Really? no vitamins?

[Sadie]

In the last 24 hours, I’ve given my sugar gliders, fish, birds, children, husband and myself vitamins. I just keep thinking I should be giving my new baby bunnies something.

I’ve read they don’t need vitamins, is this true?

[FluffyBunny]

If your rabbit is getting a good diet (at least 3 kinds of veggies, good quality plain pellets and high-fiber hay), there’s no need to give him vitamins. You could if you really wanted to, but chances are, your bunny is already getting what he needs.

[Elrohwen]

That’s right, no vitamins required. As long as you are feeding a high quality pellet, the pellet will provide all of the trace nutrients that they need.

[jerseygirl]

Rabbit digestive system is very different. They actually produce alot of their own vital nutrients and vitamin in cecatrophes. Fecals are the regular poop you are seeing huge amounts of (lol). Cecals are not technically poop but a product the rabbit reingests to get these nutrients and also balance gut bacteria.

Then they should get nutrition through pellets, hay and vegetables. As yours are so young, they would have been getting nutrition from the mother, eating the mothers cecals and from their feed. I don’t know what age they start producing their own cecals…I think they would be by now. Once you’ve seen them pretty stable with their eating and pooping, you can start to transistion them onto a better quality pellet. Bit early for veggies just yet.

[KatnipCrzy]

I also agree- no vitamins.  The bunnies should not need them- but the major issue with vitamins to me is that they group them usually into “guinea pig/rabbit” and “hamster/gerbil”- they are basing their selling method on pet size- which is crazy!  Guinea pigs do need extra Vitamin C- so that  is valid.  But when you look at where rabbits come from and guinea pigs come from- they come from totally different environments- the same with hamsters and gerbils. 

Typical pet store products are really not suitable for bunnies- like yogurt drops- milk is not a natural food for an adult rabbit and they are loaded with sugar- so the bunnies really like them- but they market these treats as healthy so the owner thinks they are giving their bunny something healthy and tasty and that makes them feel good about giving them/buying that product.  There are many other suitable treats that are healthy for bunnies and more natural and the bunnies like them just as much.  But other than a few select rabbit product manufacturers (like Oxbow, American Pet Diner, etc)- the healthy (or at least better) treats are sold at the grocery store.

[Beka27]

Along the lines of the pet store products… most of the vitamins I’ve seen have had a pic of a rabbit, gerbil, guinea pig, rat and hamster on the front… all standing together like a happy family. But each of these species have entirely different nutritional requirements. Supplements should not be a “one-size fits all” approach for small animals. Guinea pigs I know will sometimes need a vitamin C supplement, but rabbits will get everything they need thru a well-rounded and varied diet.

[Beka27]

LOL… I posted this and did not read Katnip’s first paragraph. I just said the same thing over… whoops! (Great minds…)

[Sadie]

The pictures on the front of the products crack me up sometimes. Here is a bag of unidentifiable green things with a picture of small animals. If I couldn’t read English, I wonder if I would think that what’s inside was made for or made with the cute fuzzy creatures pictured on the front.

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