A couple of issues

[Mrs. PBJ]

Ok so here is a little back story

About a month in a half ago Storm had another bought with Stasis. That would be 4 in 6 months of owning him.

So once he recovered he went in for his yearly and the vet asked about his resent tummy problems. I called and got a water bottle/IV bag from the vet for him so it was in his file. So I told him how long i had had him his diet and such. So the first thing the vet said is pull him off pellets completly. So we did that for two weeks. He had a small bout of Stasis almost everyday. Well very gasy.

Went back told him what was going on and he said ok lets pull him off vegys for a month. He told me he knows rabbits needs vegys but some cant handle it. I dont understand as that is there natural diet but ok. Well Storm has been healthy as a tick for the past month happier then ever before and eating so much hay I cant keep up.

Here are my questions

His water intake in the past month has dropped drastically I could go a week without filling it up. I used to have to fill it up everyday. Is this normal?

And his fur has started looking dull again. What can i add to his diet to help with this? I want him on vegys. But I dont want to keep making him sick either. He is in molt right now.

Storm is a netherland Dwarf

he is two pounds

Has unlimited timothy hay and 1/8 cup of zupreem pellets

Nuetered they checked his teeth fine for the moment

eatning normally happy hoppy nothing out of the norma but the water intake and his fur

 

[Flashy]

Is he due a regular moult? Mine get that rough look when due a moult.

I do disagree that rabbits need veggies though to be honest. I know of many rabbits that get minimal veggies and do fine (my 16 are some of them, but I also know of others too). In fact, so far (touch lots of wood) I have never had a stasis issue since I've been on the site, I've never had a gassy bunny either. 13/16 of mine are nethies too.

I would think he could do fine without veggies, especially if they are helping him feel so much better.

If you really want him on veggies then wait for a while and then reintroduce really slowly, one by one. maybe introduce one veggie each month so you can identify if there is a particular veggie causing him problems.

A sunflower seed each day might help his fur if there is a problem, but it may just be moulting time.

 

[tonyshuman]

I don't know about veggies. I know they help with stasis, but can cause gas.

I agree that a molt can cause dull hair. Also, there's not a lot of protein or fat in veggies, so cutting them out wouldn't do much to his coat, I think.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

I was reading recently that a tablespoon of soaked flax seed (found at health store) can be beneficial to the coat health....

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/severe-dandruff-angora-rabbit.htm

According to the flax council of Canada, studies indicate that flax seed mat assist in decreasing heart arrythmia in rabbits as well.
http://www.flaxcouncil.ca/english/pdf/FF_Arrhythmia_R.pdf

Think of it as a good dose of healthy fatty acids.

 

[tonyshuman]

That's interesting, Autmmn. I had been giving Muffin about a teaspoon of flax seed (not soaked, from Whole Foods) every other day for a few months at my vet's recommendation, to help with her constant molts and bad looking fur. It has a lot of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the heart and coat. However, it didn't seem to work for my girl. So I've stopped, and am now replacing some of the pellets I give her with an alfalfa-based one to see if that helps her out. But she has had constant molts for several months now.

Another thing that is recommended in some bad molts is a black oil sunflower seed daily (one). I am very cautious of seeds that large because of difficulty digesting them. Flaxseeds are a lot smaller and easier to digest--I only saw issues (big poos and uneaten cecals) in Muffin from them if I fed every day.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Seeds of any nature ought to be soaked, and then ground in a coffee grinder to make the system more amenable to absorption.

Try soaking and grinding Claire, and it will make a difference. Seeds are specially coated to resist breakdown by animal digestive systems (to ease reproductive distribution of the baby plants inside as poops)

Incidentally, my mom started putting ground flax on my cereal growing up, to bring a bit of shine into my coat/hair LOL!

 

[tonyshuman]

Thanks for that tip, Autumn! I've been looking for a reason to buy a coffee grinder anyway to make some of those treats that require you to grind up pellets. Maybe I'll add some soaked, ground flax seeds to the recipes for treats to make super Omega-3 bunny treats!