Timothy Hay for Guinea Pigs: Benefits and Cheap Prices

When you own a guinea pig, one of your most important responsibilities is making sure your guinea pig is getting enough to eat. It is equally important that your guinea pig is getting all of the proper nutrients to stay healthy.

The best way to ensure your guinea pig has a balanced diet is to feed them a combination of pellets, vegetables, and hay. In today’s article, we are going to discuss everything you need to know about hay for guinea pigs.

Why do guinea pigs need hay?

Hay is absolutely an essential component of a guinea pig’s diet. In fact, hay should make up about 80% of your guinea pig’s diet. This is because hay contains a high concentration of fiber which helps your guinea pig digest food.

Additionally, hay is very important for your guinea pig’s dental health. The long strands of grass helps ware down your guinea pig’s teeth. This is very important, as guinea pig’s teeth are constantly growing and need to naturally be worn down before so that they don’t outgrow your guinea pig’s mouth.

Timothy hay for guinea pigs

Over the last five years, timothy hay has slowly become one of the most popular foods for guinea pigs. This is not surprising, as timothy hay has a long list of benefits.

Some of the key benefits of timothy hay are:

• It is usually naturally grown and without any pesticides
• It has a high concentration of fiber which helps your guinea pig with digestion
• Does not contain any artificial preservatives
• It is a natural food that guinea pigs eat in the wild
• Helps maintain good dental health
• Can be put on top of fleece

Aside from the health benefits, timothy hay is very cheap. You can buy it in bulk on amazon for $40 and it will last for months.

Now if you have already researched hay for guinea pigs, you might have come across alfalfa hay. While both Timothy and Alfalfa hay are forages, they have many differences.

Should I feed by guinea pig Timothy hay or Alfalfa hay?

For starters, you should know the main differences between Timothy hay and Alfalfa hay. Alfalfa hay has a much higher concentration of protein and calcium. While this sounds like a good thing, it can actually be dangerous for guinea pigs.

If your guinea pig consumes too much Alfalfa hay, your guinea pig might experience gastrointestinal problems. This is because guinea pigs are small animals, and their digestive system can only digest so much protein and calcium at one time. This can cause your guinea pig to throw up, and in some cases can cause diarrhea.

Additionally, if your guinea pig consumes too much Alfalfa hay, they may develop kidney stones. This is caused by their body not being able to process all of the calcium that is found in Alfalfa hay.

Due to its high protein and energy content, older guinea pigs do not have a need for Alfalfa hay. It can even lead to obesity. However, Alfalfa hay is a great option for young guinea pigs that are still growing.

You can certainly still feed your adult guinea pig Alfalfa hay, but I would only do it once or twice a week. Aside from hay, you should also make sure you feed your guinea pig enough pellets and leafy vegetables. This is very important because guinea pigs need a proper amount of Vitamin C.