Mushrooms?

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tia2370

Post   » Sat Apr 17, 2010 3:29 pm


My boyfriend just asked about mushroom for the piggies. We're out and about and have limited web access. Could someone explian why they can't have them? I'm pretty sure they can't. Am I correct?

Cinnabuns Legacy

Post   » Sat Apr 17, 2010 4:38 pm


Mushrooms, particularly raw ones of certain variates (I can't remember them all but they are ones commonly eaten by people raw and cooked), can contain toxins that can affect people negatively. Thus I wouldn't risk it. As far as I know cavies aren't really designed to eat fungi like mushrooms.

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PinkRufus
Contributor in 2020

Post   » Sat Apr 17, 2010 7:16 pm


Cavies are grass eaters/grazers. Their diet is more similar to a horse or cow than it is to ours.

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Feylin

Post   » Sat Apr 17, 2010 8:39 pm


It's not on the list in the care guide. If you want to be adventurous, things with chlorophyl are usually a better bet i've found- mint, cress, dill, ect.

jedifreac

Post   » Sat Apr 17, 2010 8:45 pm


Mushrooms are a fungus, not a plant!

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tia2370

Post   » Sat Apr 17, 2010 9:15 pm


That's kind of what I figured. He wanted to exactly why they couldn't have them. I told him that they weren't listed as safe and he asked why, again. I figured it was because they were a fungus but told him I'd ask you guys. The piggies enjoyed a nice treat of grass today. We're hoping to take them outside some this summer in a modified store cage that we use for travel.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 17, 2010 9:19 pm


I can't think of them being all that nutritious. I guess I would rather be safe than sorry. They just don't sound like a very good guinea pig food!

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rshevin

Post   » Sat Apr 17, 2010 10:34 pm


I honestly can't think of a good reason tia. I agree completely with better safe than sorry, that they have the potential to be toxic, and no real nutrition. When you balance the risk with the lack of benefit that's the only real reason I can come up with. I think those are very GOOD reasons, and I'd never feed them, but I don't have the kind of answer I think he wants.

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Kat

Post   » Sat Apr 17, 2010 10:50 pm


I've been wondering the same thing, as my parents keep offering me mushrooms to feed the pigs. I can never tell them exactly why they're not for pigs, and would really like to know!

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Sun Apr 18, 2010 3:47 am


Mushrooms contain monomethyl hydrazine when they are uncooked and that's very toxic to piggies.

Cinnabuns Legacy

Post   » Sun Apr 18, 2010 4:05 pm


Pigjes, yes that's the toxin I was thinking of, thank you (I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was called). I know it's not great for people either, though that doesn't stop some people from eating raw mushrooms anyway.

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Mon Apr 19, 2010 1:44 am


Indeed, it's toxic to humans too. It gets destroyed when being cooked or baked, most of it. The residue doesn't harm us. Well, eating raw mushrooms, the reason why some do that .... ; )

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