So what is Jicama?
Jicama is a tuber which looks a bit like a turnip. It is sweet and crispy, and has been cultivated in South America for many years.
It is a very popular vegetable in Mexican cooking and its flavour goes well in salsas, salads and vegetable dishes.
They can grow to be pretty large and their size, but the larger they get the more they lose their sugary taste and the taste turns quite starchy.
source: flickr
So can guinea pigs eat Jicama, and if they can how much can they eat?
For the sake of good guinea pig care and consideration, lets dig a little deeper and find out a bit more about this exotic vegetable.
Total Fat 0.1 g 0%
Saturated fat 0 g 0%
Polyunsaturated fat 0 g
Monounsaturated fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 4 mg 0%
Potassium 150 mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 9 g 3%
Dietary fiber 4.9 g 19%
Sugar 1.8 g
Protein 0.7 g 1%
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 33%
Calcium 1%
Iron 3%
Vitamin D 0%
Vitamin B-6 0%
Vitamin B-12 0%
Magnesium 3%
source: google
So the good news is that Jicama contains a good amount of vitamin c which is great for piggies. But on the downside, it is quite sugary and as mentioned above the more mature Jicama’s are quite starchy.
Guinea pigs can eat Jicama, and they will probably enjoy it. However, do be cautious about giving too much to them as it is quite sugary. 3-4 times a week in small amounts should be sufficient. But don’t feed it to them daily.
They should also be able to eat the skin but it is worth hacking off the root, before feeding it to them.