Hay & Forage

Rabbits and guinea pigs have digestive systems built around near-constant grazing on fibrous plant material, and their teeth grow continuously, worn down by the grinding action of chewing hay. A diet too low in hay causes both digestive and dental problems over time.

Good hay should be fresh, sweet-smelling and free of dust or mould — a long-stem variety, rather than short chopped hay, gives more of the chewing action that keeps teeth worn evenly. It should be available at all times, not offered once a day and then removed.

A measured daily portion of a good-quality pellet or nugget mix fills in nutritional gaps that hay and fresh food alone might not cover, but it's meant to be a small part of the daily intake rather than the bulk of it. Avoid mixed cereal-style feeds with lots of different shapes and colours, since animals often pick out the tasty bits and leave the rest, which unbalances what they actually eat.

Fresh forage and a small amount of appropriate vegetables add variety and enrichment. Introduce anything new gradually and in small amounts, watching how your pet's droppings respond, rather than switching a diet over quickly.

Paper-based bedding, like Safe Bed Paper Shavings, is generally low-dust and a common choice where a more sensitive small pet, or an owner with allergies, might react to wood dust. Back 2 Nature Animal Bedding takes a similar low-dust, paper-and-plant-fibre approach, while traditional wood shavings are a longstanding, absorbent option many small pet keepers have used for years.

Bathing and burrowing substrates, like Selective Bathing Sand, serve a different purpose again — some small pets, particularly chinchillas, need a specific dust or sand bath rather than bedding to keep their coat in good condition.

Softwood shavings, particularly pine and cedar, have traditionally raised concerns for some small pets because of the oils they contain, so paper-based or specially treated bedding is often recommended as the gentler option, especially for rabbits and guinea pigs who spend most of their time in direct contact with it. Whatever you choose, avoid anything visibly dusty, since dust can affect the respiratory system of small pets kept in an enclosed hutch or cage.

Depth matters as much as material for burrowing species — a shallow layer doesn't let a rabbit or hamster express natural digging behaviour, while a generous depth gives them somewhere to properly settle and insulate against the cold.