can guinea pigs eat mustard cress

Can Guinea Pigs eat Mustard Cress?

Mustard cress is also called cress, garden pepper cress, pepperwort, pepper grass or poor man’s pepper.

It is a fast growing and edible herb.

It is an annual plant which can reach a height of 60cm with many branches on the other part.

Mustard cress is commercially grown in England, France, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

It is added to soups, sandwiches and salads for its tangy flavor.

It is also eaten as sprouts, and the fresh or dried seed pods can be used as a peppery seasoning.

Mustard cress is a high nutrient food when it is consumed raw and contains a substantial amount of vitamins A, C and K.

So is mustard cress a food that guinea pigs can eat?

Can guinea pigs eat mustard cress?

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

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

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 134 kJ (32 kcal)
Carbohydrates
5.5 g
Sugars 4.4 g
Dietary fiber 1.1 g
Fat
0.7 g
Protein
2.6 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv.
beta-carotene
lutein zeaxanthin
(43%) 346 μg
(38%) 4150 μg
12500 μg
Thiamine (B1) (7%) 0.08 mg
Riboflavin (B2) (22%) 0.26 mg
Niacin (B3) (7%) 1 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5) (5%) 0.247 mg
Vitamin B6 (19%) 0.247 mg
Folate (B9) (20%) 80 μg
Vitamin C (83%) 69 mg
Vit E (5%) 0.7 mg
Vitamin K (516%) 541.9 μg
Minerals
Calcium (8%) 81 mg
Iron (10%) 1.3 mg
Magnesium (11%) 38 mg
Manganese (26%) 0.553 mg
Phosphorus (11%) 76 mg
Potassium (13%) 606 mg
Other constituents
Water 89.4 g

source wikipedia

As you can see mustard cress contains huge amount of water, quite a bit of phosphorus and calcium, a lot of acidic content, a little sugar and a hint of fat.

What does this mean?

This means that mustard cress is not a good food for guinea pigs to eat.

Because of its water and acidic content, it should be avoided  as a food.

Appearances can definitely be deceiving when it comes to mustard cress as it very much looks like it should be a food that is fine for them to eat.

But its content is too much for piggies and makes it a food that should be avoided.

If they eat one or two flowers, then they will be okay. But try and keep them from eating a lot.

What to do if they eat a lot of mustard cress?

If they happen to eat a lot of it, make sure you have plenty of water and hay for them to eat, to settle their stomach.

Also monitor their behavior and check that they are okay.

If you notice any sickness, then take them to a veterinary surgeon who will be able to prescribe good suitable medication for them.

For more foods that guinea pigs can and can’t eat, check out our guinea pig food list.

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