Best hay for rabbits, guinea pigs and tortoises

Feeding three different species from one hay source is a smart way to simplify things — and the good news is it's genuinely possible here. Hay should make up around 80% of your rabbit's diet and a very large portion of your guinea pigs' too; it's not filler, it's what keeps their guts moving and their constantly-growing teeth worn down properly. Pellets are a small supplement, not the main event. For your tortoise it's a different story — hay isn't a dietary staple for them, but high-quality Timothy hay is sometimes used as bedding or occasional forage for Mediterranean species. Before I point you to a single product that works across all three: how old is your rabbit, how old are the guinea pigs, and what are all of them currently eating day to day?

That's a solid setup overall, though the 'whatever's on offer' hay is where I'd focus. Bargain hay is often dusty, low in nutrients, and cut too coarse — not ideal for any of them, and guinea pigs in particular are prone to respiratory issues from dust. Your rabbit and guinea pigs are both at healthy adult ages where consistent, good-quality Timothy hay is exactly what they need. For your Hermann's tortoise, Timothy hay works well as substrate and occasional forage — it's closer to the dry grasses they'd encounter naturally than meadow hay is. Can I ask: are any of them showing any digestive issues, loose stools, or does the rabbit ever go off its food?

Then the one I'd go with is Burgess Excel Timothy Hay. It's consistently cut well, low in dust, and has a good fibre profile — which is exactly what drives healthy digestion in both your rabbit and guinea pigs. It's also the right texture for your Hermann's tortoise to burrow through and pick at as forage. Burgess sources it properly and the quality is reliable batch to batch, which matters more than people realise. It comes in large bags so you're not constantly reordering, and it's widely available on Amazon UK. I'd pair it with a small daily portion of species-appropriate pellets for the rabbit and guinea pigs separately — their nutritional needs differ slightly there — but the hay itself is a genuine like-for-like replacement across all three enclosures.

The conflicting advice usually comes from people mixing up tortoise species. For tropical tortoises like sulcatas, high-fibre dry hay can cause issues. But for Mediterranean species — Hermann's, spur-thighed, Horsfield's — dry Timothy hay is fine as substrate and occasional forage because it mimics the dry grassland environments they come from naturally. The key is that it shouldn't be the primary food source for your tortoise; that role belongs to fresh weeds and leafy plants like dandelion, plantain, and clover. Use the Timothy hay in the enclosure and let him graze on it at will, but make sure he's getting his fresh forage too. You're not in any conflict here — one bag of Burgess Excel Timothy Hay genuinely serves all three species well.

Good plan. One practical tip: store it somewhere dry and well-ventilated — hay that gets damp goes mouldy fast and you'd have to throw the lot. A breathable hessian sack or a large open-top bin works better than sealing it in plastic. Your rabbit and guinea pigs should both start on it without any transition period needed since it's the same food type, just better quality. Hope they all thrive on it.