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Thursday, June 19, 2014

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Kabocha Squash?

Kabocha squash is sometimes called Japanese pumpkin. In Japan, it was once believed that eating kabocha squash on the winter solstice could prevent the common cold. Kabocha squash is said to be an aphrodisiac. Therefore, we're going to recommend upfront that it never be fed to naughty old Randy--he certainly doesn't need it! :-)

As a winter squash, we can have kabocha squash 2-4 times per week. Remember, like all veggies, kabocha squash should be fed to us raw, not cooked. Since this thing is pretty big, go ahead and share some with your human. (Remember, unlike us, humans generally eat their food cooked! You can find a recipe they can use here.)

The humans said they had a tough time cutting into this thing. Luckily, we don't have to worry about that.

At first, it's a struggle for dominance for control of the food plate with Lola. Then I get bored and start eating a shoe.

I thought kabocha squash was okay, but nothing special. Lola and Buffy seemed to love it, though. On their behalf, I guess I'll give kabocha squash 4/5 stars.

5 comments:

  1. We've never heard of kabocha squash. we have a question. One of our humans recently got strep throat. She got to stay home from school, and played with us. Can guinea pigs catch a sickness from a human? Thanks!
    XOXO
    Ashley & Wendy

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    1. From what we've read, the answer is yes. Please keep in mind that there's a difference between viral infections and bacterial infections; when we're talking about strep throat, we're talking about a bacterial infection, and bacterial infections can infect almost any living organism. You'll probably want to have the sick human wash their hands frequently and minimize their contact with the piggies as much as possible until the infection passes. Great question, by the way! We may flesh out our response in a future Ask A Guinea Pig post.

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  2. She's better now. Neither of us have showed any symptoms of sickness lately. Thanks for the answer!
    XOXO
    Ashley & Wendy

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  3. Big problem, big problem, big problem. This is Wendy & Ashley's owner speaking. Wendy and Ashley hate leaving their cage, but I need them to get floor time! They won't come out by themselves. I always have to lift up their pigloos and pick them up. and when they do get out, they don't run around or anything! They just rattle their cage bars trying to get back in! How do I keep them healthy by giving them floor time by themselves!?!? I've had them for 6 months now!

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    Replies
    1. We would recommend encouraging Wendy and Ashley to explore more with treats. Put the treats somewhere in the room that will require them to stop hanging around the cage. Also, you may want to try setting up a piggy city so they won't feel as vulnerable.

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