Why is no added sugar important in foods for rabbits and other small pets?

Too Much of a Good Thing: The Risks of Excess Sugar

When small pets are fed a diet too high in sugar and readily digestible carbohydrates, the most obvious risk is weight gain and obesity.

According to UK Pet Food’s 2024 obesity report, 31% of small mammals are overweight or obese. That extra weight is far from harmless. It can contribute to:

• Arthritis and painful joints
• Fly strike (because overweight rabbits may struggle to groom properly)
• Diabetes
• Sore feet or hocks
• Skin disease
• Heart disease

Did you know? Degus are unable to metabolise sugar effectively, which puts them at particularly high risk of diabetes. For them, low‑sugar diets are absolutely essential.

Excess sugar can also:

• Increase the risk of dental disease, especially if sticky, sugary ingredients cling to the teeth
• Upset the delicate balance of bacteria in the gut, contributing to digestive problems and poor gastrointestinal health

That’s why our ‘No Added Sugar’ commitment is so important – and why we don’t rely on sugary ingredients to make our foods tasty.

What Does ‘No Added Sugar’ Actually Mean?

Many small pet diets contain added sugars, even if they are not labelled as “sugar” on the pack. Common sources include:

• Molasses
• Syrups
• Honey
• Fruit pulp
• Other sweet binding agents

These ingredients are very energy‑dense. They are particularly unsuitable in the daily diet of rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas and degus, as these pets require a low energy-dense diet. Sugary, energy dense ingredients can contribute to obesity and dental problems. They are often added to:

• Make diets more palatable
• Help bind together pressed pellets

A ‘no added sugar’ diet means that we do not add these extra sugary ingredients to any of our pet foods. Instead, we:

• Always include high fibre, good‑quality hay and forage as the main ingredient
• Provide only the necessary carbohydrates required in forms that are similar to those found in the natural diet of rabbits, guinea pigs and other small herbivores

For rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas and degus, that means the majority of their diet should always come from freely available:

• High quality fresh hay (such as Selective Timothy hay)
• Fresh grass

A carefully measured portion of pet food supports this base diet and ensures they meet their daily nutritional requirements, alongside a small handful of suitable leafy greens. Pet food doesn’t need added sugars to be tasty.

The Hidden Challenge: Making High‑Fibre Foods Palatable

Here’s something you might not realise:

High‑fibre rabbit and guinea pig foods are actually quite difficult to make truly palatable – especially if you don’t use added sugars.

Fibre is absolutely essential for rabbits and guinea pigs. It:

• Supports healthy digestion
• Helps keep teeth worn down and in good condition
• Encourages natural chewing and foraging behaviours

But from the pet’s point of view, very high‑fibre ingredients can be less naturally tasty than sweet, starchy ingredients. This is particularly noticeable if you compare:

• Cold‑pressed pellets – often denser and less crunchy
• Extruded nuggets – lighter, more crunchy, with a more appealing texture

So how do we produce a high‑fibre, species‑appropriate diet that pets actually want to eat, without adding molasses or sugary syrups?

The Extrusion Difference: Crunchy, Tasty, and No Added Sugar

The way a food is made has a huge impact on how it feels and tastes to your pet. At Supreme Petfoods we use extrusion to create our complete diets, rather than relying on cold‑pressed pellets that often need added sugar to be palatable.

What is extrusion?

In simple terms, extrusion is a gentle cooking process where:

1. Carefully selected ingredients are mixed together.
2. The mixture is passed through an extruder, where it is gently cooked and expanded.
3. The result is a light, crunchy nugget with a porous texture.

This process brings several important benefits:

• Improved texture: The expansion during extrusion creates a crunchy, airy structure that rabbits and guinea pigs typically find far more enjoyable than a hard, dense pellet.
• Naturally enhanced palatability: Gentle cooking helps to unlock natural flavours in the ingredients, so the finished product tastes better without the need for added sugary syrups.
• No need for molasses as a binder: Because extruded nuggets hold their shape well on their own, we don’t have to use sticky sugars to keep the ingredients together.
• Better species‑specific design: Extrusion allows us to tailor the shape and size of each nugget, helping to support natural chewing and foraging behaviours.

Where some cold‑pressed pellets rely on molasses or other sugars to:

• Bind ingredients together
• Improve palatability

our extruded nuggets use texture and gentle cooking to achieve a naturally tasty result.

For more detail on how we make our foods, you can read our blog: How We Make Pet Food.

Why No Added Sugar + Extrusion Is a Win for Teeth, Weight and Gut Health

By combining no added sugar with high‑fibre, extruded nuggets, we aim to support three key aspects of your small pet herbivore’s health:

1. Dental health

   • Crunchy extruded pieces encourage chewing, which supports natural tooth wear.
   • Long fibre particles help support dental wellbeing.
   • Avoiding sugary ingredients helps reduce the risk of dental disease.

2. Weight management

   • High‑fibre, lower‑sugar diets are less calorie‑dense than sugary mixes and treats.
   • Our extrusion process ensures the food is less calorie dense.
   • This helps reduce the risk of obesity, when combined with appropriate portion control.

3. Digestive health

   • Rabbits and guinea pigs have very sensitive digestive systems that depend on a constant flow of fibre.
   • Excess sugars can disrupt the normal balance of bacteria in the gut, contributing to digestive upset.
   • A high‑fibre, low‑sugar diet supports a healthier, more stable gut environment.

What About Fruit and Root Vegetables?

Fruit and root vegetables – including favourites like carrots and bananas – naturally contain very high levels of sugar. While they may seem like a healthy option, for rabbits and guinea pigs they should be seen as occasional treats and no more than a small thumbnail size piece should be fed once or twice a week.

• Offer a thumbnail size piece of fruit or root veg as a special treat – no more than once or twice a week.
• If your pet is overweight, it’s safest to avoid these sugary treats altogether.

Pet herbivores do need suitable fresh vegetables every day, but the emphasis should be on leafy greens, such as:

• Green leaf lettuce (not Iceberg)
• Romaine lettuce
• Spring greens
• Herbs like parsley, basil and coriander

For more guidance, take a look at our blog on Veggies & Foods Safe For Rabbits & Small Pets.

Top Tips for Low‑Sugar, High‑Fibre Success

To support your rabbit, guinea pig or other small herbivore with a diet that’s both healthy and enjoyable:

• High‑quality fresh hay (such as Selective Timothy hay) and/or fresh grass.
• Provide a handful of suitable fresh leafy greens every day.
• Feed a carefully measured portion of a no added sugar, high‑fibre pet food, such as those in the Selective or Tiny Friends Farm ranges, morning and evening.
• Keep fruit and root vegetables (e.g. carrot) as occasional treats only.
• Choose no added sugar treats designed for small pets when you want to offer something special.
• Provide a constant supply of fresh water.
• Weigh your pet regularly to help keep track of their body condition and spot changes early.

Our ‘No Added Sugar’ Commitment

Our ‘No Added Sugar’ manifesto reflects our belief that:

• Small pets deserve diets that are as close as possible to their natural feeding patterns.
• Palatability should come from thoughtful recipe design, high quality ingredients, and advanced production techniques – not from added sugars.
• High‑fibre, species‑appropriate diets should also be enjoyable to eat, encouraging natural chewing and foraging, without compromising on health.

By using the extrusion process to create crunchy, tasty nuggets, we can make high‑fibre foods that rabbits, guinea pigs and all small pets love, while staying true to our commitment to no added sugars.

If you have any questions about your pet’s diet or our ‘No Added Sugar’ promise, you can reach out to us on our Facebook page or get in touch via our contact us page.