The Importance Of Hay In Your Guinea Pigs Diet

Grass and Hay should make up 80% of your guinea pigs diet. Giving your guinea pigs unlimited hay ensures their back teeth are not going to become over grown and the fibre from the hay keeps their gut working. Guinea pigs teeth are constantly growing so grazing on hay helps to keep them at a healthy length.

There are lots of different hays available to buy for your piggies from small vacuum packed hay from your local pet shop to baled hay from your local farm. Here at Swilkinsons we use baled farm hay as its convenient and also we find it to be better quality. When choosing a hay look for the greenest as this will mean it is fresh; long stranded hay is also great as it takes more chewing.Alfalfa hay is only to be fed to guinea pigs younger than 6 months old as it is high in protein and can lead to obesity in older guinea pigs.

There are lots of different ways hay can be fed to make it more exciting…

Cardboard tubes are great fun for your guinea pig when stuffed with hay, they can roll them around and the cardboard is completely safe for consumption.

Hay racks keep the hay clean and off of any wet bedding.

Hay balls are also a great alternative to hay racks.

If you are worried that your guinea pig doesn’t eat enough hay try cutting out their pellets and just leaving them with hay and a small amount of vegetables.