Updated
Small mammal food safety
Can Small Mammals Eat Plums?
Tiny pitted piece
Plain plum flesh can be a tiny rare fruit treat for some healthy small mammals. Remove the pit completely first. Plums are sweet and can loosen stool, so keep the piece very small.
PlumGuinea pigs
Tiny pitted piece
A healthy guinea pig may have a tiny pitted plum piece rarely, but hay and vitamin C foods stay central.
Syrian and dwarf hamsters
Crumb-size piece
A hamster may have a crumb-size plum piece rarely. Dwarf hamsters are usually better skipping sugary fruit.
Rats
Tiny pitted piece
A rat may have a tiny pitted plum piece rarely if the staple diet and stool stay steady.
Mice
Very tiny piece
A mouse needs only a very tiny plum piece. Remove leftovers before they get hidden or guarded.
Gerbils
Tiny rare piece
A gerbil may have a tiny plum piece rarely, but wet fruit should stay limited.
Chinchillas
Skip plum
Do not feed plum to chinchillas. The sugar and moisture are a poor fit for routine feeding.
Ferrets
Do not feed
Do not feed plum to ferrets. Ferrets need meat-based food, not fruit.
Pitted flesh only
The safe comparison is a tiny piece of plum flesh. Pits, prunes, juice, and jam are different questions.
Watch stool
Plum is wet and sweet. Stop fruit if stool softens or the normal diet becomes less interesting.
Remove the pit
- Wash the plum and remove the pit completely before cutting a treat piece.
- Use one tiny plain flesh cube or skin-on slice only if the skin is clean and the fruit is firm.
- Throw away the pit and remove wet leftovers before they sour or get hidden.
Avoid
- Plum pits, cracked pits, stems, leaves, prunes, plum juice, jam, syrup, desserts, sugar, moldy fruit, overripe fruit, and large wet pieces.
- Letting any animal chew the pit or drag plum pieces into bedding.
- Fruit when appetite, stool, droppings, bloating, or energy are already abnormal.
Watch
- Soft stool, diarrhea, bloating, reduced appetite, fewer droppings, hidden plum, staining, choking signs, or quietness after fruit.
- Call an exotic-pet veterinarian or poison hotline if a pit or pit fragment was chewed or swallowed, or if appetite or droppings change.
Portion
Guinea pigs or rats: one tiny slice or cube rarely. Hamsters, mice, or gerbils: a crumb-size piece. Chinchillas and ferrets: none.
Helpful food-safety supplies
Optional tools for measuring, storing, serving, and cleaning up small portions safely.
Affiliate links: Furball Cove may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
