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New to owning Rabbits and G.pigs - Advice required

Thunder

New Kit
Hi, i am new to owning rabbits and g.pig and i am looking for some advice on general feeding tips.

What fruit and vegetables can they eat. I have feed them carrots, cabbage, spinage, cucumber. What else can they eat?

I rescued one boy g.pig who has been done and them got a female. These two now live happy together, but i have now rescued another two girls that lived together. Can i put them all together and if so, how do i go about it. I thought of putting the two girlies in a hutch in the shed where the other two have a free run of. this way they can get to know each other until they can be together. Is this ok to do?

Also i have a little boy lion head who lives on his own at the moment and is due to be done after the holidays. He is about 8 mths old. I was thinking of getting him a friend. Is it best to get one the same sort of age, as i have seem a 14wk baby rabbit looking for a new home. Advise please.

Many thanks in advance.
 
I'm afraid i cant comment on the bonding issues as i havent done that myself yet.
As for other things rabbits can eat.. well u can give them small amounts of fruit such as apples, banana, grape, also herbs such as parsley, coriander. Mine also enjoys a small piece of dried wholemeal bread occassionally. There are lots of lists of good and bad foods for rabbits in the sticky topic at top of rabbit care.
 
hi i dont know about g-pigs but rabbits can eat many friut and veg but not lettice or cucumber because of the water content i can cause bad diarriah (sorry cant spell it) and DONT FEED or wet grass to a rabbit under 6 months old it can kill them
 
bunnylove said:
hi i dont know about g-pigs but rabbits can eat many friut and veg but not lettice or cucumber because of the water content i can cause bad diarriah (sorry cant spell it) and DONT FEED or wet grass to a rabbit under 6 months old it can kill them
why can wet grass kill them? never heard that before.
All my piggies eat leetuce and cucumber there ok
 
I think too much grass in very young buns can cause bloat which can be fatal. I guess that is also the case in older rabbits, whether it be too much grass or veggies they are not used to? Also baby buns have very delicate tums which is why they get diarrhea more!!

With the guinea pigs, putting them in a hutch in the same shed is a good idea, let them get used to eachothers smell and swap them over so they mix territories. You can also try scent swapping - rubbing a cloth over one then over one from the other pair. Guinea pigs are normally very easy to bond, they tend not to fight as much as rabbits and you don't get the same problems! Sometimes they scrap and as long as it isn't a full blown fight just keep an eye on them and let them sort out who is boss.

As far as your bunny goes, I think it would be fine to put a baby in with him once he is done. Just keep an eye on them and do the bonding as you would adults, but it should be easier as he won't see her as a threat. Most males like to have a female around anyway :)

We had a pair recently, one was 5 years old, the other was 2 years old so long as they get along OK all is fine :)

With the fruit and veggies, bunnies and piggies can eat lots. I haven't ever had any problems with cucumber, pigs and bunnies love it, obv all in moderation tho! Piggies need extra Vitamin C in their diet as they can't make it themselves so make sure they are fed on a food formulated for guinea pigs as this will be accounted for. All the piggies I have come across absolutely love tomatoes!! They can also have apple, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, grapes, greens and many more!

Good luck with your piggies and rabbit.

Nicola
 
Hi

As far as feeding goes I don't think you could go wrong if you click on the sticky at the top of the forum list and then click on rabbit edibles. It gives a whole list of food that is safe and not safe and is probably the best list you could get anywhere.

lol Pam
 
i was told not to give vit c to rabbits but g/pigs need it, thats why its not a good idea to keep them together. true or false? :? :?
 
Rabbits do not need extra vitamin c as they can produce their own like humans. When humans injest extra vitamin c their body doesn't need they excrete it in their urine. I always thought rabbits did the same so you could feed GP food to rabbits if you wanted to.

It is the other way around that is the problem as GPs need the vit c & rabbit food doesn't usually contain high enough quantities also rabbit food often has coccidiostat added which can be toxic to GPs.

I have seperate foods for them as they are formulated specifically for that animal species' dietary requirements. But they all get the same type of hay and lots of it as the major component of their diet!

Caz
 
You should be able to put the four pigs together - lady pigs tend to live together quite happily with a neutered male - just look out for signs of dominance and agression (they tend to do a bit a a war dance and chatter their teeth when they are about to attack).
I give my guinea pigs the Natural Pet Food Company guinea pig food and hay supplemented by a wide variety of veg (spring greens, kale, peppers, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, parsley) grass in summer and dried grass in the winter.
the rabbits have the same except that their dried food is Science Selective.
 
bluebunny said:
bunnylove said:
hi i dont know about g-pigs but rabbits can eat many friut and veg but not lettice or cucumber because of the water content i can cause bad diarriah (sorry cant spell it) and DONT FEED or wet grass to a rabbit under 6 months old it can kill them
why can wet grass kill them? never heard that before.

Marie, I'm sure you know about Iceberg Lettuce don't you?

You need to be acreful of diarrhea in young bunnies (as pointed out by Nicola) although my youngsters had wet grass, but I guess I've just been very lucky :roll:

Cucumber is fine, I think as long as you don't over feed, I feed all mine cucumber daily and most of the love it, especially my G.Pig who always heads for the cucumber first.

The two best dry feeds for G.Pigs that I've found is The Natural Pet Food Company's G.Pig mix and Burgess Excell G.Pig which is relished by my Piggie.
 
I read somewhere that wet grass ferments very quickly inside their tummies, hence giving a whale of an upset, and can cause death very quickly, due to toxins and bloating...not good...:(
 
That is correct ....its not so much the wet grass that causes a problem, just that clipped grass starts to ferment & the gases cause them to blow up like a balloon (fatal). Secondly, don't let them over-indulge the first or subsequent few times on grass if they have not had it before or have only had a little(especially with youngsters under 4 mths of age) as they will munch like mad all day long & then get the squits & die!
 
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