How is straw for fibre?

[Abnoba]

I got a pack of straw out of curiosity the other week, and put a nice thick layer of it on top of my piggies bedding.

They were munching away happily and seemed to love it! Now I was just wondering how is it from a health point of view, obviously I was still giving them hay in a hayrack, but could one just swap the two?

How good is straw for guinea pigs? Or is it just something that tastes nice to them and thats about it?

//EDIT: could a mod please move this into the food area? I dont know why I posted this in housing O_o

 

[linda.b]

Having looked it up, apparantly straw has little nutitional value so i would say they still need hay. Also straw tends to be quite rough and sharp and there have been reported cases of eye injuries in small animals. A farming site is warning farmers that wet straw contains bacteria harmful to lambs. Hope this info helps.

 

[cavykind]

When I see straw in pet stores, I do wonder who even bothers buying it :

Barbara

 

[chinakit]

Well it depends on the type of straw. If you can get oat straw it is quite nutritious, but not available in some parts of the country. Wheat straw tends to be very stiff and can damage piggy eyes, and barley straw has spiky bits of barley heads in it, which can also be damaging.

Some pet beddings are made of straw that has been cut really small and 'smashed about' until it's quite soft (it Russel Rabbit bedding and similar). These make quite good bedding materials, but are not really of any food value.