By Priya Nair (RVN) · Last updated 17 May 2026
This is the cross-species emergency reference. If you’ve got a guinea pig, rabbit, rat, hamster, ferret, or any combination, and you need to know whether the thing they just ate is dangerous, scan the relevant column.
For specific portion guidance and safe alternatives, the species-specific pillars cover detail:
Cross-species toxic table
| Food | Guinea pig | Rabbit | Rat | Hamster | Ferret |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avocado | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠️ flesh only | ❌ | ❌ |
| Onion / garlic / leek | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Chocolate | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠️ small dark only | ❌ | ❌ |
| Citrus peel | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ (esp. males) | ❌ | ⚠️ flesh only |
| Iceberg lettuce | ❌ diarrhea | ❌ diarrhea | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | N/A (carnivore) |
| Rhubarb (esp. leaves) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Potato (raw) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Tomato leaves / stems | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Mushrooms | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠️ plain button cooked | ❌ | ❌ |
| Bread / pasta / cereal | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠️ tiny treat | ⚠️ tiny treat | ❌ |
| Dairy | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠️ small only | ⚠️ small only | ❌ |
| Meat / fish | ❌ herbivore | ❌ herbivore | ✅ omnivore | ✅ omnivore | ✅ carnivore |
| Anything carbonated | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ fatal (can’t burp) | ❌ | ❌ |
| Cooked beans, raw beans | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ raw only / ⚠️ cooked | ❌ | ❌ |
| Raw sweet potato | ⚠️ raw only | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠️ | ❌ |
| Caffeine / tea / coffee | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Alcohol | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Aloe vera (plant) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Pine / cedar bedding | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Blue cheese | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Liquorice | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Xylitol (sweetener) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Houseplants (most) | ❌ assume | ❌ assume | ❌ assume | ❌ assume | ❌ assume |
Why the differences matter
Guinea pigs and rabbits are strict herbivores — their entire gut anatomy is built around fermenting plant material. Meat, dairy and most “human” foods cause GI distress at best.
Rats and hamsters are omnivores — closer to a small dog dietary-wise. They handle protein, dairy in small amounts, even cooked grains, but share the common mammalian toxins (onion family, chocolate, xylitol, etc).
Ferrets are obligate carnivores — even more meat-focused than cats. Almost all plant foods are inappropriate. Fruit-flavour ferret treats sold in pet shops are a marketing artefact, not a nutritional fit.
Universal “don’t even ask” list
- Onion family (all forms)
- Chocolate
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Xylitol
- Mouldy food
- Avocado pit and skin
- Rhubarb leaves
- Potato leaves and green tomato
- Most houseplants (especially lilies, sago palm, oleander, azalea)
- Carbonated drinks
- Anything you don’t recognise or can’t ID with confidence
What to do tonight if your pet has eaten something
- Identify what they ate (or the most likely candidate)
- Identify how much if possible
- Watch for emergency signs — drooling, vomiting (if species can — guinea pigs and rabbits cannot), seizures, breathing changes, weakness
- Ring the relevant poison-control line — they’ll triage
- If you can’t reach poison control, ring your exotic vet or an out-of-hours vet
- Do NOT induce vomiting in guinea pigs or rabbits — they physiologically can’t, and you’ll just stress them
- Do NOT give salt, mustard, hydrogen peroxide, or any “home remedy” without veterinary advice — most are unsafe
Emergency lines
- Australia: Animal Poisons Helpline 1300 869 738 (24/7, fee for service)
- UK: Animal PoisonLine 01202 509000 (24/7)
- USA: ASPCA Animal Poison Control 1-888-426-4435 (24/7, fee)
Sources
- ASPCA — Poison control reference
- RSPCA UK — small mammal welfare pages
- Our species-specific diet pillars: guinea pig, rat, rabbit
We get asked — guinea pig food FAQ
How much fresh veg should a guinea pig eat per day?
About 1 cup of fresh vegetables per pig per day, ideally split into two meals (morning and evening). Hay should still be 80% of the diet and available unlimited. Pellets are a small daily addition, not a meal replacement.
What’s the most important nutrient for guinea pigs?
Vitamin C. Guinea pigs cannot manufacture their own and must get it daily from fresh food. Bell pepper is the gold-standard source. Vitamin C in pellets oxidises within weeks of opening, so don’t rely on pellets alone. See our food safety master list for daily portion guidance.
What signs should send me to a vet?
- Not eating for 12+ hours (GI stasis — emergency)
- Not pooping (or smaller, drier poops than usual)
- Crusty eyes, wheezing, or sneezing more than once a day (URI)
- Hunched posture, fluffed coat, hiding
- Sudden weight loss (weigh weekly to catch this early)
- Blood in urine, hunching when peeing
A pig that hasn’t eaten in 12 hours is an emergency, not a “wait and see” situation. More detail in our vet warning signs pillar.
Related reading
- The complete guinea pig care guide — diet, housing, social pairs, lifespan
- Master food safety table
- Cage setup & size guide — most pet-shop cages are too small
- RSPCA UK — Guinea pig welfare standards
Portion sizes & serving rules
Across every “can guinea pigs eat X” question, the same portion-size rules apply. A piece of new food should be no larger than a thumbnail the first time, watched for soft poops or gas over the next 24 hours, then offered as part of the regular rotation if no issues. Adult guinea pigs (over 6 months) get about a cup of total fresh veg per day, divided between morning and evening — never one big plate at once.
The “5×5” rule we use: at least five different vegetables across each week, and no single veg more than five days in seven. This rotation prevents calcium build-up (parsley, kale, spinach) and stops one food becoming a fixation that displaces hay intake.
Calcium, oxalates, and bladder stones
Bladder stones are one of the most common reasons guinea pigs end up in surgery. They form when calcium-heavy diet combines with poor hydration. The high-calcium foods you should rotate rather than feed daily:
- Parsley (very high)
- Kale (high)
- Spinach (high — also high oxalates)
- Mustard greens, dandelion greens, beet greens
- Mineral-rich pellets if your tap water is hard
The fix is straightforward: rotate, don’t accumulate. Two days of parsley followed by five days of romaine and bell pepper keeps the calcium load moderate. Filtered water for households with very hard tap water.
Three quick checks before any new food
- Sugar / starch content. Sugary or starchy foods cause gut bacteria imbalances. Limit fruits to 2-3x a week as treats; same for high-starch roots.
- Calcium load. If you’ve been feeding lots of kale/parsley, today is a cucumber day.
- Pesticide residue. Wash everything. Skip waxy supermarket fruits if you can’t peel them.
When to stop and call a vet
Symptoms within 24 hours of a new food that warrant a call:
- No or markedly fewer poops
- Soft, mushy, smelly poops
- Reduced appetite for hay
- Hunched posture, fluffed coat, hiding more than usual
- Drooling or food-dropping (potential dental + diet interaction)
- Bloated, hard belly
Stop offering the suspect food, increase hay, monitor closely. If symptoms last more than 12 hours, that’s a vet call. Our team’s full reference list of warning signs lives in the vet warning signs pillar.
Page last updated 17 May 2026. We re-check our pet-care content regularly and update when something changes.
