stargazerLily
Well-Known Member
I am not sure if this is the right place to post this, but here goes nothing.
Fridaynight I acquired a rabbit from one on our clients at work. The person who owned the rabbit had a 3 yr old child who had been throwing the rabbit down the stairs (this happened at least three times). The rabbit is an adorable black torti (I think, according to pics I've found online that look like him) mini lop, who is neutered and a little over a year old. I spent a few hours reading on the care of rabbits, especially diet, before bringing him home. The owner was kind enough to give me all of his stuff (cage, food, cage stand, toys, hay, some kind of smelly spray and powder, and salt blocks), along with the care sheet that the breeder gave her. I read through the care sheet, and some of the stuff just seemed off, along with what the lady was telling me. The care sheet didn't mention anything about giving the rabbit any veggies, and said to give the rabbit only a small amount of hay a day because too much would cause obesity, and said to give the rabbits human cereal too. Everything I have read has totally contridicted what this care sheet says. So here are my questions.
The rabbit is currently being fed kaytee garden blend pellets. They are alfalfa based and have things that look like crunchy carrots and some other stuff in it. I want to switch him to oxbow rabbit T formula. This needs to be done gradually, correct? What is the best time frame for doing the switch? 7 to 10 days? Or longer?
He can have all the hay he possibly wants, since it's good for his digestive tract, and his teeth, correct? He currently has timothy hay from kaytee, but I have hay from oxbow on order, and am planning on getting a bale from some coworkers.
His cage is one of your standard my first pet type cages. He has room to stand, and a little room to hop around, but I want to get him something bigger. Last night I started building a cube typepen using those wire cubes you can get from Target. I was thinking of using a linoleum bottom and putting fleece or flannel on top of it for the bunny to sit on. The care sheet I received said not to use anything fabric in the cage because the animal would chew it and bad stuff would happen, but all the pictures I've seen on here of cages show them lined with carpet, flannel, or fleece. I also saw the cube cages you have, and those look pretty simple to make. My question is, can the cage be lined in linoleum covered with flannel or fleece (the rabbit isn't totally litter trained yet), or is that a bad idea?
There was never any mention from the previous owner about the rabbit ever having any veggies so I went to the local farmers market and the grocery store to buy some good leafy lettuce type stuff (aka collard greens, cilatro, parsley, mustard greens, dark romaine). Last night I gave him one type of the leafy stuff ( can't remember what though), he kind of looked at it like he had no clue what it was, but by this morning all but a tiny piece was gone. Since I have no idea if he's had veggies before, how long should I wait before giving him a different type of veggie from the one I gave him last night?
What are some good idea for chew things for him? He has a few toys from his previous owner.
Right now his cube cage has his old cage in it (he acted a little panicked when I put him in the new cage, and felt better when he had his old cage to go into and come out of as he pleases), a litter box, food bowl (one for pellets, one for veggies), two water bottles, and a hay rack, along with a few toys. What else should there be in his cage?
Thanks for all the advice.
Fridaynight I acquired a rabbit from one on our clients at work. The person who owned the rabbit had a 3 yr old child who had been throwing the rabbit down the stairs (this happened at least three times). The rabbit is an adorable black torti (I think, according to pics I've found online that look like him) mini lop, who is neutered and a little over a year old. I spent a few hours reading on the care of rabbits, especially diet, before bringing him home. The owner was kind enough to give me all of his stuff (cage, food, cage stand, toys, hay, some kind of smelly spray and powder, and salt blocks), along with the care sheet that the breeder gave her. I read through the care sheet, and some of the stuff just seemed off, along with what the lady was telling me. The care sheet didn't mention anything about giving the rabbit any veggies, and said to give the rabbit only a small amount of hay a day because too much would cause obesity, and said to give the rabbits human cereal too. Everything I have read has totally contridicted what this care sheet says. So here are my questions.
The rabbit is currently being fed kaytee garden blend pellets. They are alfalfa based and have things that look like crunchy carrots and some other stuff in it. I want to switch him to oxbow rabbit T formula. This needs to be done gradually, correct? What is the best time frame for doing the switch? 7 to 10 days? Or longer?
He can have all the hay he possibly wants, since it's good for his digestive tract, and his teeth, correct? He currently has timothy hay from kaytee, but I have hay from oxbow on order, and am planning on getting a bale from some coworkers.
His cage is one of your standard my first pet type cages. He has room to stand, and a little room to hop around, but I want to get him something bigger. Last night I started building a cube typepen using those wire cubes you can get from Target. I was thinking of using a linoleum bottom and putting fleece or flannel on top of it for the bunny to sit on. The care sheet I received said not to use anything fabric in the cage because the animal would chew it and bad stuff would happen, but all the pictures I've seen on here of cages show them lined with carpet, flannel, or fleece. I also saw the cube cages you have, and those look pretty simple to make. My question is, can the cage be lined in linoleum covered with flannel or fleece (the rabbit isn't totally litter trained yet), or is that a bad idea?
There was never any mention from the previous owner about the rabbit ever having any veggies so I went to the local farmers market and the grocery store to buy some good leafy lettuce type stuff (aka collard greens, cilatro, parsley, mustard greens, dark romaine). Last night I gave him one type of the leafy stuff ( can't remember what though), he kind of looked at it like he had no clue what it was, but by this morning all but a tiny piece was gone. Since I have no idea if he's had veggies before, how long should I wait before giving him a different type of veggie from the one I gave him last night?
What are some good idea for chew things for him? He has a few toys from his previous owner.
Right now his cube cage has his old cage in it (he acted a little panicked when I put him in the new cage, and felt better when he had his old cage to go into and come out of as he pleases), a litter box, food bowl (one for pellets, one for veggies), two water bottles, and a hay rack, along with a few toys. What else should there be in his cage?
Thanks for all the advice.
) Give him a small amount of one type, like you did, then introduce a bit more of the same thing. If he doesn't get weird poo or get gassy then that one is good and you can try a small bit f something else. You sound like you're cautious enough not to overload the little guy. People use some fruits as treats, too, but first things first.
