100% Timothy Hay Pellet?

cavy love · Apr 29, 2018

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone has ever fed a 100% timothy hay pellet to their guinea pigs? I don't mean a compressed hay cube, but rather a pellet like those from Oxbow or KMS but only made of timothy hay? If so, where did you buy them and how were they? Did your piggies like them?

I have a bladder pig and am looking to cut their current pellet intake with a 100% timothy pellet to reduce the amount of total calcium. I currently have them on KMS but will probably have to switch to Oxbow (now that their pellets don't have calcium carbonate/limestone) due to cost but Oxbow's have a higher max calcium percentage.

I know that I can reduce the overall pellet amount, but my eldest girl (6 ½ years - 935g) and bladder boy (5 ½ - 1kg) are on the small side and need the energy boost. He used to be 1250g but has lost a lot of weight over the course of a few bladder ops, unfortunately.

Thanks!

PigglePuggle · Apr 30, 2018

We only bought 100% natural timothy hay pellets with no additives as thats all we could see in the UK pet stores when we got our piggies a couple of weeks ago. They have doubled in size and are very lively on a diet of hay pellets, fresh hay, and assorted veggies. Not sure what else they could need if they are healthy? Isnt calcium bad for piggy bladders and if they need calcium there is a bit of spinach and suchlike? Are you in the USA by any chance?

cavy love · Apr 30, 2018

@PigglePuggle What pellets did you buy for your guinea pigs (i.e. what brand)?

I've never seen a 100% timothy pellet in a pet store before - they all have added fillers/vitamins/minerals. Although some people go on a pelletless diet, it is difficult to balance the vitamin and mineral needs of your pigs on purely hay and veggies (this would include having them on a 100% timothy pellet instead of a complete pellet because no vitamins/minerals are added - they need other vitamins like B vitamins that are harder to get from veg). Calcium is essential for guinea pig health due to their teeth constantly growing (and obviously bone health), but too much calcium or calcium of the wrong sort for some pigs (calcium carbonate/limestone) is bad. You also need to have some calcium in order for them to process the phosphorus in their food (you can look up information about a Calcium

hosphorus ratio or Ca

ratio). Too little calcium can cause a build up of phosphorus crystals, which is also bad for their bladder. However, there's no consensus on how much is too much or too little for calcium. It's a complex subject, really.

And, I'm in the UK.

PigglePuggle · Apr 30, 2018

Like you say there's no consensus on this, but I doubt wild cavies have folks running out with vitamin supplements all the time. Is there any research suggesting added vitamins and minerals benefit guinea pigs (or any mammal) that is eating a natural balanced diet? Where do these nutrients come from in the wild? As an animal physiologist I'm slightly sceptical of adding nutrients to either human or animal diets for the sake of it, but if you have some scientific research on the subject I'd be interested to read it as I'm fairly new to guinea pigs

Eriathwen · Apr 30, 2018

You might find something on Galens Garden (website) that would be close to what you're after. I buy alpine hay, meadow hay and pure grass pellets from them and they're 100% grass or hay. I'm not sure if they do a timothy one or one thatd be low calcium, but it's the only place I know that makes pure hay or grass pellets.

Guineapigfeet · Apr 30, 2018

I may have missed the point here or not understood what you’re after, but if you want to feed a 100% Timothy hay pellet, with no other ‘bits’ added, be they fillers or balances etc, why feed them a pellet at all? Could you just buy Timothy hay and provide veg for the extra stuff they need?

cavy love · May 2, 2018

Thanks @Eriathwen. I checked them out, but I wasn't happy with the calcium content in their pellets, unfortunately. But good suggestion!

@Guineapigfeet The idea is that pellets are more palatable than hay - they view them differently due to the texture difference. Mine are reluctant to eat more hay if their pellets are reduced, so they lose weight, which they can't afford to do given their low weights and age. After reading up on pelletless diets, other owners also didn't want to risk a pelletless diet if their pigs dropped below a certain weight, as well. They already get a lot of veg and need the extra fibre rather than more veg.

@PigglePuggle Researchers rely on The National Academy of Sciences' Nutrient Requirements of Laboratory Animals to figure out what guinea pigs need. Obviously, our guinea pigs are not laboratory animals, but they are also not wild animals - they've been domesticated over hundreds of years. Wild guinea pigs would generally not live as long as prey animals and wouldn't have eaten the same type of food that our pet guinea pigs eat, which would give a different nutrient balance overall. From reading the experiences of others, feeding a pelletless diet (i.e. one without complete pellets - those with added vitamins and minerals) is difficult to do to maintain the right nutrient balance. It's possible, but not easy, and isn't recommended for those who are older and lower in weight and need the extra nutrition (which mine are). They don't necessarily get enough vitamin D or B vitamins through their diet alone, for example. There are some articles out there in medical/veterinary journals about this, but not many that research all vitamins or their direct effects. Pellets are also more palatable, as I've mentioned above, so they're an easier way to ensure nutritional balance - they should only make up a small percentage of their overall diet, though. GuineaLynx is a good source of information and has some cross references to articles, if you haven't come across it yet.

Also, could you please let me know what brand of 100% timothy pellets you found? It would be super helpful. Thanks!

Guineapigfeet · May 2, 2018

Thank you for such a full answer! It hadn’t occurred that they might have a preference of pellet food over hay!

Drucilla · Aug 9, 2019

A lot of pelleted food has some kind of sweetner added such a molasses or sugar beat pulp, guinea pigs have a sweet tooth so they will choose this over hay if its readily available, too much sugar can upset the gut.