Bedding and salt lick help!

[alysha23]

I am currently feeding her Fiesta max its a pellet and veggie mixby kaytee.... That is all she gets as far as food except for alfalfa blocks. The pen was given to me but I have been making renovations slowly.... I'll look into that plastic needle point for over top.

 

[Blue eyes]

alysha23 wrote:

I am currently feeding her Fiesta max its a pellet and veggie mixby kaytee.... That is all she gets as far as food except for alfalfa blocks. The pen was given to me but I have been making renovations slowly.... I'll look into that plastic needle point for over top.

She really is darling! I'm so sorry that you were given such bad information. :X

You should consider switching her gradually to a healthy plain pellet. All you need to do is mix 1 part new to 3 parts old feed. Do that for a couple days, then do equal parts of each for a few days. Finally, mix 3 parts new to 1 part old for a few days. You should be able to find juvenile rabbit pellets. Those should be alfalfa-based.

She also needs actual alfalfa hay (timothy hay if you can't find alfalfa). The cubes are not a substitute for the loose hay.

It's important at her young age to give her the best diet. I'm so glad you are taking the time to find out what's best for her. :wink

 

[alysha23]

My local pet store sells alfalfa hay. I will have to go this weekend and get her some. If I recall correctly from a previous post, she is to have all the alfalfa hay she wants? Also I read online somewhere that to give them a dish of food, which my dish is 5 oz, and she must eat it all before giving her more food.
I definitely want whats best for her and I really don't like all the conflicting stories that are found online. This is a lot of information and I have a lot of stuff to get especially if I am going to try litter training her.
I am kind of upset that I bought a decent size bag of Fiesta max and it isn't what she should be eating.

 

[Nelsons_Mom]

I absolutely love her dutch markings on her little fluffy self!

Yeah, unfortunately pet stores aren't known for having exceptionally knowlwdgable staff, I'm sorry you feel like you wasted your money on the food and bedding. I always remind myself that even if my oxbow (the bran d i use) is a dollar or two more than some of the brands that have colors and seeds and such in it, it will probably save me an expensive vet visit in the future since, just like with people, the better the diet the healthier they tend to be.

This forum has a great group of people and a fabulous library section that is incredibly helpful. I'm glad you found us and double checked what the store told you, now little Bella has a chance at a healthier life

 

[alysha23]

I am glad I found this site as well. Everyone has been so helpful so far and so informative and I am very thankful for that! I am definitely more at ease knowing what I have to get to keep her healthy and to grow. I think my pet store sells Oxbow so maybe I will look into that brand for her.

 

[Blue eyes]

alysha23 wrote:

My local pet store sells alfalfa hay. I will have to go this weekend and get her some. If I recall correctly from a previous post, she is to have all the alfalfa hay she wants? Also I read online somewhere that to give them a dish of food, which my dish is 5 oz, and she must eat it all before giving her more food.
I definitely want whats best for her and I really don't like all the conflicting stories that are found online. This is a lot of information and I have a lot of stuff to get especially if I am going to try litter training her.
I am kind of upset that I bought a decent size bag of Fiesta max and it isn't what she should be eating.

I understand your frustration.:grumpy: But like Nelson's mom said, a better pellet keeps her healthier and so saves money in the long run.

The new food can be free fed when she's this young. That just means she can have as much as she wants. The idea behind having her finish her bowl before giving her more pertains to those mixed foods that have add-ins. They say that because otherwise bunny will pick out all the treats and skip the healthy pellets. But if you get her the plain oxbow pellets, then that isn't an issue.

And the hay she can also have as much as she likes. Mine don't "finish" their hay, but they will eat more if I put fresh hay in for them. I do this twice a day. For some reason they like it when it's first put in their cage.

 

[alysha23]

Sounds great! Thanks for the information. I will be going tonight to get her hay and pellets. Also to hopefully find the right litter to try and litter train her. I went on that rabbit.org site which is also very informative and have narrowed down what to look for in litter and what not to get. Thanks again for all the information and for taking the time to post on here!

 

[LakeCondo]

There are a few things that people on RO disagree about, but we all agree that youngsters should have unlimited hay & alfalfa pellets, that most pet store employees are uninformed at best, & that the pellets shouldn't have any add-ins [at least not for youngsters.

 

[alysha23]

Thank you! She started making a noise today when she eats....Is this normal or does anyone have any ideas what it could be. I never heard her do it before.

 

[alysha23]

disregard......I called my vet and she is going to see little Bella tomorrow!

 

[LakeCondo]

It depends what the noise it, but if it sounds a little like a cat purring, it's a good sound. But if it's a louder tooth grinding it could be a tooth problem. But at 6 weeks I doubt a tooth problem would be the case, unless it was congenital.

 

[alysha23]

It is louder than a cat purr.... So off to the vet she will go..... Hoping for nothing serious

 

[alysha23]

She has parasites something called cocsidea or something like that

 

[alysha23]

Bella died tonight from coccidia. I did all I could for her but she didn't make it

 

[LakeCondo]

I'm so sorry to hear this. Bunnies are so fragile at that age. She probably was ill when you got her, it just hadn't developed to show. You did all you could & she enjoyed the time that she DID have.

 

[alysha23]

Thanks for the support..... The hardest is know she really didn't have a chance and she was so young.

 

[Blue eyes]

I'm so sorry. She was such a doll. :hug2:

I did have a bad feeling after your post with the vet's diagnosis.

On a positive side, you have learned (I think) alot about bunnies in a very short amount of time. I think with a little more research you will be ready to try again. I agree that she was likely ill before you got her. You already know that those who had her didn't know how to properly care for her based on the advice they gave you.

If you do decide to get another bunny, you might consider finding a rabbit rescue. With a rescue bun, she will be vet-checked, spayed and maybe even litter trained. They usually have buns of all ages, including under 1 year. This way you can hopefully avoid future heartache.

 

[alysha23]

Yes....I did learn alot after bunnies and it did really upset me that she passed so soon. Its unfortunate that the people I got her from really seem to not know that much about bunnies and I will not be purchasing again from them. I did do some research on bunnies around my area and I am looking at local breeders that are registered and bunnies that have had their vaccinations. I just feel sorry for Bella and her siblings who never really had a chance.

Again thanks for all the information and support....although I miss Bella she did teach me alot. With time I am looking forwarding to getting another bunny and hopefully being able to make many memories with it.