Question about Diet and Cecals

[MsBinky]

Hi guys,

I have yet another question. Lol.I sure am glad I was referred to you...

All my buns are fedwith Prestige pellet mix (Riga makes it). I normally mixed in only 1/4 of this mix to Timothy pellets but i got worried about the quality of the Timothy ones. They are extremely dusty and twice I even found tiny bugs inside. They all have unlimited timothy hay (and water obviously)and get fresh greens and occasionally a treat like apple or banana. Is this ok? All my buns love the Prestige food and I was really happy with the quality. It's not dusty and all is crispy. My buns get plenty of exercise and they are at their expected weight for their breed. They get more hay than pellets anyway but I figured I'd ask you guys to double-check. I haven't heard any of you mention this food so I was wondering if there was something I should know

Also, I noticed that Dahlia leaves more cecals about in her cage. I read that it is a sign of trouble. However, Dahlia has done this since I've had her and she is in perfect shape. I wonder if it's possible that she is just that picky and refuses to eat them? This is the bun who eats almost nothing expect her hay and pellets. She did munch on carrot tops the other day and she even nibbled at parsley surprisingly. She only occasionally eats a piece of apple, though she loves apple wood. She is nicknamed Princess or Comptessina for how picky she is. Lol. Any ideas?

 

[MsBinky]

Btw...

I think I should explain the timothy pellet fear. At the time that I was having problems with the food, 2 of my bunnies got ill. I had Wiggles at the time but she was on a different feed because she needed to put on weight. Both the bunnies who were ill died a terrible death. They had repeated seizures, enormous weight loss, and got quite aggressive. I never found out what caused it. I spent over 500$ trying to save them via antibiotics and tests, etc. but the vet had no idea what it was. First he thought it was neurological but when the 2nd got ill we knew it was something else. I've had a fear that it was caused by the food ever since though I realize it is probably totally unrelated.

 

[Flashy]

I'm sorry that you had that stress of those bunnies being ill, that must have been awful. There is something that can occur in mouldy food, but I can't remember the name of it, so that is a possibility I guess, but really, like you say, we'll never know because only a necropsy can tell for sure.

I personally don't know anything about the pellets, but from here I have learnt that often bunnies don't eat their cecals if they are getting too many pellets. so maybe try restricting the pellets a bit and supplying unlimited hay and hopefully that might do the trick.

 

[MsBinky]

Okies I will try that with her. I hope she won't drop in weight because she really doesn't eat nearly as much as my other two. Lol. I should take a video if her when I try to feed her a treat and you'll understand.

 

[Flashy]

She shouldn't drop in weight, you are just merely substituting her pellets for her cecals and keeping her topped up with hay.

 

[MsBinky]

Duh, that makes sense. Lol Sorry about that :?

 

[JimD]

Moominmoo wrote:

There is something that can occur in mouldy food, but I can't remember the name of it,

That would be mycotoxins.
Here's a site with a lot of info
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabhaz.html#mold

~Jim

 

[Flashy]

JimD wrote:

Moominmoo wrote:

There is something that can occur in mouldy food, but I can't remember the name of it,

That would be mycotoxins.
Here's a site with a lot of info
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabhaz.html#mold

~Jim

That's it. Thanks Jim. I don't know whether it was that or not, however that might be something that would make more than one bunny ill and be due to food.

 

[Phinnsmommy]

The food sounds like it has lots of extra bits in it, like little colorful things.

Those aren't good for them, because they are incredibly sugary.

I would wean them onto plain pellets. Timothy Complete is what I use, and its one of the best that you can get it pet stores.

 

[MsBinky]

This is what the description on the site says:

Prestige Cuni Indoor Nature
Full value mixed food for dwarf rabbits that live mainly indoors.
Without pellets

Cuni Indoor Nature is a specially developed complete food for bunnies who mainly live indoors. The ingredients are tasty and easy to digest: vegetables and grains; a delicious, varied taste is achieved with dried leeks and carrots.

Cuni Indoor provides perfect fitness and health due to its low caloric content and additional vitamin D. An optimal intestinal function and stable intestinal flora are also achieved through high raw fiber content and the prebiotic Florastimul. Strong urine odors are minimized thanks to a 100% natural Yucca extract.