[Gpdd] Health: hay

Michelle Lazarus michelle.lazarus at jefferson.edu
Fri Mar 31 09:51:58 EST 2006


Dear Joan,
It is highly recommended that after child hood, guinea pigs should only
eat timothy hay.  Alfalfa hay has a very very high calcium content and
this can cause stones in guinea pigs which is not only painful and
expensive to take care of, it can be lethal.  The only adult guinea pigs
that should get alfalfa hay are pregnant ones to help with the fetus. 

As for lady bug not eating timothy . . .I think some GPDDers have
recommended trying a bunch of hays to get the guinea pig used to eating
variety.  Timothy hay is an essential part of any guinea pig diet.  I
would first try different brands of timothy hay, we use oxbow, but sweet
meadow farm timothy hay has been recommended by MANY digesters.  I have
found that KAYTEE timothy hay is too coarse and my piggies won't eat it.
Also, I would try feeding some grass hay (you can get this at oxbow too)
this helps guinea pigs learn that different hays and hay quality are all
tasty.  Grass cuttings can also help add variety.  

As for the gaining weight part, I am pretty sure that most pigs won't
gain or lose weight from hay . . . it is the pellets that have fat and
help pigs gain weight.  

I know the other digesters will have plenty of good advice for you too!

Good luck! :)

- Michelle

-----Original Message-----
From: joan fagalde [mailto:momcat1000 at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 4:24 PM
To: gpdd at gpdd.org
Subject: [Gpdd] Health-hay

I have a question maybe one of you can answer.  Why do you all seem to
feed your piggys timothy hay rather than alfalfa?  Other than the fact
that alfalfa is a little sweeter and probably more calories, what's the
difference.  My Lady Bug won't have anything to do with timothy.  She
won't touch the hay and eats just enough timothy pellets to stay alive,
will lose weight and with no gusto.  Alfalfa, on the other hand, she
eats just fine and no, she's not at all overweight.
   
  Purring noises...how cute that must be.  In my experience, if your
little one does not bite, chatter or move away from your hand, she likes
what you're doing, especially if she closes her eyes.  For mine that
signifies contentment.
   
  Biting the cage.  Yes.  Even before she went blind, my Lady Bug puts
everything and I mean everything in her mouth.  Just like a human baby
that's how she tests things.  She used to chew on the bars of her cage
just to amuse herself.  I would think that as long as nothing is being
ingested all is well.  If the chewing is due to a neighboring cage, you
might try a piece of cardboard between the cages or moving the cage to
another part of the room where the scent is less.  Just a thought.
   
  Anyway, any info on the relation of timothy to alfalfa would be
appreciated.
   
  Joan, slave to the Lady Bug.

		
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