Dangerous hay racks?

Sianalexandra1

Sianalexandra1

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I was thinking about buying a hay rack for my girls as I recently switched to fleece bedding and they think it's a competition to see who can spread the most hay on the floor, they then don't eat it as they must not like the taste of their urine. I was looking at hay racks and I came across this picture with a positive review saying they love to climb in the rack and play? Surely this is not safe for them? Either way it's put me off, does anyone have any other suggestions for what I can use to keep the hay in one place?1571318098054.webp
 
Any rack which the slats are far enough apart that guinea pigs can get their heads stuck in is dangerous.
However the hay rack in the picture is not one which is dangerous. My sister has one of those for her rabbits and they are very small, no chance of any piggies being hurt by getting stuck.The slats are close so no chance of anybody getting caught in it. But the rack itself is also fairly small so you would be filling it up constantly!
However, the animal in the picture is a chinchilla who, I can vouch from having had one in the past, will climb in and on everything!

I have two of the racks like this. They are big enough so hold plenty of hay (I fill them three times a day) but the gaps aren’t far enough apart to risk any injuries.
 

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I have those. When Velvet had her babies over 3 years ago, Meg's favourite thing to do (until she got too large) was to jump in the hayrack and start scoffing!

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I used to use over the door storage baskets for hay racks, similar concept but cheaper, and Willow used to leap into it all the time. I did end up changing from this to a little tray eventually just incase she did ever hurt herself. It's all down to personal judgement x
 
We have Rosewood corner litter trays (rabbit size) for hay in our fleecy cage areas, they are very safe to sit in and easy to clean!
Here is Piggle modelling the large size of Rosewood corner tray we have in the kitchen area, we have 2 medium sized ones too in the corners of the bedroom fleecy area :)
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It has been known for guinea pigs to get their top front teeth stuck on a high horizontal hay rack bar and slip with their feet, they can't get out of the position. But this could happen on the sides of a cage. Just a freak thing I think... I hope
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
It has been known for guinea pigs to get their top front teeth stuck on a high horizontal hay rack bar and slip with their feet, they can't get out of the position. But this could happen on the sides of a cage. Just a freak thing I think... I hope
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That’s is a good point. My hay racks are always as low as they can go (touching the floor) so the hay rack is only half way up a guinea pig standing on their back legs so hopefully that risk is reduced.
 
Piggies&buns said:
That’s is a good point. My hay racks are always as low as they can go (touching the floor) so the hay rack is only half way up a guinea pig standing on their back legs so hopefully that risk is reduced.
Click to expand...
Good idea, I'm guessing if you caught the pig early enough they would be OK, but sods law sais you won't. This reminds me of one of my old gerbils, I got home to him hanging from his back leg trapped in the metal ladder of his cage. Luckily I was in time to release him, he bit me hard when I got him out. Must have felt vulnerable
 
Piggies&buns said:
Any rack which the slats are far enough apart that guinea pigs can get their heads stuck in is dangerous.
However the hay rack in the picture is not one which is dangerous. My sister has one of those for her rabbits and they are very small, no chance of any piggies being hurt by getting stuck.The slats are close so no chance of anybody getting caught in it. But the rack itself is also fairly small so you would be filling it up constantly!
However, the animal in the picture is a chinchilla who, I can vouch from having had one in the past, will climb in and on everything!

I have two of the racks like this. They are big enough so hold plenty of hay (I fill them three times a day) but the gaps aren’t far enough apart to risk any injuries.
Click to expand...
Ahh thank you, I was looking at this rack but I wasn't sure if the gaps were too big. I'll be ordering this one soon 😊
 
PigglePuggle said:
We have Rosewood corner litter trays (rabbit size) for hay in our fleecy cage areas, they are very safe to sit in and easy to clean!
Here is Piggle modelling the large size of Rosewood corner tray we have in the kitchen area, we have 2 medium sized ones too in the corners of the bedroom fleecy area :)
View attachment 124180
Click to expand...
I've been doing something similar with an old pigloo that they always flipped upside down but they still just drag it across the cage floor, usually within minutes of me putting it in a nice pile for them :hb:
 
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