Guinea pigs can make a great pet. They can live longer than the other rodents in terms of several years. They also have different personalities and this makes it easy to get attached to them.
Taking care of them is relatively easy too. Furthermore, they are herbivores and their diet consists of healthy veggies, which can be grown in your backyard. This in turn promotes healthy eating habits for us too.
However, there are some veggies they cannot have and today we are here to talk about them briefly and know about the things you can do to prevent any harm to our little ball of fur.
Can guinea pigs eat chives?
Your guinea pigs cannot eat chives. Chives along with other green vegetables like onions, shallots, and garlic. These vegetables contain disulfides. The disulfide is a molecule that contains sulfur. Sulfur ingestion can damage the guinea pig’s red blood cells. Thus, they cannot eat chives.
Table of Contents
Guinea pigs are a sensitive bunch of creatures. They are so sensitive that a mere change in temperatures will affect their health.
The foods they eat also matter. Which ones they can and which ones they cannot eat. As an owner of such a creature, you should know.
Garlic Chives:
Chives are not safe for your pet guinea pig for one major reason. Garlic chives are not any different from traditional chives. They also contain disulfides.
The ingestion of this molecule harms the guinea pigs. Even garlic as a vegetable is not safe for your guinea pig and it is toxic to them.
Chive Flowers:
If it is a part of a chive then it must contain the disulfide molecule. This molecule harms the red blood cells of the guinea pig. Thus, regardless of just being the flowers of the chive, it is still not safe for the guinea pig.
Fresh Chives:
We have mentioned before that, chives will harm the guinea pigs regardless of which part of their body you feed them.
Now, we have to also state that regardless of the condition of the chive, such as “fresh chives”, it will still be harmful to the guinea pig.
Dried Chives:
It does not matter if the chive is dried or fresh, chives contain the molecule disulfide which will harm the guinea pigs. Being dried does not make them get rid of it. This is why the guinea pigs cannot eat dried chives either.
Is it okay for guinea pigs to eat chives? Are guinea pigs allergic to chives?
We have briefly mentioned that guinea pigs are sensitive creatures. Guinea pigs will be at severe health risk when the temperature drastically changes.
They constantly need to be 60 and 85 °F. Then again, we might presume that since they are vegetarians, they will eat anything green. However, that cannot be further than the truth.
For example, the guinea pigs cannot eat chives. These green veggies contain sulfur in them. This sulfur will harm their red blood cells and thus they need to avoid chives at all costs.
However, it is not like they are allergic to the chives. They just cannot indulge themselves with chives as a diet. As it will be life-threatening for them.
4 reasons why guinea pigs should not eat chives
Chives are a distant relative to garlic and onion. These types of veggies add flavor to our cooking. However, they do not add flavor to the diet of guinea pigs.
Below is a list of reasons why guinea pigs should not eat chives and why they are harmful to small creatures.
Weakness & Dizziness:
Chives damage the red blood cells of the guinea pigs when ingested. Due to the low red blood cells in the body, the guinea pigs soon experience dizziness and become even more fragile than they already are.
Digestive Problem:
The ingestion of chives can cause gastrointestinal motility problems in guinea pigs. Chives easily upset the stomach of Guinea pigs due to sulfur present in it. This is also because guinea pigs have frail stomachs.
Urinary Malfunction:
Anything spicy regardless of its consistency can be harmful to any living beings, even us humans. Furthermore, if a creature is fragile and has a weak digestive tract.
Then the chives, which are spicy in taste can severely malfunction the fragile body of a guinea pig. The high potassium and calcium in chives lead to kidney and urinary stones for the creatures too.
Causes Anemia:
Chives also have Allium. Having this further damages, the red blood cells and soon causes the guinea pigs to have breathing problems. Furthermore, having so counts of RBC eventually leads to anemia.
What happens if a guinea pig eats chives?
The aforementioned paragraphs might have given you a clear idea about the reasons why a guinea pig should not eat chives. To clarify such events, you have to understand that the ingestion of chives will harm the guinea pigs.
In regards to the guinea pigs eating chives or not is something that makes people think they are allergic to it. However, it is because of the strong smell the chives emanate which is the main reason the guinea pigs avoid them.
Although there are cases where the guinea pigs will be curious and eat them regardless. When they do so they will soon experience dizziness and weakness, as well as digestion problems. If they ingest too much, they will experience anemia.
What to do if my guinea pig ate chives?
There is rarely a case of guinea pigs eating chives on their own. However, there are times when they get curious and consume chives.
As these are harmful to the fragile guinea pigs, we should know what to do in those situations. Here is a list explaining the necessary steps to take when such an event happens.
Observe:
If the number of chives your pet guinea pig took was low, then you should stand by and observe if there is any change in their activity.
Let Them Rest:
They are supposed to feel dizzy once they consume chives, as an owner make sure to give them a proper place to rest.
Otherwise, they might end up in places they are not supposed to or it might be harmful for the little guys.
Provide Fresh & Healthy Food:
Due to the ingestion of the toxic chives, they will not be able to puke after a few hours of taking care of them. Give them something healthy and fresh to eat when you are sure and see if they can digest or not.
Visit a Vet:
Even after doing all the above things you do not see your guinea pig’s health improve as well as they cannot digest anything. Then before it gets serious take them to a professional vet.
How to prevent chives poisoning in guinea pigs?
Since we realize that chives can just blatantly be poison to the body of a guinea pig, we should make plans on how to prevent poisoning of the guinea pigs. Below is a list of steps you can take to prevent chives from poisoning your guinea pigs.
Keep them in a safe place:
Keep your guinea pigs in a cage to ensure their overall safety. This way they will have no access to chives on their own.
However, if you are one of the few people that let their guinea pigs out of the cage then make sure there are no chives around them.
No allium family foods:
Make sure the diet of the guinea pig consists of no food that belongs to the allium family. This will ensure that their food is not toxic or harmful to them.
Healthy diet:
Guinea pigs can become stronger when given a sufficient and healthy diet. This will mold them into stronger creatures that might be able to survive the poisoning of chives sometimes.
Prohibit garden entrance:
Make sure to not let your guinea pigs enter your backyard garden where there might be chives and other veggies that might be harmful to the small guy. At all times keep an eye on them if you let them live out of the cage.
Final Thoughts
Guinea pigs cannot eat chives. Chives are synonymous with venom to the guinea pigs. Once they ingest even a small amount of it, they will experience a multitude of problems. Too much of it can be threatening to their health. Chives and other allium-containing vegetables should be avoided.