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Forum DIET & CARE Mushy Food Pellets?

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    • CapnRis
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        I picked up my first rabbit from my local SPCA shelter, an 18 month old, 4.5lb white-and-gray rabbit re-named Rory (short for Rorschach, which is what the pattern on his back looks like). I did a huge amount of research before adopting him, and his diet currently  consists of unlimited Oxbow timothy hay, a little romaine lettuce and celery every now and then, and 1/3 cup of Kaytee Supreme rabbit pellets.

        Last night, I checked on his pellet bowl, and found it half-full of mushy, half-eaten pellets. I initially thought he’d confused them for litter (the shelter didn’t use litter pans in the rabbit pens, instead spreading the litter around the bottom along with the hay) and peed in it, so I cleaned it out, washed the bowl and refilled it, as well as relocating his little box to the corner of the cage where most of his poop was. This morning I found the food dish identical to how I’d left it, albeit half-tipped over and full of aspen shavings.

        Is Rory chewing up his pellets and spitting them out? And if so, what can I do to make them a little more appetizing?


      • jerseygirl
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          Congratulations on your new bunny! My guess is he has peed on them and that could be for various reasons.

          A couple questions for you:
          Are the pellets your giving the same as the shelter was feeding?
          Are you using a bottle or crock for water? Is either close to the pellet bowl?
           

          albeit half-tipped over and full of aspen shavings?

          Are you using the shavings on the cage floor and litterbox or just in the box?

          Is Rory neutered? Rabbits can spray urine but it’s a habit more common in unneutered rabbits.


        • CapnRis
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            I have no idea what pellets the shelter was giving him, if any. I did not purchase them at the shelter’s Petique, instead buying them at a local Pet Supplies Plus.
            He has a large water bottle, which is on the other corner of the cage from the food dish and the hay.
            The bowl was tipped over, I’ve learned, because he sits on it; the shavings are probably in there from him kicking/pushing it around.
            The shavings are only being used over the cage floor for bedding; the litterbox has a hay pellet litter, which I believe is the same as what the shelter used.
            Rory was neutered over a week ago, according to the shelter’s records.

            I didn’t think it was urine, as I couldn’t smell anything, but I just saw him with his keister planted over the bowl again, so it’s probably what’s going on. For now, the bowl has been removed; he’ll get his pellet food scattered throughout his cage tomorrow morning.


          • jerseygirl
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              Lol. Buns can be silly sometimes. I sometimes find a single poop deposited in the food dish as if it’s a message that somebun is not pleased.

              If he has a litterbox, you don’t actually need bedding. It might confuse him as to where to go. You could pop some of the shavings on top of the pellet litter if you need to use it up. Lots of rabbits actually like the bare floor to lie on though you could add a mat or towel if he proves he won’t toilet on it too much.


            • Sarita
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                Yes, definitely remove the bedding, it’s not needed and cleaning that is double the work for you. They only need litter in their litter box. What size is his cage? If you purchased a cage from the pet store, it may be too small as well.


              • CapnRis
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                  After removing the bowl and placing a much larger litter pan into the cage (the first was way too small for him to sit in), Rory is now using the litter box appropriately. Following a suggestion I saw elsewhere, his morning pellets are now being scattered throughout his cage; it works much better, and he’s actually eating them now instead of peeing on them and then ignoring them. Apparently a pile of pellets is litter for Rory, which individual ones are yummy.

                  I have been worried that the cage is slightly on the small side; I purchased it from a local pet store. The dimensions are, if I recall, 31″L x 19″W x 15″ H. He seems comfortable and has space to move around and lie down, even with a large bendy log-hut in the cage with him, so I haven’t rushed out to get another. I will probably get a larger one when he is more comfortable with the house and myself and my fiancee, enough that we can let him roam about the entire house (as of now he’s been confined to the bedroom), as I plan to move his cage to the living room at that point.

                  On a related note, I’ve been wondering how well rabbits handle stairs. I can imagine going down them may be perilous for the little guy, fearless as he’s proven himself to be (the cats don’t phase him at all, though he weirds out the cats be checking them out and pushing past them as he pleases. It’s terribly funny to watch).


                • Monkeybun
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                    Definitely too small. He’ll be needing a much larger one as he gets bigger.

                    Stairs… depends ont he bun. Monkey can go up and down them like a champ. Smudge, not so much. Some buns will just avoid them altogether, so you don’t even need to bunny proof if thats the case with you.


                  • Kokaneeandkahlua
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                      Congrats and welcome!!

                      Even the largest rabbit cages are FAR too small for bunnies. Sadly. And the huge ones are expen$ive Most of us make cages out of cubes (Called C&C cages) or dedicate rooms to our bunnies or have them free range (just like a dog or cat). Provided the cage is temporary while you litter train your bunny and let him settle in (remember you can resell the cage to recoop your cost), and he gets out time (at least four hours a day) -the cage will do while he’s getting trained and settled. Bare minimum requirements are four hours of out time, and a spot that is four times as large as the rabbit completely stretched out (though if you imagine living in a space only four times your size you can imagine the problem) so it’s best to work out a larger space eventually.

                      Check out the habitats section here for ideas-you can build the C&C condo yourself, to suite your space and your tastes-and it really is as easy as 1-2-3 meaning it only requires zip ties to fasten pre fabricated cubes together and lining it with coroplast (like cardboard but made out of plastic)

                      You can see photos’ of great habitat options here https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/RabbitHabitats/tabid/71/Default.aspx


                    • CapnRis
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                        Thanks for the welcome, K&K! I have been looking at the cube condos and such, and after talking it over with the fiancee, we’re now planning on putting money aside so I can construct one for him. I would let him have free range of the apartment, but there is a great deal of bunnyproofing to do (I have no idea how I will keep him away from the jungle of cables beneath my computer desk, as well as out of the cats’ litter pans), and I’m not sure how he’ll handle the stairs. The only other issue is we’re sort of keeping him a secret from our respective parents, as all four of them advised against adopting another animal for multiple reasons including money and maintenance, and we’d rather not appear to be blatantly disregarding their advice, even though that’s exactly what we did. Since the only room that would have the space necessary for a proper-sized cage would be the living room downstairs, as soon as he’s moved down there the secret’s out. It will happen before long, though; I doubt he’ll have the same housing conditions a month from now.

                        I do let him out as often as I can; his cage door is open pretty much all the time my fiancee and I are home and awake, which is generally from 4 to 10 PM. He binkies quite a bit while he’s out, especially around our male cat Severus. The first time he did it, I was afraid he had had some sort of uncontrolled muscle spasm!


                      • tobyluv
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                          Another option would be an exercise pen, also called x-pens or corrals. You can get them at any of the pet supply stores.  Most are made of metal, some are plastic. The metal woud be best since plastic could be chewed. They can be formed into different shapes, circles or squares, and can be opened to different sizes. They range in height from 2 feet to 4 feet or more. Two feet is usually too low, since a lot of bunnies coulld jump over that, a 2 1/2 or 3 foot corral would be better. Some have doors, otherwise you step over the sides if you want to go in one, and you can just reach over the sides to place food or water inside. That’s what we use in the health building at the sanctuary where I volunteer. If you have a house or a box for them inslde the corral, make sure that they can’t use that to climb on top then jump over the sides of the corral.

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                      Forum DIET & CARE Mushy Food Pellets?