Of all the fruits in the stone fruit family, plums are the juiciest of them all.
There are many different varieties, however they all have some key characteristics in common with each other which are skins which are richly coloured and smooth with a stone in the centre. They come in different colour from green, yellow and red to purple. They also have a cloudy bloom on their skin.
So if we can eat them, can guinea pigs eat plums as well, and if they can, how much can they eat?
Lets take a further look by analysing their nutritional data in more detail. In particular, their calcium, sugar, phosphorus, fat, and acidic content.
A good amount of vitamin a and c would also be of great benefit to guinea pigs.
Energy 192 kJ (46 kcal)
Carbohydrates 11.42 g
– Sugars 9.92 g
– Dietary fiber 1.4 g
Fat 0.28 g
Protein 0.7 g
Vitamin A equiv. 17 μg (2%)
– beta-carotene 190 μg (2%)
– lutein and zeaxanthin 73 μg
Thiamine (vit. B1) 0.028 mg (2%)
Riboflavin (vit. B2) 0.026 mg (2%)
Niacin (vit. B3) 0.417 mg (3%)
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.135 mg (3%)
Vitamin B6 0.029 mg (2%)
Folate (vit. B9) 5 μg (1%)
Vitamin C 9.5 mg (11%)
Vitamin E 0.26 mg (2%)
Vitamin K 6.4 μg (6%)
Calcium 6 mg (1%)
Iron 0.17 mg (1%)
Magnesium 7 mg (2%)
Manganese 0.052 mg (2%)
Phosphorus 16 mg (2%)
Potassium 157 mg (3%)
Sodium 0 mg (0%)
Zinc 0.1 mg (1%)
Fluoride 2 µg
(source: Wikipedia)
As you can see, plums contain a hint of calcium, phosphorus, and fat. But are quite sugary and acidic.
They also contain some vitamin c and a.
Because of the above information, guinea pigs can eat plums, but only once or twice a week at the most.
They can also eat the skin if you want to feed it to them, but do cut out the stone as you cut it up as they will choke on it if you feed it to them.