a home as a "gift." The addition of any animal to a home should be a thoroughly considered decision made by the ENTIRE FAMILY, including the parents, to ensure that everyone is committed to caring for an animal for the rest of its life. See our posts at:

Myth #8: Guinea Pigs In Easter Baskets (http://guineapigconnection.typepad.com/pig_notes/2007/03/myth_8_guinea_p.html)

Why It's A Bad Idea To Give Pets As Gifts (http://guineapigconnection.typepad.com/pig_notes/2006/12/why_its_a_bad_i.html)

Sage Advice For Pet Adopters (http://guineapigconnection.typepad.com/pig_notes/2006/05/sage_advice_for.html)

If your family decides to bring home another guinea pig, another female or a NEUTERED male would be the right choice if you intend to house the new guinea pig with your guinea pig (which you described in an earlier comment as "she").

There is an art to introducing guinea pigs, because the success (or lack thereof) comes down entire to individual personalities. See our post at Myth #3: No Introductions Needed (http://guineapigconnection.typepad.com/pig_notes/2007/03/myth_3_no_intro.html), and be sure to follow the links included in the article.

[Elise]

OK Thanks for the info! But I have another question! Well my brother is having a birth day party and I want to give him a guinea pig! Would another girl do well ? And can I put them in a cage together? Would It be ok to get him one for his Birth day

[Whitney]

Hi Katherine -- Yours was such a good question that we turned it into tonight's posting -- "Should Guinea Pigs Be Housed Outdoors?"

Thanks for dropping by!

[Whitney]

Hi Elise --

About your guinea pig's sneezing, see the post I published last night, titled "When Is A Sneezing Guinea Pig Something To Worry About?"

About the grapes, you can feed your guinea pig one grape a day. Because grapes can make piggies bloated and gassy if overfed, we don't recommend grapes as a DAILY snack. Offer seedless grapes every other day -- at most -- and consider reserving them as special treats that are given only once or twice a week.

About finding the right veterinarian, please see our post at http://guineapigconnection.typepad.com/pig_notes/2006/08/looking_for_a_f.html.

Thanks for dropping by!

[Elise]

Hi
Well I have a guinea pig and she sneases a lot! Is that ok for them to snease? I just want to know and can they have grapes? Do you recomend any type of vet?

[Katherine Buchanan]

We are enjoying the company of our two lovely 3 year old rescue piggies. They are living inside, spending night time in a wooden hutch (36' x 24") and day time in an enclosure made with 5 squares by three squares (with roof). The reason they are in a hutch at night is because I don't trust one of the cats!
I am curious: as a child in England, our piggies lived outside year round, in their hutch under a covered porch in summer, in their hutch in an unheated shed in winter. They had sawdust on the floor and a big box of hay to sleep in in their sleepping box. They grazed outside in an ark with a sleeping box from April until October.
Are they a different breed of piggy? I have never heard of anyone keeping a guinea pig indoors in England (maybe a garage but never in the house. And if you waited for it to be 65 they would only go outside about two weeks a year!
Ours (brothers)lived happily until 8 years old and were never sick.
We are keeping them inside because that is what we were advised (although we did take them out on the grass on a warm day this week and they loved it, especially clover)
I am just curious why they are treated so differently. We live near San Jose so it is pretty warm 9 months of the year, although cold at nights.

[Whitney]

Sarah:
That's waaaaaaay too much celery to be feeding on a daily basis.

Your guinea pig is likely dealing with bloating and gas as a result of eating that much celery.

Your first step needs to be to lay off the celery entirely for a couple of weeks to let the bloating and gas subside, and to let your piggie's stomach settle back into a normal state.

After that, re-introduce celery LEAVES as an occasional component of your piggie's veggie diet. You can also occasionally include very thin slices of celery (see my comments in the original post), but you're only going to give 2-3 thin slices at a time.

Whitney

[Sarah Racut]

I've Been Giving My Guinea Pig 1 And A Half Celery Stalks Is That Too Much?

[Sarah Racut]

I've Been Feeding My Guinea Pig Celery, But Only 1 and Half Is That Too Much?