Can Guinea Pigs Eat Watermelon?

When hot summer weather arrives, there’s nothing more refreshing for people to eat at a summer picnic or family barbecue than a cold watermelon. If you’re a guinea pig owner it’s only natural that you would wonder whether guinea pigs can eat watermelon and enjoy that refreshing juiciness like you do.

The good news is guinea pigs can eat watermelon. The fleshy part of the watermelon is high in water content which means it’s great for keeping your pet hydrated in hot weather. Although watermelon tastes best to humans when it’s nice and cold, feeding cold foods right out of the refrigerator can cause tummy problems for your guinea pig. If you choose to feed watermelon to your guinea pig, it’s probably best to serve it at room temperature or only slightly colder than room temperature.

Is Watermelon Safe For Guinea Pigs to Eat?

To help ensure that watermelon is safe for your guinea pigs to eat remove the seeds from any bits of watermelon that you offer your guinea pig just to ensure they don’t choke. When buying watermelon for your guinea pigs, buy organic watermelon if at possible.

Organic watermelon comes from a farm or a farmer’s market that is certified organic which means they use no chemical fertilizers or pesticides during the growing process. If you cannot buy organic watermelon, purchase watermelon from the store and bring it home to thoroughly wash it before feeding it to your pet.

Washing the watermelon ensures that you have removed any kind of pesticide residue on the watermelon that could make your guinea pigs sick. Do not feed any watermelon to your guinea pigs that you would not eat yourself. Guinea pigs eat a variety of foods but they do have a somewhat delicate digestive system. Any foods that have begun to wilt or rot in any way can wreak havoc on their digestive system.

How Much Watermelon Can Guinea Pigs Eat?

When including watermelon as part of your guinea pig’s diet, it’s important to know that the fleshy part of the watermelon contains a lot of sugar, over 30 grams per 10 calories. Since too much sugar can cause problems for your guinea pig, you should restrict watermelon and other melons in your guinea pig’s diet to only occasionally, maybe once a week.

There are plenty of other fruits that your guinea pig can enjoy that two to three times a week that don’t have as much sugar in them such as:

• Grapes
• Mangos
• Rasperries
• Apples
• Blackberries
• Bananas
• Kiwi
• Pears
• Oranges
• Plums
• Nectarines

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Watermelon Rind?

Believe it or not, guinea pigs can eat the watermelon rind. In fact, many pet owners cut watermelon for their guinea pigs so that only a tiny bit of the fleshy fruit remains on the rind and then cut the rind into small strips. By doing this, you can enjoy the main part of the watermelon for yourself but still have a tasty treat for your guinea pigs.