Dragon fruit is a bright red leathery skinned fruit that has a sweet taste.
Otherwise known as a pitahaya, or the pitaya, the dragon fruit is often compared to a kiwi fruit as it has crunchy black seeds and it has quite a bland taste with a mild sweetness.
So if we can eat dragon fruit, can guinea pigs eat it and if so, how much can they eat?
As per usual, lets look at the nutritional data and take a closer look.
We’re particularly at the calcium, fat, sugar, phosphorus, and oxelate acid content. A good amount of vitamin a and c would also be extremely beneficial.
Nutrient Amount per 100 g %
Water 87 g NA
Protein 1.1 g 2.1 %
Fat 0.4 g NA Contains little or no fat
Carbohydrates 11.0 g 3.4 %
Fiber 3 g 12 %
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 0.04 mg 2.7 %
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.05 mg 2.9 %
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 0.16 mg 0.8 %
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) 20.5 mg 34.2 % A high amount of vitamin c
Calcium (Ca) 8.5 mg 0.9 %
Iron (Fe) 1.9 mg 10.6 %
Phosphorus (P) 22.5 mg 2.3 % contains a small amount of phosphorus
Zinc (Zn) NA NA
as you can see it contains a hint of fat, and calcium, but does contain a small amount of phosphorus. But its vitamin c content is very good.
This means that guinea pigs can eat dragon fruit, but because of its phosphorus content, don’t feed every day. 3-4 times a week will suffice.