Can Guinea Pigs Eat Mango?

A typical diet for a guinea pig is primarily hay with moderate amounts of fiber-dense pellets.

But if you are a curious parent to a guinea pig, you probably wonder if you can give veggies and fruits to your fluffy baby. What about mango in particular?

This delicious and sweet tropical fruit is packed with nutrients. It is one of the world’s most popular fruits and one of the best offerings of summer. So can you share this juicy fruit like pears with a guinea pig?

Here’s everything you need to know about whether guinea pigs can eat mangoes or not.

Can guinea pigs have mangoes?

Absolutely! Mangoes are perfectly safe to add to a guinea pig’s diet. These tropical fruits are rich in vitamins and fibre, which is beneficial for a cavy’s health. Guinea pigs enjoy the texture, and taste of mangoes, and will not hesitate to eat them.

Apart from the taste, mangoes are also rich in vitamins C and A. The two vitamins are essential for the overall health of the guinea pigs. Both these vitamins cannot be synthesized naturally by a guinea pig. So incorporating mangoes into a cavy’s diet is a healthy and tasty way to meet the nutritional requirements.

How many mangoes can you give a guinea pig, and how often?

We now know that mangoes are a good choice of food for guinea pigs. But how much mango is too much for these fluffies? And just how often can they eat the mangoes without complications? We tackle the answers in this section.

100g of ripe mango contains 14g of sugar, which is a substantial amount. So feeding mangoes to a guinea pig is not recommended. In addition, the fibre content in mangoes is also low, and guinea pigs need fibre in high quantities.

So, feeding mangoes once or twice a week to guinea pigs is ideal. However, this will also depend on how big the portions of the mangoes are and whether the fruit has the peel and the seeds.

This brings up the question of the right portion of mango to give to a guinea pig. The recommended size of mango for a cavy is two to three pieces of a small cube, about twice a week. This will hit the right balance of nutritional requirements for a guinea pig while making them enjoy the delicious fruit.

It is important to keep the portion and the frequency in check while giving mango to a guinea pig. This will help prevent health complications due to the high sugar content of this tropical fruit.

Considerations for feeding mango to guinea pigs

Mangoes are a great addition to a cavy’s diet, especially in moderation. Apart from the portion and frequency, there are other considerations when it comes to feeding mangoes to a guinea pig.

Remove the seeds before feeding

Mango seeds are typically enormous, especially in proportion to the fruit. In addition, this sweet, savoury fruit is also quite slippery. So when you give a whole mango with seeds to a cavity, it increases the chance of swallowing the seed and becoming a choking hazard.

This can result in serious injury to the guinea pig and may even result in death. So remove the mango seeds before you give them to a guinea pig.

Refrain from feeding dried mangoes

Dried mangoes have five times more sugar than fresh ones. So giving dried mangoes to a cavy increases its chances of suffering from obesity. In some cases, guinea pigs that eat a lot of dried mangoes can also develop diabetes that can become life-threatening.

Frozen mango is not a good choice

If you decide to add mango to a cavy’s diet, use the fresh variety. Frozen mangoes are usually boiled or processed, which, when thawed, can be harmful. As it is, guinea pigs do not have compound stomachs, so it needs to be handled with care.

However, if you know the source and origin of the frozen mango, you can give it to the guinea pig. But of course, you need to defrost the mango first.

Never feed mango leaves and peel to a guinea pig

Mango leaves and peel contain a chemical compound called urushiol. The same allergen is present in poison ivy. This oily mixture of allergens is a mixture of organic compounds that can cause serious allergies in a guinea pig.

The pesticide in mango leaves causing harm to a guinea pig is rare but also not uncommon. For a small cavy, the mango peel can also become a choking hazard.

Feed yellow mangoes in moderation

Mangoes come in different varieties, and yellow mango is very popular. The reason is because of its incredible sweetness, which is also why it is called honey mango.

100g of yellow mango contains 15g of sugar, which is a bit higher than a regular mango. So if you decide to share a yellow mango with a cavy, keep the portion sizes small. Furthermore, consider reducing the frequency of feeding yellow mangoes about once or maybe twice a week.

Signs of distress in guinea pigs to watch out for

Every guinea pig is different, and so is their level of tolerance and reaction towards mango in their diet. That being said, here are some distress signs that you should watch out for in a guinea pig.

Among the most common signs of allergy in a guinea pig are diarrhea and vomiting. If this happens, stop feeding mangoes to the cavy and provide plenty of fresh drinking water.

Constant sneezing is another distress sign a cavy displays when allergic to mango or any type of food. Sneezing is also accompanied by wheezing and laboured breathing when a guinea pig is allergic to something.

Another classic symptom of allergy in a guinea pig is discharge from the nose or eyes. If the discharge continues for a couple of days, consider taking your pet cavy to the vet. In some cases, a guinea pig with allergic symptoms will also find it difficult to keep its eyes open. So the cavy looks like it is falling asleep with its eyes half-closed.