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can guinea pigs eat too much timothy hay

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Too Much Timothy Hay?

One of the things about guinea pigs is that’s they need to eat.

In order to do this, they need regular foods to chew on day and night to keep their teeth from growing.

One of the foods that they absolutely love is Timothy hay.

What is Timothy hay?

Timothy hay is dried Timothy grass which is a type of grass found in Europe.

When grown in its natural habitat it can grow from 48cm to 150cm tall depending on the conditions and the soil it grows in. It typically grows in heavy soils, but if it happens to grow in dry and sandy soils it can survive as well.

As a grass, it has a flowerhead and pink stamen

It has leaves that grow up to 40 cm long

To turn into Timothy hay, timothy grass is dried but the great thing about this type of hay is that it keeps its green color and its freshness.

This is what makes it so popular with guinea pigs.

 

image wikipedia

By having hay and in particular types such as Meadow hay or Timothy hay it enables guinea pigs to be able to chew on a consist basis.

We’ve seen how good Timothy hay is for them and the benefits it brings to your guinea pigs.

However is Timothy hay a food that they can over-eat?

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Too Much Timothy Hay?

If you feed Timothy hay to guinea pigs regularly they will eat because they love it.

However, it is a food that they can eat all the time and it isn’t bad for them at all.

In fact, it is good for them.

So don’t be so concerned about guinea pigs eating too much Timothy hay as you’re actually doing them good by doing so.

This is because the nutrients that it contains are of real benefit to them and barely contain anything of detriment to them.

For more information on Timothy Hay, check out this post here

meadow hay

A Brief Guide to Meadow Hay for Guinea Pigs

What is meadow hay?

Meadow hay is a grass hay and is very popular with guinea pigs. It is one of the types of grass hays that piggies can eat along with orchard hay, timothy hay and alfalfa hay.

Meadow hay is that which is mix of dried plants that includes grass, sticks, flower, seed heads  and legumes.

image wikipedia

One of he distinguishing features of meadow hay is that the grass strands tend to vary in how long they are and

In order to be packed, it is harvested and dried with little processing compared to other types of hay.

It often mixes commercial crop grass with other varieties of wild grass.

Why is meadow hay important for guinea pigs?

Meadow hay is extremily good for guinea pigs as its long fibers stimululte their insides and help keep up gut motility.

Chewing on grass hay helps to grind down a guinea pigs teeth which keep growing and the constant chewing is healthy for them.

75% of your guinea pig’s diet should be hay and although many guinea pig owners use Timothy hay, meadow hay can be fed to guinea pigs.

They can never have enough of it, and and their hay bundles should be topped up regularly.

It can also be used as a bedding as it naturally mimics their natural grassy environment. Indeed, it is a much better bedding material than shavings which are often sold in pet shops because it is much better for their health.

What is the best type of meadow hay for guinea pigs?

The best type of meadow hay for guinea pigs is that which is green. The greener the better and more tastier for guinea pigs. If it looks dry and yellow then don’t get it. Make sure it isn’t too stalky as well.

 

Timothy Hay v Meadow Hay

Timothy hay tends to be higher in fiber than meadow hay and contains just one type of hay, where as meadow hay contains lots of different types of grasses and flowers.

They are both as good for guinea pigs as each other, but Timothy hay tends to be more expensive than meadow hay.

Timothy hay tends to be harvested and cleaned before being put into short strands, where as meadow hay is just harvested and then packed as it is. It is not processed at all and tends to have taller strands.

What is the best type of meadow hay to buy?

If you can buy meadow hay for your piggies directly from a farm then it tends to be better than that which is purchased from pet stores. It tends to be greener and less dusty. Don’t go for hay that is smelly, damp or mouldy as it can harm your guinea pig.

But if you have no access to a local farm, the small pet select or oxbow are good suppliers of quality hay.