A grassy paradise for Guinea Pigs
Like many herbivores, Guinea Pigs love munching on grass! They can spend most of the Summer out on the lawn keeping the grass trimmed. Like hay, grass is great for a Guinea Pig’s digestive system and is also a source of vitamin C as well as many other useful vitamins and minerals.
If you’re planning to feed your Guinea Pigs grass, you need to consider:
- Make sure the grass has not been contaminated by any chemicals or pesticides
- Make sure there is no mould present on the grass and that it looks healthy
- Avoid areas that may have been soiled by other pets or livestock
- Avoid feeding from lawn mower clippings
There are a couple of obvious ways to let your Guinea Pigs eat grass; bring it to them or find a secure spot to let them eat it straight off the ground. If you plan to collect it yourself (to pop in their run, hutch or cage), please always cut the grass with a pair of scissors and don’t just rip it out of the ground. The roots on grass can actually be harmful to Guinea Pigs, so please avoid them.
If you are planning to let your Guinea Pigs forage for their own grass please bear in mind that they need introducing to grass gradually. To begin with, limit the amount of grass they consume a day or they will very quickly become bloated and may suffer from diarrhoea. Over time, their guts will become more used to the grass and they will be able to eat more.
That said, please still provide them plenty of hay throughout the day, regardless of whether you think they’ve got enough grass to keep them busy munching!
