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UV lamp for rabbits

sunnibunny

sunnibunny

Alpha Buck
hi all
My bunny, needs more vitamin D for better calcium uptake. My vet (who is definately rabbit savy) suggested Zolcal D which is a vit D supplememnt or a UV lamp like you give to tortoises. i was wondering which one is better? my vet reccommend the UV lamp, but is it safe for bunnies with the UV exposure?

currently my bunny is an indoor bunny and i got her during the winter months so she had not develped a winter coat to be put outside. therefore during these winter months she has not being recieving daylight exposure for vit d internal production.

i was also wondering about the UV lamps, as there are so many types. ones with both UV radiation, ones with only UVA or UVB, and then at different percentages (ie 6% UVB or 10% UVB). what does all this mean? Pleae help!
 
for vitamin D you need UVB light and it has to be direct light - i.e. not through glass. A reptile/bird lamp with UVA and UVB would be best as this is the closest to sunlight that is available. The percentage figures are largely irrelevant they only show the proportion of the light emitted that is UVB not the actual amount of UVB provided.
I prefer UVB lighting to Zolcal and other supplements unless there is severe deficiency as it is not possible to overdose on vitamin D with lighting - once the body has enough it stops converting the vitamin in response to the light.
Just make sure the light is above her (not to one side) as having bright UV light shining into the eyes can be harmful. Place the light as low down as possible without her being able to reach it. Natural sunlight will always be better than artifical light so when it's a nice day try and get her outside. The exercise will also help improve mineralisation of her bones if this has been a problem.
 
hi
thanks for your reply! it is really helpful. does it matter what wattage i buy? which wattage is better, 40, 60, 100 w? plus sould i get a lamp that incorporates UVA also or just UVB?
 
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I haven't heard of this, but bumping it up for you.

What are you feeding, as most commercial feeds have vitamin D added. :)
 
Im feeding her the pets at home junior dwarf nuggets. i think these have vitamin D in them, but cant remember for sure. But even though they have vitamin D in them, they require the compound that they make internally to properly utilize the effects of vitamin D to uptake calcium better. This shouldl help prevent further dental work required in the future. I cant remember all of the science behind it, but thats the main jist of it i think.:D
 
the wattage normally differs depending on the length of the lamp, so you'll obviously need a holder that fits that wattage. go for a 10% as this gives off the best UV and probably a 30 watt (around 24-30 inches) obviously depending on how big bunnies cage is, you want something that's about 3/4 of the length of the cage for them to benefit from it. This is what i go by for my reptiles so i cant imagine it would differ too much for rabbits.
also try the excel rabbit food...personally ive found this is much better than the pets at home stuff.
 
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