Sharon fruit are also called persimmons.
They are eaten fresh, dried, raw, or cooked.
When eaten fresh, they are usually eaten whole like an apple in bite-size slices and may be peeled. One way to consume ripe Sharon fruit, which may have a soft texture, is to remove the top leaf with a paring knife and scoop out the flesh with a spoon.
Riper persimmons can also be eaten by removing the top leaf, breaking the fruit in half, and eating from the inside out.
The flesh ranges from firm to mushy, and, when firm owing to being unripe, has an apple-like crunch.
They are completely inedible until they are fully ripe.
Can guinea pigs eat Sharon fruit?
Let’s take a look at their nutritional data and find out more.
In particular, their acidic, water, sugar, fat, salt, calcium and phosphorus data is of most interest as far as guinea pigs are concerned.
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 293 kJ (70 kcal)
Carbohydrates
18.59 g
Sugars 12.53 g
Dietary fiber 3.6 g
Fat
0.19 g
Protein
0.58 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv.
beta-Carotene
lutein zeaxanthin
(10%) 81 μg
(2%) 253 μg
834 μg
Thiamine (B1) (3%) 0.03 mg
Riboflavin (B2) (2%) 0.02 mg
Niacin (B3) (1%) 0.1 mg
Vitamin B6 (8%) 0.1 mg
Folate (B9) (2%) 8 μg
Choline (2%) 7.6 mg
Vitamin C (9%) 7.5 mg
Vit E (5%) 0.73 mg
Vitamin K (2%) 2.6 μg
Minerals
Calcium (1%) 8 mg
Iron (1%) 0.15 mg
Magnesium (3%) 9 mg
Manganese (17%) 0.355 mg
Phosphorus (2%) 17 mg
Potassium (3%) 161 mg
Sodium (0%) 1 mg
Zinc (1%) 0.11 mg
source wikipedia
As you can see, Sharon fruit contains a hint of salt and fat, calcium, quite a lot of acidic content and sugar.
This means that guinea pigs can eat Sharon fruit but only in small amounts. They are just too acidic and sweet to be eaten regularly. So they are a nice treat for guinea pigs to eat.
A few pieces once a week is sufficient for them to back up their regular diet of hay, water, veggies and guinea pig mix/nuggets.
How should sharon fruit be eaten by guinea pigs?
Sharon fruit are eaten fresh, dried, and raw.
When eaten fresh, they are usually eaten whole like an apple in bite-size slices, and may be peeled.
Those that have a soft texture may not be as appealing to guinea pigs
Riper sharon fruit may be more appealing for them.
Just remove the top leaf, break the fruit into small pieces which are easy for them to consume.
They will prefer smaller pieces that they can easily manage.
Before feeding to them, make sure that it is washed thoroughly so any bacteria is removed for your piggies.
For more foods that guinea pigs can and can’t eat, check out our guinea pig food list.
