Rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas are strict herbivores. This means that they have evolved to consume large amounts of plants, which are rich in fibre and poor in nutrients. A characteristic of their dietary classification is continuously growing teeth, the shape and the length of which are regulated by a balance between the continuous growth and the friction generated by chewing abrasive foods, rich in fibre and lignin, such as herbs, leaves and bark.

Even the digestive system of these species has adapted to a herbivorous diet: a relatively small stomach, a long intestine, and an especially spacious caecum, where the fermentation processes required to digest fibre take place. Diets rich in fibre maintain a beneficial intestinal flora; otherwise, if carbohydrate content increases in diets poor in fibre, healthy flora is replaced by potentially harmful bacteria. Diets must include an amount of fibre, especially long fibre, to stimulate intestinal motility.

Wellness FOODS take into consideration the importance of fibre in the diet of these species kept as pets, both in terms of quantity (17-18%) and quality, by using choice herbs 3 mm in length. The feeds are produced by pressing ingredients together in pellets twice the standard size, BiPellet, which contain longer fibre, to encourage chewing and regulate teeth growth.

Wellness FOOD for young dwarf rabbits contains a coccidiostat, a molecule that controls coccidia replication, to avoid coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is a disease caused by parasites that can infest the intestine and liver of the rabbit. Those most affected are young rabbits, which have a weaker immune system, and are unable to control the replication of the coccidia, especially when under stress.

Hamsters are omnivorous rodents that require a higher amount of protein and lower amount of fibre. Wellness FOOD for hamsters comes in the form of pellets mixed with cereal and vegetable flakes and dried larvae to stimulate the hamsters’ curiosity, even while eating!

All Wellness FOODS contain yucca schidigera. It contains saponins that reduce the activity of the urease enzyme in the digestive tract, reducing the urea-to-ammonia conversion and consequently the odour of faeces and urine.