Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour and water, usually by baking. Throughout history, it has been a prominent food in large parts of the world and is one of the oldest man-made foods, having been of significant importance since the dawn of agriculture.
Bread may be leavened by processes such as reliance on naturally occurring sourdough microbes, or chemicals. Commercial bread commonly contains additives to improve flavor, texture, color, shelf life, nutrition, and ease of manufacturing. The question now is can guinea pigs eat bread? What nutritional benefit can they derive from bread? What is the health risk of feeding your pets bread? All these questions and other ones will be answered in this article.
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Bread
No, guinea pigs should not eat bread although it does not have toxic nutrients nor does it possess beneficial nutrients either. They are strictly herbivores and have very delicate digestive tracts. Hay, guinea pig pellets, and fresh veggies are standard recommended food for them. In some cases, you can feed your guinea pig bread but only occasionally. Remember that bread doesn't have any nutritional value for guinea pigs, and you should avoid feeding your guinea pig this food. If you decide to feed your guinea pig bread, give them a small amount of bread once in a while.
Due to bread being processed food, and guinea pigs having the ability not to digest processed nutriment it can lead to choking and some digestive issues if not properly monitored when given to them.
Does Bread Offer Nutritional Benefit For Guinea pigs?
Bread is a processed food made from dough and water, and it possesses no nutritional benefit for guinea pigs making them useless as a diet for keeping them healthy. Although it offers no benefit for guinea pigs, however, a small amount can cause no harm, but a large quantity means you deliberately make your guinea pigs prone to health risks. Bread can come in different sizes, shapes, or flavors, but in general, they all possess a certain amount of nutrients, and they are indicated in the following bullet points
- 74 calories: It is an easy way for leading your guinea pigs to obesity because of the total amount of calories present
- 1.2g of fibers: Fibers aid digestion and normal bread contains a low amount of fiber which indicates it is good for digestion
- 15.1g of carbs: carbs are used for fast energy, and bread contains 15.1g of this
- 0.7g of fats: a tiny amount of fats is needed for energy daily, and bread contains this amount
- 2.9g of protein: Bread also contains a low amount of protein
Health Risk Of Serving Bread To Guinea Pigs
Due to the low amount of beneficial nutrients present in bread, you will find out that their health risk is far greater than any nutrient they derive from the food. Therefore, the following bullet points highlight possible health risks of serving guinea pigs bread
Bloatedness issue
The build-up of carbohydrates and calories present in bread in the body system of guinea pigs will lead to obesity and eventually cause bloatedness. This bloatedness is easy to identify because you will see a roundness or distended around their bellies, and this can sometimes lead to heavy breathing and restlessness. If not properly taken care of or the nutrients are improved it can lead to surgery for your pets
Choking
A soft bread or day bread can easily get stuck around their throats and sometimes mouths which can cause choking or suffocation in the process of chewing by your guinea pigs. White bread is known to cause the highest amount of choking therefore, it should not be given to them
Scurvy
Guinea pigs are known for not being able to generate their vitamin C therefore, they mostly require food that can give them a decent amount of vitamin C per day to avoid getting a vitamin C deficiency called scurvy. Feeding your pets bread that does not contain any nutritional benefit as a meal is making your pets prone to this deficiency. The only solution is to provide food rich in vitamin C for your pets.
Digestive problem
Bread is processed food that serves as nothing but junk food for your pets. Junk food is known to cause digestive system disturbance and imbalance for guinea pigs and eventually, if not properly taken care of can lead to bloating or severe digestive problems
Malnutrition
Bread lack the essential nutrient that makes a good diet to keep your pets healthy instead they contribute to health risk like constipation, diarrhea, diabetes, obesity, etc when given to them in the wrong proportion. These various health risks can then lead to malnutrition for your pet since there won't be any suitable nutrients present in their digestive system.
Should Guinea Pigs Eat These various types of bread?
White bread
No, White bread is not suitable for guinea pigs since they mostly lead to choking when given to them. This is because this type of bread is made from refined flour which can not be digested in the bloodstream of your pets. They also lack the essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals to keep your pets healthy
Brown bread
Guinea pigs can eat brown bread, but it should be in moderation since they don't offer more nutritional nutrients except for fiber. Overfeeding them with brown bread can cause digestive and urinary problems, Or various health issues because of the lack of essential nutrients.
Pita bread
Pita bread should not be served to your pets because they are made from a decent amount of sugar and flour which can cause obesity, diabetes, and various health risk due to too much carbohydrate content present in them.
Conclusion
Guinea pigs can not feed on processed food because it is difficult for their digestive system to digest them. Most of the time, their digestive system can not digest them at all. And this processed food includes bread indicating that it is not suitable or recommended food for your pets if you want them healthy and alive. Bread is also known to offer no nutritional benefit therefore, there should be no pressure of feeding them the food. Every other thing you need to know about guinea pigs and bread has also been discussed in this article.
