Good fiber and/or water-rich veggies?

[Binkles]

Last week Little-Bit had a pretty bad stasis episode. As in nothing in, nothing out. Scared the living Schneizel out of me, but about ten hours after a trip to the vet (complete with sub-Q fluids and all) she regained her appetite and was almost normal by the same time the next day. I’m fairly certain it’s because she’s just gone through a moderately heavy molt. (And I suspect that she over-grooms….but…she is a lionhead after all.) I’ve been giving her six cc’s of Laxatone daily and have just cut back to 3cc today. Never had to force-feed her anything, thank God. She’s just fine now. Normal input/ output levels and all..

But I am a little hyper-paranoid now, and here is my question; what is a good watery and/ or high-fiber veggie that I can add to her diet? Apparently the 2 1/2 heads of Romaine lettuce (and of course unlimited hay) I give Little-Bit every day doesn’t quite cut it. I was sure that in eating THAT much romaine every day that she would have a pretty healthy GI tract, but I guess not. =s

Suggestions?

[Sarita]

You really should vary her vegetables – she should have at least 3 different vegetables. Rabbits like humans need a variety in their diet. You should consider some fresh herbs and things like cilantro and parsley (flat leaf and curly) and a variety of lettuces not just romaine. Also things like kale, dandelion greens and carrot tops are good.

I think 2 1/2 heads of romaine lettuce is too much as the recommended amount according to the House Rabbit Society is 2 cups chopped vegetables per 6 pounds body weight.

[Beka27]

any and all of the recommended veggies will be good for her to keep hydrated and get things moving. do you keep some water on them when you serve? i don’t know of any that are particularly high in fiber moreso than others, but i’m really not a veggie expert… someone else might know. it is a good idea like Sarita said to give different types of veggies. this will make sure she is getting all her nutrients. if one veggie is lacking in something, another will fill in that gap. plus i think it might be more interesting to have some variety. you’ll want to introduce the new ones slowly of course.

i have about 10 veggies or so that i know my bunnies like and can handle without problems and my store usually has in stock. every week i change out one or two so they have a rotation of different things. this also depends on what looks good at my store… if one veggie is kinda iffy looking this week, i know i can substitute something similar. they always get two lettuces (romaine, escarole, green leaf, red leaf, endive)… one green (dandelion, collard, mustard)… and one herb (flat or curly parsley, cilantro). a couple others that get rotated on occasion are watercress and carrot tops.

my two buns share 6 cups of veggies a day. if i gave them more, they’d eat more. i know at my store our romaine heads are HUGE. so i wonder if your store has smaller heads? or it does sound like that may be a bit much for the veggies for one bun. have you measured to figure out exactly how much the 2-2.5 heads are breaking down too? how much hay does she eat?

[peepi&warri]

I think celery is a good veggie to give to help increase water intake (its mostly water). i don’t believe it has much fiber in it though.

[Beka27]

also, not all buns like celery. mine will nibble at the leafy part a bit, but for the most part it gets ignored… some people (whose buns enjoy celery!)use it as a crunchy treat since there’s not a big nutritional value.

[KatnipCrzy]

My buns are not too fond of celery.  But if you do feed it- be sure to cut it into small section- not lengthwise but across the celery.  Celery has those long “stings” that run the length of the stalk- and if you cut them into width-wise it prevents the bunny from having to eat a long fibrous “string”.

I hope I explained that right.

[peepi&warri]

Yeah, my buns weren’t too fond of celery at first, they would always leave it for last or not eat it at all. Now they love it. It must be an acquired taste.

[Balefulregards]

Coco’s mix is always a lettuce ( romaine, red or green leaf) – A parsley, a Mint ( i have a local middle eastern place that sells lots of mints) and a “special” – depending on what looks good in the bins. Last week was a chicory, before that a nice arugula and this week a very healthy bunch of cilantro.
She gets this mix for about 3 to 4 days and then I re-buy the mix.

I am lucky to be in a city with “ethnic” grocers – so it is fairly inexpensive ( like 3 or 4 bucks) to buy her a new set of greens mid week.

[Binkles]

Okay yeah, maybe that was a little misleading. When I say 2 1/2 heads, what I REALLY mean is 2 1/2 heads of those pre-packaged ‘romaine hearts’ that come in the gallon bags. (IE, Publix’s Greenwise Organic Romaine Hearts) Yeah they’re not like the GIGANTIC heads that you find loose at the grocery store. More like with the first couple of layers of leaves off. Is this still too much?

So basically she needs two lettuces, a green, and an herb? And if she tolerates them, it won’t throw her system off to rotate them weekly like that?

It actually makes a lot more sense. I just know that bunny tummies are fragile. I’ll make my current mission for this week to introduce an herb like cilantro or flat/ curly parsley. How much of these should I give daily her in proportion to how much lettuce I give her?

[Sarita]

I usually give my rabbits a generous amount of herbs (either dill, mint, or basil), a generous amount of parsley or cilantro and either green leaf or romaine lettuce (not too much lettuce though since most of my rabbits don’t prefer the lettuce – some do but not all). I only really rotate the herbs and keep the rest the same each day. I also will do baby carrots a few times a week as well.

I don’t really think there are any hard or fast rules about how much of each kind you give them, as long as there is a variety and you don’t have to vary it each day – just a variety.

I don’t think a good variety of greens will throw her system off.

Mine get very little pellets and I have one that gets absolutely no pellets at all. Are you giving her pellets? Pellets can be a huge culprit in stasis prone rabbits.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

My mainstay veggies are lettuces, parsley, peppers and broccoli. Mine hate celery (so does their mom ) and they don’t seem to like herbs tooo too much, not worth the money if they don’t even get excited over it

Glad little-bit is better!

[Binkles]

Well I got some organic Cilantro. :3 I’ll give her a few sprigs tonight and see how she feels about them.

I do give her Oxbow T pellets, but not a lot of them. (Though I had been giving her a little more when she was recovering from stasis because I wanted to make sure she was nourished.) I usually give her perhaps a little more than a teaspoon full.

Little-Bit really hadn’t ever had any problems with stasis until she started shedding. In fact, her poops have always been nice and big and healthy. She hit her first all-out shed and BAM! Her GI tract retalliated.

Any recommendations from anyone on whether or not I should cut back on the Romaine?

[Binkles]

Omigawsh. You guys didn’t warn me that Cilantro is so PUNGENT. Yuck! D; Oh ew…this will take some getting used to..

[Beka27]

okay, so they’re smaller heads of romaine… lol. yeah i was thinking of the HUGE ones my store carries… that would be a lot of romaine! can you get a measuring cup and pack the chopped veggies in before feeding to determine how much that is actually breaking down to? it’s hard to say if it’s too much because i’m not sure how much it really is. depending on the amount, maybe go down to 1 or 1 & 1/2 heads when you start giving other veggies.

when i mentioned the “two lettuces, one green, one herb” thing, that was just an example of what i do… of course others do things differently, but i have found that works for us. it’s also very helpful on the rare occasion i have to send Mike to the store to buy veggies without me. i tell him this and i know he’ll be able to handle the task…

[RachelF]

cilatro does have a strong smell– i actually like the smell *blushes* but I think it gets my bun excited as well.

[Balefulregards]

Oh My – We are a cilantro lovin family – Humans and rabbit alike. I laughed when I read your reaction – it was my reaction many years ago when I first encountered it too.

But now I can smell it when Coco is munching away…and it makes me want either guacamole…or Thai food.

[Author]

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