Dandelions

A

Alby101

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Hey. I had two little boys (my guinea pigs). One is recently deceased (heatstroke) and the other is in good health though I'm not sure how much loosing his brother took a tole on him. I'm trying my hardest to help him out, making sure he isn't lonely (reading Jane Eyre to him every night), and giving him more activities to cheer him up. Most of them are feeding him small snacks and hiding them so he can play around. I'm working on other toys and play time activities at the moment, but for right now bribery is all I got.
I have a lot of dandelions in my yard (the small, yellow flowered weeds that turn into white fluff), and since it's getting closer to summer I'm mowing my yards, raking, etc. My family fed them dandelion leaves while I was away, because the leaves are big and soft and my pigs loved them. So I've been picking them as much as I can before I mow them all down. They ate them all up. Which is surprising considering we've tried to feed them everything and anything to make them happy and comfy. After the terrible event of loosing half my pig population, I am desperate to keep the other out of harms way. Does anyone know if this could hurt them? I looked online at foods they should and shouldn't eat but I didn't see anything about these weeds. Please and thank you.
 
Dandelion leaves are fine BUT they are high in calcium and you’ll probably start noticing this in the pee, which will leave white residue. Over the long term this excess calcium can (probably will) cause bladder stones. It’s better to give it sparingly, perhaps twice a week or so like spinach etc which is also high in calcium.

the other thing high in calcium is parsley so lay off that whilst giving dandelion.

I believe it was best to not feed them the actual flowers but I can’t remember why now. Sorry!

hope this helps!
 
Thank you so much! I didn't even think giving him too much would be a problem. Your a lifesaver! Thanks again!
 
All part of the dandelion are edible, but it is fairly high in calcium. Feed it in moderation as part of a veg mix together with some watery veg or fresh grass, and then it is fine.
 
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