What can I feed my bloat survivor?

[user 18188]

Hey guys, newbie here, both to the forum and to rabbits so would really appreciate all the help you can offer! I adopted my rabbit Jamie about a week ago now and am concerned he is not getting the right food stuffs.

When I adopted him I spoke to two different people, one told me he is 4 months old and had just gotten over bloat, the other telling me he is 6-7 months and has a respitory problem - didn't know anything about him having survived bloat. I was told that he shouldn't be fed very many vegetables, and even then to only stick to cabbage and carrots on occassion.

I have two guinea pigs currently sharing the living room with Jamie and whenever I bring them their morning veg, my heart breaks a little as he clammours for some too. I'll chuck him a leaf of cabbage or a flower of brocolli, but am too nervous to really give him anything else (also I realise carrots should only be given as treats - my pigs are very lucky if they get one once a month - Jamie will probably be the same!)

He gets fed rabbit pellets twice daily and has plentiful amounts of hay, but I don't like him having such a restricted and dull diet and feel he really would benefit from eating more vegetables. I tried to do a little research on bloat, but don't really understand much about it. The page I did find warned against feeding rabbits cabbage or brocolli at all as it can make them very gassy and lead to bloat. I am now very nervous about even giving him this!

I am really very confused and concerned about him and would really appreciate your help.

Thank you.

N.B. I will be taking him to the vet sometime next week to get neutered - will the vet be able to tell me if he has/did have any illnesses? There is literally nothing written on his paper work other than he has not be neutered or had his jabs yet.

 

[Imbrium]

Carrots are very high in sugar and should be extremely limited... cabbage (and broccoli, for that matter) can cause gas and should also be extremely limited. Both are definitely best to avoid completely in a rabbit that's had digestive issues. As for feeding veggies, rabbits should primarily get leafy greens.

I'm glad you'll be taking him in for a check-up - that's definitely the way to go (especially with the supposed respiratory problem)! I'm not sure if the vet will be able to give you any idea about past digestive issues, but he may still have some advice on the subject.

Here are some links to sites that have really good info on rabbit diets and veggie-feeding:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#babies
http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html
http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#greens
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Food/Food_main.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables has a good list of veggies that can cause gas and should be fed in strict moderation normally (avoided completely in rabbits prone to digestive issues).

Unfortunately, "bloat" is both a specific medical condition and a term that's often tossed around and misapplied. Given the quality (or lack thereof) of the sparse medical history you provided, I don't know that I trust that to be an official diagnosis - it's possible the person actually meant GI stasis or something (stasis is a far more common issue than bloat in rabbits).

For most rabbits, non-cruciferous leafy green veggies won't contribute to any digestive issues at all (occasionally, some have problems like loose stools as a result).

If you wish to feed veggies, I recommend starting with the leafy greens that are least prone to causing an upset tummy, such as non-iceberg lettuce, cilantro, etc. Introduce them SLOWLY and one at a time, gradually increasing the amount while keeping an eye on his poops (make sure they remain hard/dry, are a consistent size and that there isn't a noticeable decrease in the amount of poops) and his appetite. I would wait until he's been introduced to a wide variety of leafy greens before trying "treat" foods like non-leafy green veggies and fruit (I would be wary of fruit in general given his background).

In addition to too much sugar having the potential to cause diabetes in rabbits, sugars can contribute to GI stasis in rabbits who are particularly sensitive to them. Commercial rabbit treats should be avoided for all rabbits. Pellets can sometimes contribute to stasis issues, as most have some sort of added sugar or molasses (Sherwood Forest brand, primarily found online (and, I believe, US-only), is the only one I know of that doesn't). Pellets with any seeds, nuts, dried fruits/vegs, colorful bits, etc. are a BIG no-no - you want plain pellets. You want something with low protein (12-14%), high fiber (a minimum of 20%) and low calcium (generally no higher than around 1%).

