How to Feed Your Bunny Vitamins
Learn about vitamin deficiencies in bunnies., Take your bunny to your veterinarian., Provide your bunny with outdoor time or an artificial UVB light., Add vitamin supplements to your bunny's food., Watch your bunny for signs of vitamin toxicity...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Learn about vitamin deficiencies in bunnies.
If your bunny is healthy and is eating a well-balanced diet, it is unlikely that he will need vitamin supplements.
However, there may be times when your bunny will need a little extra help getting all of the vitamins he needs.
If your bunny's health starts to change, you may need to start suspecting a vitamin deficiency.
A vitamin D deficiency causes bone and teeth softening, known as rickets in young bunnies and osteomalacia in adult bunnies.If your bunny is deficient in vitamin E, he could develop muscular dystrophy.
In female bunnies, vitamin E deficiency can lead to the death of unborn and newly born kits (baby bunnies).Vitamin A deficiency primarily causes reproductive problems.Illness and stress can take a toll on your bunny’s body and increase his vitamin requirements.Your veterinarian can determine if your bunny is sick, or if he is experiencing stress. -
Step 2: Take your bunny to your veterinarian.
It may be tempting to start giving your bunny vitamin supplements on your own.
However, you may end up over supplementing your bunny's diet, which could make him very sick.
Therefore, you should give supplements only under the recommendation of your veterinarian.For your appointment, bring in the bags of bunny food, or just the labels from the food bags.
This will give your veterinarian a good idea of what you are feeding your bunny, and if the food is providing him with enough vitamins.Your veterinarian will perform a physical examination on your bunny and run some blood work to determine the specific vitamins in which your bunny is deficient. , House rabbits are more likely to become vitamin D deficient because they do not get much sun.
The sun that they do get comes in through windows, which reduces the UVB rays.
To prevent vitamin D deficiency in rabbits, you should allow your rabbit to have 30 to 60 minutes of supervised outdoor time every day.
If daily outdoor time is not possible, then you can also purchase an artificial UVB lighting system for your rabbit's enclosure., Your veterinarian will recommend specific vitamin supplements for your bunny.
The supplements will likely come in pill or tablet form that you can mix in with his food.
Follow your veterinarian's instructions for how to add the supplements to your bunny's diet.
Following your veterinarian's recommendations will prevent you from giving your bunny too many vitamins, which could lead to serious disease.Do not add vitamins to your bunny's water.
This is not an effective way of giving your bunny vitamins. , Your veterinarian should be able to recommend safe vitamin supplements for your bunny.
When you feed them to your bunny, watch him closely for signs that his vitamin intake is too high.
For example, signs of vitamin D toxicity include weakness, lack of coordination, and diarrhea.Vitamin A toxicity causes low conception rates and increased infant mortality.The kits that survive might have slow growth rates and fluid on the brain (‘hydrocephaly’).Take your bunny to your veterinarian if your bunny becomes sick after vitamin supplementation. , Vitamin supplementation may not be as easy as putting the supplement in your bunny’s food or water.
Vitamin supplements can sometimes make water taste bad.
They could even lead to bacterial growth in the water if you do not change the water frequently.Vitamins can be inactivated when exposed to air, water and light, meaning that the supplements could lose their effectiveness quickly.If you must give your bunny vitamin supplements, talk to your veterinarian about the best way to store and administer them so they don’t lose their effectiveness. -
Step 3: Provide your bunny with outdoor time or an artificial UVB light.
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Step 4: Add vitamin supplements to your bunny's food.
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Step 5: Watch your bunny for signs of vitamin toxicity.
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Step 6: Learn the disadvantages of vitamin supplementation.
Detailed Guide
If your bunny is healthy and is eating a well-balanced diet, it is unlikely that he will need vitamin supplements.
However, there may be times when your bunny will need a little extra help getting all of the vitamins he needs.
If your bunny's health starts to change, you may need to start suspecting a vitamin deficiency.
A vitamin D deficiency causes bone and teeth softening, known as rickets in young bunnies and osteomalacia in adult bunnies.If your bunny is deficient in vitamin E, he could develop muscular dystrophy.
In female bunnies, vitamin E deficiency can lead to the death of unborn and newly born kits (baby bunnies).Vitamin A deficiency primarily causes reproductive problems.Illness and stress can take a toll on your bunny’s body and increase his vitamin requirements.Your veterinarian can determine if your bunny is sick, or if he is experiencing stress.
It may be tempting to start giving your bunny vitamin supplements on your own.
However, you may end up over supplementing your bunny's diet, which could make him very sick.
Therefore, you should give supplements only under the recommendation of your veterinarian.For your appointment, bring in the bags of bunny food, or just the labels from the food bags.
This will give your veterinarian a good idea of what you are feeding your bunny, and if the food is providing him with enough vitamins.Your veterinarian will perform a physical examination on your bunny and run some blood work to determine the specific vitamins in which your bunny is deficient. , House rabbits are more likely to become vitamin D deficient because they do not get much sun.
The sun that they do get comes in through windows, which reduces the UVB rays.
To prevent vitamin D deficiency in rabbits, you should allow your rabbit to have 30 to 60 minutes of supervised outdoor time every day.
If daily outdoor time is not possible, then you can also purchase an artificial UVB lighting system for your rabbit's enclosure., Your veterinarian will recommend specific vitamin supplements for your bunny.
The supplements will likely come in pill or tablet form that you can mix in with his food.
Follow your veterinarian's instructions for how to add the supplements to your bunny's diet.
Following your veterinarian's recommendations will prevent you from giving your bunny too many vitamins, which could lead to serious disease.Do not add vitamins to your bunny's water.
This is not an effective way of giving your bunny vitamins. , Your veterinarian should be able to recommend safe vitamin supplements for your bunny.
When you feed them to your bunny, watch him closely for signs that his vitamin intake is too high.
For example, signs of vitamin D toxicity include weakness, lack of coordination, and diarrhea.Vitamin A toxicity causes low conception rates and increased infant mortality.The kits that survive might have slow growth rates and fluid on the brain (‘hydrocephaly’).Take your bunny to your veterinarian if your bunny becomes sick after vitamin supplementation. , Vitamin supplementation may not be as easy as putting the supplement in your bunny’s food or water.
Vitamin supplements can sometimes make water taste bad.
They could even lead to bacterial growth in the water if you do not change the water frequently.Vitamins can be inactivated when exposed to air, water and light, meaning that the supplements could lose their effectiveness quickly.If you must give your bunny vitamin supplements, talk to your veterinarian about the best way to store and administer them so they don’t lose their effectiveness.
About the Author
Judith Bennett
Specializes in breaking down complex cooking topics into simple steps.
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