LoveCrumb
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone,
Experienced rabbit owner here. My bunny has gone through quite the stressful time this past month with a few traumatic vet visits. That issue is for a whole other post and I'm too overwhelmed with all the information right now to get into that.
He's about 2.5 kg and up until this past month he was getting 2tbsp of timothy pellets over 24 hours and unlimited hay. No veg or treats allowed on vet rec and he does better without them. The vet wants to gradually reduce that down to 1.5tbsp for his specific condition, (vet said it's good if he sheds a tiny bit of weight) and if his weight allows it, reducing again as I see fit.
My bunny is doing much better (as I was writing this sentence, he jumped up onto my bed, settled on my chest for 20 minutes of face licks, jumped back down and initiated a game of tag )and he's back to eating a good amount of hay (still not as much as I'd like), but I've had to rely on critical care for the last month to keep his poop coming in the shape and quantity I want, more-so following the traumatic vet visits. I've noticed that the amount of calcium excreted in his urine has gone up, though it was always a lot, and his blood test last week came back with (quote from the vet) "3.7 calcium, which is a little on the high side, and we want to get him down to a 3."
Right now, however, he's still getting .75tbsp to 1.5 tbsp of critical care a day (depending on how his poop looks), which also acts as a vector for his powdered probiotic. This may be something I will have to continue on indefinitely, I just don't know yet. When I take away the critical care for a day, his poop gets smaller and drier, so I'm wary of taking it and his probiotic out of his diet at this point, and I might need to keep it as a part of his diet indefinitely.
A tbsp of critical care is 24 calories of metabolized energy. I cannot find anywhere how that compares to the oxbow pellets, or even what the daily calorie requirements are for a bunny (only protein, fiber and vitamins comes up). I know the amount of feed recommended per kg of body weight, and I know that in my case I'm giving less than what is generally recommended, but I don't know the calories or how critical care fits into that picture.
Does a tbsp of critical care = a tbsp of timothy pellet? Their nutritional analysis is fairly close, though the critical care is a bit richer. If I give him 1tbsp of critical care one day, I give him 1tbsp of pellets in addition. Soon, I will start reducing the pellets, while probably maintaining the critical care. After a vet visit/tests, he would only eat critical care (good thing he adores the stuff) for a day before showing any interest in hay again- perhaps that is why his calcium excretions increased (and hopefully that's why the calcium in his blood test was so high?)
So the goal here is to see him lose a tiny bit of weight, consume/excrete less calcium and eat more hay, while also accounting for the addition of critical care to his diet. Right now, I'm treating a tbsp of critical care like a tbsp of pellets. Does anyone else use critical care regularly? Any knowledge to share?
Experienced rabbit owner here. My bunny has gone through quite the stressful time this past month with a few traumatic vet visits. That issue is for a whole other post and I'm too overwhelmed with all the information right now to get into that.
He's about 2.5 kg and up until this past month he was getting 2tbsp of timothy pellets over 24 hours and unlimited hay. No veg or treats allowed on vet rec and he does better without them. The vet wants to gradually reduce that down to 1.5tbsp for his specific condition, (vet said it's good if he sheds a tiny bit of weight) and if his weight allows it, reducing again as I see fit.
My bunny is doing much better (as I was writing this sentence, he jumped up onto my bed, settled on my chest for 20 minutes of face licks, jumped back down and initiated a game of tag )and he's back to eating a good amount of hay (still not as much as I'd like), but I've had to rely on critical care for the last month to keep his poop coming in the shape and quantity I want, more-so following the traumatic vet visits. I've noticed that the amount of calcium excreted in his urine has gone up, though it was always a lot, and his blood test last week came back with (quote from the vet) "3.7 calcium, which is a little on the high side, and we want to get him down to a 3."
Right now, however, he's still getting .75tbsp to 1.5 tbsp of critical care a day (depending on how his poop looks), which also acts as a vector for his powdered probiotic. This may be something I will have to continue on indefinitely, I just don't know yet. When I take away the critical care for a day, his poop gets smaller and drier, so I'm wary of taking it and his probiotic out of his diet at this point, and I might need to keep it as a part of his diet indefinitely.
A tbsp of critical care is 24 calories of metabolized energy. I cannot find anywhere how that compares to the oxbow pellets, or even what the daily calorie requirements are for a bunny (only protein, fiber and vitamins comes up). I know the amount of feed recommended per kg of body weight, and I know that in my case I'm giving less than what is generally recommended, but I don't know the calories or how critical care fits into that picture.
Does a tbsp of critical care = a tbsp of timothy pellet? Their nutritional analysis is fairly close, though the critical care is a bit richer. If I give him 1tbsp of critical care one day, I give him 1tbsp of pellets in addition. Soon, I will start reducing the pellets, while probably maintaining the critical care. After a vet visit/tests, he would only eat critical care (good thing he adores the stuff) for a day before showing any interest in hay again- perhaps that is why his calcium excretions increased (and hopefully that's why the calcium in his blood test was so high?)
So the goal here is to see him lose a tiny bit of weight, consume/excrete less calcium and eat more hay, while also accounting for the addition of critical care to his diet. Right now, I'm treating a tbsp of critical care like a tbsp of pellets. Does anyone else use critical care regularly? Any knowledge to share?