With guinea pigs being the second most commonly kept pet rodent behind hamsters, we commonly see people asking a wide range of questions about caring for their pet guinea pigs.
This can range from how to set their cage up to what you should be feeding them and everything in between and over the last couple of weeks, we have been trying to cover as many of these questions as possible.
Although it’s not the most common question that we see, there has been some heated discussions about if guinea pigs can drink cranberry juice on social media recently so we wanted to talk about this for today’s article.
Our hope is that we will be able to help as many of our readers as possible better understand why so many people say that you can and so many people say that you can’t give your guinea pig cranberry juice.
Ideally though, you should have a vet check your guinea pig over to check their health and offer professional advice on what your guinea pig can and can’t eat or drink.
Can Guinea Pigs Drink Cranberry Juice?
Although many people think that you can’t let your guinea pig drink cranberry juice, a healthy guinea pig is able to drink small amounts of cranberry juice provided that it is a no added sugar cranberry juice.
This is the mistake that we see so many people make time and time again.
This is why the discussions on social media are so heated with people backing both options.
A guinea pig shouldn’t be drinking any cranberry juice product with sugar added to it no matter how little you give your guinea pig but on the flip side of that, you can give your guinea pig a small amount of no added sugar cranberry juice to drink.
You should also be checking the cranberry juice products for anything that has large amounts of preservatives in it too as anything high in preservatives should also be avoided for your pet guinea pig too.
Many guinea pigs really do seem to enjoy having a small amount of cranberry juice in their diet too as it can make a nice change from regular water while also having a unique taste to it.
How Much Cranberry Juice Can A Guinea Pig Drink?
The key thing to remember is that guinea pigs shouldn’t be drinking large amounts of cranberry juice.
A small amount given to them once a week or fortnight is plenty for them.
This is because cranberry juice does contain a lot of natural sugar in it which can lead to weight gain and other health problems in guinea pigs if they are given too much of it.
It’s also worth noting that guinea pigs can’t vomit so if they do drink too much cranberry juice, there is a chance that it could make them very ill.
As we always say, the best thing to do is speak to your vet before giving your guinea pig any new food or drink to make sure that it is suitable for them.
This is especially important with cranberry juice as too much of it can quickly lead to health problems in guinea pigs.
When giving your guinea pig cranberry juice, always make sure that you give them a small amount and never give them any cranberry juice with sugar added to it.
Can Cranberry Juice Give Guinea Pigs Bladder Stones?
There is a lot of talk on social media about cranberry juice causing bladder stones in guinea pigs but this isn’t something that you need to worry about.
Bladder stones are actually quite rare in guinea pigs and there are many other factors that can contribute to their formation such as a lack of water in their diet or a diet high in calcium.
Cranberry juice isn’t going to cause bladder stones in guinea pigs but it is important to make sure that they are drinking enough water as this can help to prevent them.
Is It Worth Giving Your Guinea Pig Cranberry Juice?
In most cases, it’s probably not even worth trying to give your guinea pig any cranberry juice.
Just because your guinea pig can drink small amounts of cranberry juice, doesn’t mean that you should give it to your pet guinea pig.
It will often take more time and effort to find a suitable cranberry juice product that is safe for your guinea pig to actually drink when there are multiple alternatives available that you are able to give to your guinea pig instead.
