What is the answer to Can guinea pigs eat Lettuce? It is safe for them to eat a variety of lettuces such as arugula, Butterhead/Boston/Bibb, Romaine/Cos, endive, escarole, red leaf, and dark green leaf lettuces. Iceberg lettuce should not be fed to your guinea pig. Basically, it is safe for guinea pigs to eat almost any type of lettuce other than iceberg lettuce.
The answer is yes, guinea pigs can eat most types of lettuce. Dark green lettuces are great foods for your cavy. They are high in both vitamin A and vitamin C. They also have limited amounts of oxalic acid and sugars. On the other hand, iceberg lettuce should be avoided because of its high water content and limited nutritional value. It also may have toxins that can be detrimental to your guinea pig.
Romaine lettuce is a particularly good choice and should be given to your guinea pig often. It is very high in vitamin C and should be the preferred lettuce type that you feed your cavy. (However, if your cavy often gets stones, then red and green leaf lettuce may be better choices.) Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that will help your guinea pig to fight infections, heal wounds, and perform other important bodily functions. Also, with the proper amount of vitamin C, your guinea pig has less of a chance of getting scurvy. As guinea pigs do not produce their own vitamin C, they must get it from the foods they eat. Leafy greens, such as Romaine lettuce, are healthy and tasty foods that can help give your cavy the right amount of vitamin C to keep them healthy and happy.
Cavies can usually safely eat about one large leaf of the approved lettuce types every other day. Be sure to wash to lettuce prior to feeding it to your guinea pig. Although guinea pigs eat dark green leafy lettuce, be sure to moderate the amount that you are feeding your cavy. Too much of a good thing can easily become a bad thing. In this case, too many lettuces can give your guinea pig diarrhea because of their water content. Therefore, although guinea pigs eat lettuce and it is very healthy in the right amount, just be sure to moderate their intake so they can get the nutritional benefits from the lettuce without any negative side effects.
