Request The Vet, Dwelling & Style and design Information & Top rated Tales

BUNNY EATS ITS Possess POOP

I have a three-calendar year-aged bunny, which I not long ago adopted from the Modern society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. I noticed that, whilst I give it loads of hay and rabbit pellets, it even now eats its individual poop. I consider this behaviour is odd and unhygienic. Is there a little something improper?

Ng Chyng Yi

It is typical for rabbits to selectively consume some of their faeces. This method is identified as cecotrophy.

Rabbits create two unique forms of faeces – a dry, tricky faecal pellet, which is ordinarily discarded and cecotropes, which are tender faecal pellets contained in a mucous envelope.

Cecotropes are what rabbits commonly take in to recover nutrition, these types of as proteins and vitamins, that are produced in their hindgut. Some research have demonstrated that this method could provide up to 20 per cent of a rabbit’s day by day protein prerequisite.

As extended as your rabbit has a fantastic appetite and eats plenty of hay, I imagine there is nothing at all to fear about for now.

But you ought to seek the advice of a veterinarian rapidly if there are improvements to your rabbit’s urge for food or in the regularity or quantity of its faeces. Intestine troubles in rabbits can be major more than enough to warrant an unexpected emergency pay a visit to to the vet.

---

WESTIE PREFERS RICE TO DRY KIBBLE

I have a 13-calendar year-outdated Westie, which has been ingesting dry kibble considering that he was young. On the other hand, he has a short while ago formulated a flavor for rice. I consider to soften the kibble, but he nonetheless does not want to eat it. Is it feasible to give him completely residence-cooked meals as an alternative? In addition, he is allergic to chicken and can have only fish. How do I ensure he has a balanced diet regime and what elements should I include in his food program?

Karen Yeo

It is advisable to consider your doggy to a veterinarian for a well being examine to make sure that there are no underlying health difficulties, such as dental kinds, that may perhaps have brought about the change in dietary desire.

There are professional diets accessible that your veterinarian will be ready to suggest, and some of these eating plans are formulated for puppies with precise medical situations, which include allergic reactions.

While house-cooked eating plans for animals are getting significantly well-liked among pet house owners, partly due to the huge amount of info available on the internet, most house owners could not have the appropriate abilities and knowledge to develop a nutritionally balanced diet program for their pets.

It is sensible to operate with a veterinarian or a board-accredited veterinary nutritionist to curate a diet plan that can satisfy the dietary and health-related requirements of your pet.

House-cooked meal plans may possibly also be far more high priced in the prolonged operate and are extra time-consuming to get ready. The regularity of every single meal may well also be affected as recipes could adjust with the availability of ingredients and cooking approach used.

Finally, entrepreneurs must watch their pet’s bodyweight, body issue, skin or coat physical appearance if it is place on a property-cooked diet program.

Common blood and urine assessments for the pet should really also be performed. This is to assure that any dietary deficiency can be picked up early and resolved by modifying its diet.

---

• Solutions by Dr Han Zi Yang, a senior veterinarian at the Animal & Veterinary Company and very pleased owner of two mixed-breed rabbits, Nolla and Tubby.

• Generate IN

  Have a question about your pet? E-mail it with obvious, substantial-resolution images of at minimum 1MB, if any, and your whole name to [email protected]. We reserve the right to edit and reject concerns.