Help! Bugs in pellets!

[BunnyLiz]

Hammer pellets were from a feed store, i was waiting till they ran low to get oxbow and make the switch. When i went to fill his bowl last night there was a bug on the side of the container.. so i looked and there are more in the bottom! Of course i didnt give him any and im going to the store to get pellets asap. But they wont be oxbow, i have to order them to the store first. My worry is switching to the temporary pellets without old pellets. What should i do? Im afraid to cut most of the pellets out because he is a baby and on unlimited pellets for another 3 months. and i dont want to buy more at the feed store to switch with because they are appartently awful. Right now he has a large breakfast and a unreasonably huge pile of hay, so i know he wont be hungery.. but he is supposed to have all the pellets he wants all the time. Help?!

[Beka27]

this is what makes me nervous about only ordering food/hay. you never know when it will be necessary to have more that day and then you’re kinda stuck. i’m not quite sure what to tell you… ideally this kinda thing does not happen… i wonder if him not having pellets til the oxbow comes is a better solution than inferior pellets that might cause a tummy upset? or be infected with bugs…

[BunnyLiz]

No i was going to get a small bag of pellets to feed until the oxbow comes, which could be up to 2 weeks. I wasnt going to be feeding the buggy pellets

[BunnyLiz]

i got a small bag of sunseed pellets from the pet store. It was the only kind without all the little colorful candy pieces. Im still not sure if im going to give it to him or not. Waiting for the oxbow and give him that a little at a time? Feed a tiny amount of sunseed until the oxbow and then feed a tiny amount of each, eventually all oxbow? Go get fresh pellets from the feed store, that could be.. well not good, and then make the switch to oxbow? Im waiting for more advice as of right now

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Try feeding a small amount and just encouraging extra hay/veggie eating until you can bring in the oxbow and add that slowly as well Gross on the bugs-yuck! Sorry that happened!

[BunnyLiz]

Thanks! i gave him a tiny amount of pellets (like 15 maybe) and he gobbled those down. Ill give him a few more tonight and steadily increase a little till i can get my hands on some oxbow. I cannot wait till he is about 7 months! There is a petsmart in reasonable driving distance that carries oxbow hay and pellets, but not alfalfa so for now i just order the hay and will be ordering the pellets. This will be so much easier when he can have adult food! Plus then i wont have to worry about running out or something similar to last nights troubles.

And now that i think about last night.. everything makes since. He was EXTREMELY loud and bad last night in his cage, i didnt get my full 8 hours of sleep to say the least lol. He tossed bowls, dug and dug, threw litter, dumped his hay bin, shredded his rug, moved his willow tent.. etc. He was obviously angry that he didnt get his bowl refilled with pellets lol. Now im sorry i scolded him haha

[JK]

Are you sure they don’t sell Oxbow somewhere near you?  That’s really gross about the bugs. 

[MimzMum]

Would purchasing some timothy pellets be a good way to make the eventual switch away from the alfalfa? Just a thought here.

I buy Kaytee timothy pellets for my bunnies, which are pretty readily available even at my local supermarket, but obviously I haven’t had to worry about a young bun, all mine were relatively older than Hammer when I got them.

And I am also curious, is brand switching as much of a problem as pellet type switching? I would assume most pellets are pretty standard on composition, but I do wonder sometimes.

[KatnipCrzy]

I hate bugs- these are so digusting to find when you are not expecting them.  If I ever buy bulk parrot food- some dried fruit seed mixes- I freeze them for at least 24 hours before putting them in the container for storage.  Parrots can and do eat some meat- so bugs in their food is not necessarily harmful to them (yuck!!!).  I like to be on the safe side and freeze anything bulk just in case.  I know the same is true with hamsters- they can be fed mealworms, etc.  (Not that I ever would).  But bunnies just aren’t meat/bug eaters in the wild. 

So if you ever want to make sure there are no bugs or bug eggs- just put the seed/pelllets/whatever in thr freezer for at least 24 hours and that will kill anything you could have brought home from the petstore.

[BunnyLiz]

Yes im positive nobody around here sells oxbow pellets in alfalfa. My petsmart carries the timothy but not alfalfa.. confusing right?! But i just checked my order today and its expected to be in the store for pick up (no delivery charge this way) on Thursday! along with a 9 pound bag of hay! Hammer is just plowing through this stuff lol

[Beka27]

oh that’s great you can pick up in store! and it’s equally nice that they are carrying the tim pellets so you can switch him over when he’s ready!

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