Fibres

Timothy hay

Excellent

Description

Essential hay for herbivores.

Benefits

Essential for dental wear and herbivore NAC digestion

Risks

None — should be the main food

Natural diet: who eats this in the wild?

Timothy hay is the dried stem of timothy grass (Phleum pratense), a European meadow grass that became the global standard for hay in the 20th century. Wild rabbits, guinea pigs, and chinchillas all evolved eating similar high-fibre, low-sugar grasses in their native habitats. A rabbit in the wild spends around 8 hours per day grazing on grass and low vegetation - timothy hay recreates this exact nutritional profile in captive conditions.

Why this ingredient is used

Timothy hay is the #1 recommended food by exotic vets for all adult herbivorous pets (rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas) for three reasons. First, the fibre content (around 30 percent crude fibre) keeps the complex gut motility working - without constant fibre intake, a rabbit gut can go into stasis within 12 hours, a medical emergency. Second, the low calcium content prevents urinary sludge problems common in rabbits fed alfalfa-based diets. Third, and critically, the stem structure forces constant chewing, which wears down the continuously growing teeth of lagomorphs and rodents. Without enough hay, dental malocclusion develops within weeks - and dental surgery is the most common exotic vet procedure in Europe.