Summer Diet

[cestrin]

I have a one year old lion head that I got in the middle of last summer. I live in Michigan so the weather got very cold over the winter. It seems like lately she has been eating less. I mention when I got her and the winter because she may have been adding to her appetite when I got her and is now back to what she was eating when I first got her. I am used to putting food in her cage in the morning and having it all be gone the next morning. I let her run around my room and house (in fact, I have the real cage in the room!) so she can be active. I feed her lettuce every day so she may be getting tired of it. Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

[dragynflye]

probably. most animals eat less in the warm months. in the winter, they need to eat more to keep warm. in the summer, they don't need as much.

you should try giving a wider variety of greens. different greens have different nutrients. not to mention, they enjoy the variety! what kind of lettuce are you feeding her? i ask because when most people just say "lettuce", they mean iceberg lettuce, and iceberg lettuce isn't good for rabbits.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Mine eat less when it is hot. I found turning the ac to cooler improved their appetites.

 

[gmas rabbit]

Benjamin just eats non stop, but I guess less in the hot weather. We have access to dandelions, clover and stuff from the garden so he gets a variety of stuff. I agree maybe your rabbit is tired of lettuce. There was a feature on yesterday, Supporting your rabbit in tough times, had great ideas on what to feed them and economically. I find if I have to buy food, organic spring mix or herbal salad are better than straight lettuce as there is a variety of ingredients.

 

[cestrin]

Thanks for the response! I actually feed her romaine...I know iceberg is terrible. I need to read the article on economic meals.

 

[Stone_family3]

Belldandy eats way less in the summer, though she prefers to be outside and gets an attitude if it's nice and she's stuck inside. So during the summer she has grass to nibble on plus tons of greens and veggies from the store. She also doesn't want to eat hay.

When I do my regular grocery shopping I alway swing by the clearance section to see if they have any discounted produce. It's always welcome in my house. Also she gets some of my "scraps" when I cook.

 

[lagomorph]

If her environment is about the same temperature year round (i.e., if you have AC for summer) she should eat about the same amount, year round. If her environment is hot in summer it is perfectly normal for her to eat less. Mine are in an unheated and un-air conditioned shed and enclosure, and eat much more in winter than in summer. They need the extra calories in cold weather to generate warmth.