Oxbow Essentials is a great brand that I believe is available in many countries. As for UK specific brands, I believe Allen & Page and Burgess Excel are two of the healthiest ones available. Allen & Page has a "Natural" formula; I don't see a full ingredients list (granted, I didn't dig around to see if there's one available on a different site) but it sounds very similar to the Sherwood Forest stuff and may be easier on a sensitive digestive system - http://www.equi-box.co.uk/shop/deta...inea-pigs/allen-&-page-natural-rabbit-pellets .

By the way, if you're looking to provide more variety outside of offering veggies, you can also offer him different types of grass hays from time to time (If you give him a "cereal" type like oat, wheat, rye, etc. then you need to remove the seed heads before giving it to him - the excess carbs are unhealthy and can also contribute to stasis in sensitive rabbits.)

 

[Imbrium]

Hrm, just found the ingredients and GA for Allen and Page Natural Rabbit Pellets:

Ingredients:
Cereal straw (treated), wheat feed, grass meal, oat fibre, expelled linseed, organic alfalfa, calcium carbonate,molasses, natural vitamins, sodium chloride, actigen, mint.


Typical Analysis:
Protein 12% Oil 3.3% Ash 11% Fibre 23% Moisture 13.8% Vitamin A 8000iu/kg Vitamin D 1000iu/kg Vitamin E90iu/kg (as alpha tocopherol acetate) Copper 9mg/kg

I'm not liking the ingredients much at all... not sure what "cereal straw" is, but normally hay is the first ingredient in a good pellet. It also has molasses. I honestly can't say I recommend it after all.

However, I also dug up a site I was thinking of but lost track of the bookmark for - http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp
It's a UK-based site, so it includes brands that are commonly found there. The highlighted foods are the ones that are most ideal. It also provides calcium info, which it seems the GA for foods sold in the UK often doesn't mention. It also mentions calciumhosphorus ratios, which is something I almost never hear mentioned in the rabbit world but is intimately known by any decent sugar glider owner. That ratio is important because phosphorus affects calcium absorption (crucial in the glider world because of their proclivity for calcium deficiency, which results in HLP - hind leg paralysis). In other words, the amount of phosphorus offsets the true amount of calcium gained from a food.

By the looks of it, Burgess Excel, Supreme Fibrafirst or Supreme Science Selective Rabbit are the top choices available to you in the UK.

 

[JBun]

Your vet won't really be able to tell you anything about which foods your rabbit is sensitive to, though the vet could check for any respiratory issues. You may want to try and find out more from the place where you got him. You really need specific information on exactly what they think caused the bloat and if it was the veggies, which veggies in particular. If they don't have any paperwork for him, maybe talk to the people that were caring for him. Also make sure they aren't giving you info on the wrong rabbit and that it is actually your bun that had these issues. I would think though, that if a rabbit had medical issues they would have some sort of paperwork for it. Maybe you could get the name of the vet they took him to and get his medical info that way. It would be good to find out if he had actual bloat or if it was gas. There's a big difference between the two. Bloat causes severe abdominal distention and is immediately life threatening. Gas is more mild, is still life threatening, but not as immediate.

http://www.sawneeanimalclinic.com/d..._obstruction,_gastric_dilation_in_rabbits.pdf
http://www.bunnylu.org/bloat.php

I would be pretty reluctant to be feeding cruciferous veggies like cabbage, to a rabbit that had bloat. In my experience the cruciferous veggies are the ones that more often cause gas issues with rabbits, though it is possible for rabbits to be sensitive to other veggies as well. After you've gotten more info about what veggies may have caused the bloat episode, you can try introducing veggies and just avoid the ones that caused the problem. Herbs like cilantro and parsley usually seem to be well tolerated. Whatever you try though, it's probably best to start out one veggie at a time and in a very tiny amount for several days, before increasing, just to see if it causes any digestive upset. You'll want to keep a close eye out for any signs of discomfort.