can guinea pigs eat dock leaves

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Dock Leaves?

Rumex obtusifolius, commonly known as a bitter dock, broad-leaved dock, blunt leaf dock, dock leaf or butter dock,

It is a perennial weed in the family Polygonaceae.

It is native to Europe but can now be found in the United States and many other countries around the world such as Australia and New Zealand. (source)

Can guinea pigs eat dock leaves?

Let’s take a look at their nutritional data and find out more.

In particular, their acidic, water, sugar, fat, salt, calcium and phosphorus content is of most interest as far as guinea pigs are concerned.

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 92 kJ (22 kcal)
Carbohydrates 3.2 g
Dietary fiber 2.9 g
Fat 0.7 g
Protein2 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv. (25%) 200 μg
Thiamine (B1) (3%) 0.04 mg
Riboflavin (B2) (8%) 0.1 mg
Niacin (B3) (3%) 0.5 mg
Vitamin B6 (9%) 0.122 mg
Folate (B9) (3%) 13 μg
Vitamin C (58%) 48 mg
Minerals
Calcium (4%) 44 mg
Iron (18%) 2.4 mg
Magnesium (29%) 103 mg
Manganese (17%) 0.349 mg
Phosphorus (9%) 63 mg
Potassium (8%) 390 mg
Zinc (2%) 0.2 mg source

As you can see dock leaves, are high in acidic content and phosphorus. They also contain a little calcium.

This means that they are not recommended for guinea pigs to eat and should be avoided due to the plant’s acidic and phosphorus content.

They do look like the kind of leaves you might be able to feed a guinea pig, but because of their content, they are not recommended.

If they happen to nibble one, then do keep an eye on them and if you see any detrimental effects then it would be worth consulting a veterinary surgeon.

For more foods that guinea pigs can and can eat check out our guinea pig food list

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