Are grain foods suitable for herbivorous pets?

Guinea pigs, degus and chinchillas are herbivorous rodents. This means that the basis of their diet is roughage, fibrous feed, and not grains. The same goes for rabbits.

In nature, herbivores feed mainly on plant stems and hay. Their digestive system is designed to digest rough, fibrous foods. Therefore, at home, the diet should also be based on purified hay and greens (lettuce, celery, carrots, etc.). Such nutrition meets the natural needs of rabbits, degus, guinea pigs and chinchillas as much as possible, which means it is better absorbed.

But why does the market offer so many grain diets for all rodents? Can grain be fed to rabbits?

It is possible, but only as a supplement to the main diet, in strictly limited quantities. If you feed your guinea pig, chinchilla, degu, or rabbit a fibrous diet and occasionally include grains in your diet, it won’t hurt. But a large number of grains will lead to disruption of the digestive tract and weight gain.

Cereals are very high in calories. That is why they are often introduced into the composition of feed for young rodents and rabbits, whose body continues to grow and develop. But for adult herbivores, high-calorie food is a direct path to excess weight.

More recently, proper feeding of herbivores was a painstaking task. Since grain feeds are not suitable for them as their main food, they had to separately purchase hay and greens and monitor their quality. Now the situation has changed. 

Special grain-free food for herbivores (Micropills Fiory) has appeared in pet stores, which can be used as the main diet. As a prevention of overweight and lack of vitamins, such feeds are made in the form of pellets (granules). When fed in pellets, a pet cannot choose attractive pieces and ignore others. He eats the food entirely and exactly as many nutrients as he needs for proper development.  

Do not forget to check the expiration date and the quality of the feed packaging. Delicious lunch for your pets!