Oh dear he won’t drink the sweetened water? Yes, they can absolutely have the fresh papaya and pineapple. I am not sure how long of a time you should leave the juice sweeetneed water out, I’ve just usually given the fresh fruit. As for the hair, try some Petromalt and see if he will go for that.

What a tough little bun!  Wow.  O.K. no more than 1/2 teaspoon per pound of body weight per day.

where would u get fresh papaya from? god i hate england lol

Both of our bunnies LOVE pineapple. So do my children so we have it in the house often. I wanted to mention that our friend who is a vat said to give the bunnies the middle of the pineapple (the core). Normally we would just throw this away. He says the bunny will get the benefit of the pineaplle and the tougher material is great for their teeth! Hopscotch and Mango LOVE to gnaw on the strips. As an aside – my hermit crabs also like to eat this part of the pineapple too!

Valerie

no-one in my house likes pineapple.. i would imagine tinned pineapple would be no good?

Most tinned pineapple (as with any tinned fruit) is packed in sweetened syrup or juice. While fresh really is best, if you find it packed in pineapple juice that is not from concentrate it’ll do as well. : )

I found freash papaya at walmart. I bought a giant one, then cut up all the fruit, and put it in water in containers and froze it. To dethaw it I put some in a strainer and run cold water over it.

Also, in the ‘ethnic’ food section of the supermarket, where you buy noodle soup and soy sauce etc? They usually have tinned papaya there too!!

Just curious, why the pineapple and papaya?  Just for treats or for health reasons?

Hi Charlene! It’s believed that they help break down hair that’s been eaten to prevent blockages of hair balls! Since rabbits can’t vomit up a hair ball it’s important to prevent them

Wow, really?  I wish I had known that.  How much and how often?  Do you wait until they’re molting or just give them a treat everday.  Mine would certainly love that

Really, the best thing is fresh hay.

It’s worth reading Dana Krempel’s comments on papaya and pineapple and all that good stuff in her article on GI Stasis.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

Look at the Enzymatic Digestive Aids to read her comments.

How do you know if he has a blockage too? I just read that in your post.

I would ask your vet to give him fluids. Fluids and reglan recently helped my Pepe pass a big mass of fur and stuff in his stomach. Ideally it would have been better to get him to take fluids orally but he’s too difficult to handle so I just did sub-q’s at home and at the vet along with reglan shots to get his gut moving.

I don’t think you will really know though unless the vet takes an x-ray but it does sound like his fur and other stuff is passing through.

K & K the theory is that the enzymes break up the mucus that binds the fur together in the stomach, not the fur. : )