Is Their An Alternative For Hay?

[Thea]

I know guinea pigs need hay to grind down their teeth and for their health. But i am allergic to grass/hay and i was wondering if their was any alternatives for hay. I need to know if this since if their is not i probably should not get 2 guinea pigs

 

[helen105281]

Hay is the most important part of their diet so there are no alternatives. Are you allergic to all types of hay? Some people are more sensitive to Timothy hay for example.

 

[Luna17]

Hay is very important, there really is no alternative.

 

[Ruby Inferno]

Thank you for researching and asking before you get any guinea pigs, some people don't make that effort.

Hay makes up about 75% of a piggy's diet, there isn't really a substitute. As @helen105281 mentioned, you might not be allergic to some types of hay.

There are a few things you can do to reduce sneezing etc. from hay allergies (I am also a little allergic to hay and grass) :
1. Choose dust extracted hay, this reduces dust which is usually what makes you sneeze.
2. Wear disposable gloves (and perhaps a mask) when handling hay.
3. Store the hay in the shed or garage so you're not exposed to it all the time.
4. Don't use hay as bedding, just use it in their hay racks so it's contained in one place.

As you live in the USA, I would recommend buying the Second Cutting Timothy Hay from here: http://store.smallpetselect.com/top-sellers-c8.aspx
A blog I looked at a while ago said you can get free shipping at checkout using this code, but it might be outdated, best to try it out anyway though: T32HAY30

That website also sells pellets (in case you didn't know already, piggies need about an 1/8th of a cup of pellets every day), but they don't look particularly healthy to me so it's probably best to use something like Oxbow pellets instead.

 

[Thea]

Thank you for researching and asking before you get any guinea pigs, some people don't make that effort.

Hay makes up about 75% of a piggy's diet, there isn't really a substitute. As @helen105281 mentioned, you might not be allergic to some types of hay.

There are a few things you can do to reduce sneezing etc. from hay allergies (I am also a little allergic to hay and grass) :
1. Choose dust extracted hay, this reduces dust which is usually what makes you sneeze.
2. Wear disposable gloves (and perhaps a mask) when handling hay.
3. Store the hay in the shed or garage so you're not exposed to it all the time.
4. Don't use hay as bedding, just use it in their hay racks so it's contained in one place.

As you live in the USA, I would recommend buying the Second Cutting Timothy Hay from here: http://store.smallpetselect.com/top-sellers-c8.aspx
A blog I looked at a while ago said you can get free shipping at checkout using this code, but it might be outdated, best to try it out anyway though: T32HAY30

That website also sells pellets (in case you didn't know already, piggies need about an 1/8th of a cup of pellets every day), but they don't look particularly healthy to me so it's probably best to use something like Oxbow pellets instead.

Thank you! this really helped!