All hay diet for rabbits?! HELP?
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Nov 23, 2011
I’ve been really busy studying for finals these last two months, and I haven’t been able to buy the pellets for my rabbit. I haven’t been paying attention, but I have been feeding him a handful of Timothy hay every night. I just picked him up, and he is REALLY skinny. I’m really scared, he seemed fine, but I noticed I had to refill his water bottle to the top every night. It looks like he has been pooping fine, should I take him to the vet right away? Or should I just change his diet? Please help, I love him very much and would do anything for him. If it helps, he is a miniature lionhead. Thank you.
Tags: diet, handful, last two months, paying attention, pellets, rabbit, studying for finals, timothy hay, vet, water bottle
oregano13
Nov 23, 2011
When rabbits lose weight rapidly, it can cause damage to their organs (as can depriving them of necessary vitamins and minerals). As he has been drinking extra water, I would be concerned about kidney failure. You should take him to a vet to be checked over. He should have blood tests to check organ function, and likely also a check of his urine since he has been drinking so much water. Rabbits CANNOT live on hay alone, it does not have enough calories and does not have the full complement of vitamins. Some people don’t feed pellets, but to do that you need to feed LOTS of a very wide variety of safe and fresh vegetables (gradually and appropriately introduced).
kouneli
Nov 23, 2011
You could slowly start adding a few pellets to the diet (only 5% of his diet should be pellets). He also needs fresh greens each day, though. If he’s young (6 months and under) you should feed alfalfa hay mixed with the timothy. If he’s older, then I would recommend bringing him to the vet to make sure everything is ok health-wise.
htj759495
Nov 23, 2011
If it is an adult rabbit he needs to eat more hay then pellets anyway. You can also give him fresh veggies. Please look at rabbit.org. This will provide you with the info you need to know about what to feed your rabbit and how much. It also gives list of safe veggies and fruits that your rabbit can eat. You do need to buy some pellets for your rabbit also.
He probably does not need to see a vet.
smoosh
Nov 23, 2011
Omg!! Ur a bad person for not giving him any food for two months =/ I have a rabbit too and you can’t just feed him hay
MJF
Nov 23, 2011
If your hay is good quality eating hay, the rabbit will do fine eating just that, but a small amount if vegetables would be good too. If your hay is poor quality, the rabbit could starve. Also, remember to give the rabbit unlimited amounts of hay. Give it more than it can eat. It would be a good idea to get some pellets back into the diet slowly as these are good for weight gain. One other thing, if your rabbit has a dental problem, it may not be able to eat the hay which might explain the weight loss. I think you need to take action on having him gain weight right away.
Cheyann
Nov 23, 2011
While rabbits can survive on hay only diets if your rabbit can tolerate pellets and veggies then you should be feeding veggies and pellets.
First you need to take him to a vet. Then you need to start feeding unlimited hay and at least 2 cups of veggies per 6 pounds of body weight. Veggies need to be introduced slowly and 1 at a time. Here is a veggie list
http://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=144
You don’t need to feed pellets as long as you feed enough and a variety of veggies. Pellets will help him gain weight back though. Just don’t feed more than 1/4 cup per 6 pounds of body weight.