Olives are grown all across the Mediterranean and have been grown and cultivated since ancient times.
They are mainly green and black but also come in shades of colour in between them. This colour reflects the different stages of ripening depending on when they are picked.
Green olives tend to be harvested between October and November when get are still,quite immature. When they are picked they are mainly used to make olive oil but, the rest are preserved by either being pickled, marinated, or occasionally salted.
Info source; bbc good food
So can guinea pigs eat green olives, and if they can, how much can they eat?
Let’s take a look at their nutritional data and find out more.
In particular, their calcium, sugar, acidic, fat, and phosphorus content is most pertinent to guinea pigs.
Marinated green olives
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energyt609 kJ (146 kcal)
Carbohydratest3.84 g
– Sugarst0.54 g
– Dietary fibert3.3 g
Fatt15.32 g
– saturatedt2.029 g
– monounsaturatedt11.314 g
– polyunsaturatedt1.307 g
Proteint1.03 g
Vitamin A equiv.t20 μg (3%)
– beta-carotenet231 μg (2%)
– lutein and zeaxanthint510 μg
Thiamine (vit. B1)t0.021 mg (2%)
Riboflavin (vit. B2)t0.007 mg (1%)
Niacin (vit. B3)t0.237 mg (2%)
Vitamin B6t0.031 mg (2%)
Folate (vit. B9)t3 μg (1%)
Cholinet14.2 mg (3%)
Vitamin Et3.81 mg (25%)
Vitamin Kt1.4 μg (1%)
Calciumt52 mg (5%)
Iront0.49 mg (4%)
Magnesiumt11 mg (3%)
Phosphorust4 mg (1%)
Potassiumt42 mg (1%)
Sodiumt1556 mg (104%)
Source: USDA Nutrient Database
As you can see, green olives contain a hint of phosphorus, some calcium, a hint of sugar, a little acidic but are high in fat. But the other noticeable thing is that they are really high in sodium, which is not good for guinea pigs as too much salt is not good for then.
So guinea pigs can eat olives in very small amounts on an occasional basis, as long as they are aren’t pickled or marinated or doused in salt. Once or twice a month should suffice.
However they have no vitamin c in them and so have no benefit in that sense for guinea pigs
If you want to give your guinea pigs a green olive, as long as they are fresh that should be fine. But nothing more than that.