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Hay Poke Again! How To Prevent This?

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kerry

kerry

Junior Guinea Pig
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Poor Bambi had a scratched eye again, the second time this year. We've just been to the vet for metacam, eye drops and to have the eye flushed out, thank god it is not ulacerated.

How do you prevent this from happening? I have 4 pigs and she is the only one that manages this. Their hay is in metal racks and they pull it down, maybe that's how she gets a little bit in it. How do you store your hay? If I have it on the floor it gets ruined in seconds with wee and they won't eat it. Snapchat--1762452487872479728.webp Snapchat--1122905926876534821.webp
 
Oh no :( Poor little one, hope the drops do the job soon

We have our hay on the floor, we change it morning and night.... they still eat it despite weeing in it though - ours are not picky
 
Hi Kerry, l now always cut my hay into 2inch long strips , its not as comfortable as bedding , but it reduces the risk of hay poke
 
gizzy said:
Hi Kerry, l now always cut my hay into 2inch long strips , its not as comfortable as bedding , but it reduces the risk of hay poke
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The hay I buy is really short and soft. I scrunch it up in my hands and then put it into the hay rack. What brand do you use?
 
I buy Timothy hay that is long & stalky but I always put it in a bowl in their litter tray, so they eat it from that. I personally don't feel hay racks are safe & are not natural for them as guinea pigs graze at ground level anyway :)
 
I have hay in the litter trays and hay in the bedding area which is just on top of the aubiose. The hay is just dust extracted meadow hay from our local pet suppliers, sourced from local farmers, so it has stalks of all lengths and sometimes thistles in too. I am careful to remove anything sharp looking before it goes in the cage.
 
Poor Bambi. Guinea pigs love hay so much that hay pokes are an acceptable risk. I would just stick to using the softest hay you can find.
 
Hi l use alfafa Timathy, but l am able to cut most any hay, in the same manner , lt may be a bit laborous but it saves hay pokes

Maybe next seasons hay will not be as stoeky
 
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