How soft is soft?

kirbyultra · Jan 7, 2009

When I first got Kirby 2 months ago his poops were kind of small and sorta grayish brownish looking, and pretty dry. I could see tiny bits of hay in it. I didn't observe them a whole lot because I didn't really know to look. In our 2 months together I've gotten a lot more educated. His pellets have always looked pretty dry to me, they've gotten slightly bigger than they used to. I really only look at them when I am changing and cleaning his litter box every 3 days though.

I introduced craisins to my Kirby about a week ago. My craisins are somewhat chopped up so each "piece" is only a fraction of one whole dried cranberry. I started him off one just 1 piece. I only give him about 2 pieces a day, so it's like half a cranberry. I looked at his fresh poopie pellets today and they generally look darker than they used to. They have never been perfectly spherical. They are round but look kind of "squished" flattish on the top and bottom. AnywayI pressed one of his fresh ones firmly in my fingers (ick?) and it gave a little. Is that normal hardness of a pellet or is it too soft? Maybe it's always been like this and dries out over time and I'm overreacting? Or, should I save the craisins for my yogurt altogether?

If it makes a difference, my Kirby has never been much of a water drinker. He'll take one or maybe 2 sips from his water crock a night. He was outdoors and used a bottle before I had him but the rescue shelter said they gave him both and he preferred the bowl more than the bottle. He still was not a big water drinker. I always soak his lettuce before I serve them to give him a little more moisture. But I don't think his water intake as a whole has changed since the day I got him. I give him a big pile of new hay every single night and as much as he will eat. I even pick out the timothy fuzzy "heads"and softer pieces of hay to be served separately in a basket. He loves those! I spoil him...

naturestee · Jan 7, 2009

They do give a little when they're fresh, although they shouldn't when they're dry. Yup, I check.:biggrin2:

What is his full diet? Pellet brand, amount per day, veggies, etc. Oh, and I'd leave the timothy heads in with the rest of the hay. It's fun to dig for those! And they usually eat more hay in general while looking for the special bits. At least, mine do.

kirbyultra · Jan 8, 2009

I feed him (he's about 5.5 lbs) 1/8 cup of Oxbow BBT twice a day. I feed him a plate of salad twice a day also. Combo of romaine, green lettuce and parsley. I give him 1 baby carrot every 2 days, 1-2 oxbow papaya tablets every day. And recently 1-2 small pieces of dried cranberry daily... And all the hay he'll consume on his own.

Does that help?

naturestee · Jan 8, 2009

Sounds great to me!

kirbyultra · Jan 9, 2009

:biggrin2:YAY! So you think the cranberry is ok, right?

I also checked his >1 day old poopies. They are hard, don't give in a lil the way the fresh ones do. But the color is still darker than they used to be.

His urine is also making me a bit concerned if he's had too much calcium. Only a few drops make it through the feline pine and the paper lining to the bottom of the pan for me to see. It's an orange-y color which I'm not too concerned about but it looks kind of chalky. Not sure if it's because it's had time to sort of reduce to a less liquid substance or if it's because it's worked its way down through the litter as well... or if Kirby really is intaking too much calcium. His litter box does usually stain where the bit of urine collects at the bottom of the box, it's a chalky white which I think is calcium. Sometimes it's hard to get out, and I have to wash it with a vinegar solution.

Naturestee, I don't really think I'm giving him anything that would contain calcium that I can cut, do you? Maybe a different type of fresh green to replace romaine lettuce, green lettuce and parsley? Maybe just strictly 1 papaya tablet a day?

naturestee · Jan 9, 2009

That tiny bit of dried cranberry is fine. I feed Craisins as a special treat for after nail clippings and such.

If you want, you can get a bag of fresh cranberries, put them in the freezer, and give one or two as a treat. Mine like this a lot although they don't go as nuts over them as they do Craisins. I have a sensitive tummy bun though so I don't like giving much sugar, and cranberries have hardly any compared to other fruit.

Do you have any idea what his fresh pee looks like? Sounds funny I know, but I get a good look often because Mocha likes to pee outside the box sometimes. The longer it sits, the more cloudy and/or dark it gets.

A little bit of calcium in the urine is absolutely no problem, it just means it going out like it should. You only need to be concerned if it gets really thick and sludgy. I'm not a believer in the "calcium is evil" mantra either. The rabbits that get problems more often than not have a urinary tract infection that starts the problem or have blood chemistry issues related to calcium and will have high calcium no matter what you do, even if they have to reabsorb it from their bones! Here's a great article:
http://www.mahouserabbit.org/newsletter/calcium.asp

More info here:
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12052&forum_id=10

I personally feed a lot of high calcium veggies. My dental bun needs thick stuff like kale to help wear down his teeth, my sensitive tummy bun needs lots of veggies (number and variety) to make up for the tiny amount of pellets she gets, and in general a lot of those veggies are very tasty for rabbits! Kale, collard greens, and purple cabbage (yes, cabbage!) are total favorites here, plus a variety of others that they also get.