Your morning adorable: Guinea pigs eat watermelon

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Though pocket-pet experts say that grass hay and commercially available pellet food should make up the majority of a guinea pig’s diet, many owners supplement the little guys’ diets with fresh fruits and vegetables. A special favorite of the guinea pigs shown here: watermelon! (The Humane Society of the United States cautions that the seeds should be removed from watermelon, apples and other fruits before feeding them to guinea pigs.)

Unlike most other mammals, guinea pigs’ bodies can’t synthesize vitamin C. (Humans, of course, are another species that can’t.) So, like humans, they need to consume food that contains this nutrient -- a small amount of orange or kale, for example, will do the trick. If they don’t get enough vitamin C, guinea pigs can even contract scurvy (perhaps the only trait these little creatures share with pirates).

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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: mooz2008 via YouTube