Ceramic Coated Block
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I just purchased a new rabbit, any advice?
Hey everyone!
About a week ago I purchased (more like saved) a 5 week old black rabbit- looks like a rex- from becoming someone's dinner at a local farmer's market. I had an old (3 years old) cage at my mom's house from a previous bunny that passed away when I was in high school- dimensions below..
Length 46"
Width 21.5"
Depth 20"
It has a plastic bottom with rabbit safe coated metal.
The little guy (properly named "Stewie") has a litter box (which he does use) a water bottle, chew toys, ceramic dishes for his carrots and pellets.
QUESTION: How much food should he eat every day? Stewie is a little porker, a good little eater and drinks plenty of water.
Also, any other advice is much appreciated.
Age to be fixed?
Should I buy him a salt block now or wait until he's a little older?
ok first things first....im a veterinary technician for exotic pets, and specialize in rabbits. getting him fixed is a good idea, but not so much neccessary than it is for females, (females have a risk of uterine cancers, so spaying is good), males can be hyper/aggressive if not nuetered (this doesnt hold true for all males, but better safe than sorry)
as for diet.........rabbits are herbivores.....and eat green leafy things.....please dont listen to anyone who tells u salads cause diarrhea, they dont, its silly. what do rabbits eat in the wild......grass and leaves....if this caused diarrhea, dont u think our front lawns would be a bit more messier. seriously. your rabbit should eat unlimited timothy hay.......as much as he wants, he can never have enough. and should be fed salad greens........not iceberg lettuce............the darker the better.........here are some examples of choice greens (we feed our hospital patients them). kale, collards, chicory, dandilion greens, escarole, romaine, boston/redleaf/green leaf lettuces (once again NOT iceberg), parsley, carrot TOPS (the actual carrot constitutes a treat, ill get into that later), cilantro, anything dark green and leafy. they can have as much salad as their little hearts desire...two to three big bowls of mixed greens a day is perfect. pellets are NOT great for bunnies,,,,,,,,,,,they were produced back in the day for the commerical use for bunnies for their meat and fur, so they could get fatter quicker......if you insist on getting pellets........only give timothy based pellets (look at the first couple ingrediants of the pellet, make sure the first 3 to 5 are all made of grass hays, not fillers or starchey things, stay away from starches) and please stay away from pellet mixes with pretty colorful things and corn and nuts, these are really bad for bunnies.........these fall into the forbidden food category.......refined sugars, carbs, grains, cereals, breads, crackers, chocolate, starches.........DO NOT FEED YOUR BUNNY THESE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in a rabbits cecum (which is where they break down fiber in their gut) is a balance of good and bad bacteria.......the good always outnumber the bad by far. if you start feeding refine sugars (dried fruits, yogurt drops, etc), or starches/carbs, etc......u will start feeding the bad bacteria, and they will start to grow in numbers, overpopulating the good bacteria, causing gas and toxins....which will cause diarrhea, and lead to GI stasis (which is the fermenting of the cecum........rabbits are designed to constantly eat greens and constantly poop.......thats the natural way), if they slow down in either, seek an exotic vet ASAP. GI stasis, if not treated medically, will cause death. no way around it. so this is something you do not want to mess with.
Treats, if you insist on giving them, stay natural.....like i said before, no yogurt treats or store bought treats, or dried fruits (those sugars are bad), stick with fresh fruits, ie apples, blueberries, mango, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, etc.......carrots fall under the category too. but..........you only want to give treats sparingly.......like us, a chocolate bar is good every now and then.........but too many, we get fat.......same thing with them....fruit has natural sugar, and if too much is eaten, they will get fat (then u will have an obese bunny that will have strain on their heart)......so feed treats sparingly........give no more than 2tbs of treats per day.........so u can maybe give ONE slice of apple in the AM and TWO "baby" carrots at night. bananas are ok to give....but i wouldnt give maybe more than a slice or two a month.....they are very high in sugar, and will make for fat bunnies if given toooooooooooooooooo many.
u mentioned ceramic dishes........those are fine....we use ceramic dishes at the animal hospital for pellets (timothy) ,water,and salads......totally fine.
bunny water bottles are gross...stay away from them......theyre hard to clean inside, and are a breeding ground for bacteria. a dish is perfectly fine...your rabbit will find the water and drink it just fine in a bowl.
if u have anymore questions, feel free to contact me at any time. ok?
good luck
my email is surfkitten79@aol.com
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