Hello

[Oreosmom]

I’m a “new” old rabbit owner, I have had rabbits growing up as a child. I thought to intruduce a rabbit to our family.  We got a phone call from a family member that a friend of theirs was giving away a rabbit. We took the rabbit..I dont think the people that we got it from knew what they were doing..when I had asked how many carrots and veggies they fed it, they gave me a bag of iceburg lettuce..and told me she never had a carrot!   I am slowly trying to undo what they did, by giving carrots and a mix of different lettuce (including the iceburg lettuce that she is used to)  that actually has nutritional value for her. I have browsed the forums and I think they are a great! Any tips would be most welcome!

Oreosmom

[Monkeybun]

Welcome! Poor little lady, sounds like she had a bit of a bad start. Hopefully she will do better with you

Is she spayed at all? Probably not, with the people before not having any bunny knowledge. Hopefully you are planning on getting that done for her

[LoveChaCha]

Hello and welcome

Iceberg has very little nutrients in it. That is why it is not recommended for rabbits to consume. Other leafy greens like: Romaine, Green Leaf, Red Leaf, etc are great and are nutrient packed.

Does she have access to a lot of hay?

[Oreosmom]

I am not sure if she has been spayed..As soon as I asked about the carrots I got too mad to ask about anything else…mentally I was already thinking how to undo what they did. She is overweight and I think all they fed her was hay, pellets and iceburg lettuce. From what I see she also had very little excercise..Here she is running around all day and most of the night.
She has unlimited amount of hay and I give her up to 2 cups of greens and carrots and 1/8 cup of pellets.

[Sarita]

Welcome – she sounds like she is in good hands now and you are on the right track to getting her a better diet and more exercise.

[Oreosmom]

I give her the spring mix, Do you think that is ok? It is a mixture red leaf, chickory, spinach and arugula.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Hello and welcome!
For what its worth, carrots aren’t ideal for rabbits anyway, its more of a treat food because its so high in sugar So about an ounce a day at most. And iceberg while not ideal, just has no nutritional value, its not toxic or anything. And its really good they were feeding her hay!

How is her stomach doing? Her poops ok? Its usually recommended to introduce greens very slowly to reduce the chance of poobum I’d love to see more photos!! Are you litter box training her? If so, how’s that going?

[Oreosmom]

They are baby carrots an I give her 4 a day. She Is litter box trained and her poops are good.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Thats good that she’s litter trained!! I’d cut back on the carrots though, maybe a half of a baby carrot a day. They really are more like candy than a good healthy green, and can make a bun overweight if fed too many.

[Sarita]

One baby carrot a day is good. Carrots are good for rabbits but they are meant to be the whole diet just a portion of the diet along with a variety of fresh greens. Spring Mix is good…but be careful with this because for some reason the red lettuces seem to spoil faster than the green ones which is pretty darn frustrating (it’s still good lettuce just more perishable).

You might also try some fresh parsley, cilantro and herbs.

And of course unlimited grass hay like timothy or orchard.

[Oreosmom]

Thank you for the carrot tip, will cut it down to half/one a day. I know that the red lettuces spoil faster and I agree it is very frustrating! I also will try the herbs.

[Oreosmom]

Thank you all for your help!

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I’ve noticed the same thing with the red lettuce! I thought I just had a bad batch. Good to know!

This thread needs more pics!!

[bunnyfriend]

Welcome It is always nice to hear about a bunny who finally gets a loving and caring home.

[Danceteach]

Not everyone is meant to have rabbits. At least they didn’t throw her out to fend for itself. Romain is a favorite next to celantro.

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