Hi.. I am from a really small place and guinea pigs are rare here. I've run out of hay, and none of the stores have it. I've ordered online but even it is going to take quite a bit of time to arrive. Is there something I can give them instead of hay? I'm really clueless here.
Hay replacement?
- Thread starter Wrii
- Start date
Lady Kelly
Senior Guinea Pig
Unfortunately as hay makes up 80% of their diet and is vital in maintaining the correct tooth length there is no substitute. You can feed them some fresh grass if you can get hold of it but not too much if they aren't used to eating it. Do you have any farms or farm shops near you? If you look for places that cater for horses you should find more hay
Try to look for timothy hay in local equine supply places if you live in a rural area.
Hay is really central to what guinea pigs need to eat. It is the very abrasive silica in hay that is griding down their crucial back teeth (which have evolved to grown at the exactly the speed needed against the silica) and their guts are laid out to work on a mainly hay based diet.
Too much grass only all of a sudden can cause diarrhea or bloating but it also contains the silica needed for the teeth.
You can feed more pellets but they dissolve into a paste in the mouth when in contact with saliva and don't help grinding down the back teeth. They are also generally full of fillers that are not as healthy as hay, which is the reason why the pellet recommendation has gone down to 1 tablespoon per adult piggy per day on a regular diet.
The combination of both can work for a few days but it is not ideal for the longer term.
I am moving your thread to the food section for you.
Hay is really central to what guinea pigs need to eat. It is the very abrasive silica in hay that is griding down their crucial back teeth (which have evolved to grown at the exactly the speed needed against the silica) and their guts are laid out to work on a mainly hay based diet.
Too much grass only all of a sudden can cause diarrhea or bloating but it also contains the silica needed for the teeth.
You can feed more pellets but they dissolve into a paste in the mouth when in contact with saliva and don't help grinding down the back teeth. They are also generally full of fillers that are not as healthy as hay, which is the reason why the pellet recommendation has gone down to 1 tablespoon per adult piggy per day on a regular diet.
The combination of both can work for a few days but it is not ideal for the longer term.
I am moving your thread to the food section for you.