# Vet Student Questionnaire - Rabbit and Guinea Pig Diet



## HoneyDolphin77 (Nov 26, 2014)

*Do You Have a Rabbit or Guinea Pig? *

If so I would be really grateful if you could fill out this questionnaire (link below). It should take about 4 minutes to complete.

https://www.esurveycreator.co.uk/s/47ea660 

I am a veterinary student at the Royal Veterinary College and will use the results in my second year research project investigating the effects of diet on health.

Thank you very much for your help!


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

nope i cant answer it, you only have space to fill in for 1 pet, and as a vet nurse you should know both rabbits and pigs are social animals who need others around for company, so most rabbit and piggy owners will have multiple pets


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## HoneyDolphin77 (Nov 26, 2014)

Hi 
I've put in the introduction that it's one questionnaire per animal, and that if you have more than one pet it would be great if you could fill out multiple questionnaires, although of course if you don't have time to do that please pick just one and fill it out for that animal - any help is greatly appreciated!


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## kodakkuki (Aug 8, 2011)

was going to private message you, but you don't have enough posts yet!

i've just filled one in for a cavy, but feel the need to add more info otherwise it will not be a true representation...
she is only 8 weeks old and has not yet seen a vet. 
(i am working as an ANA (with previous l3 animal care certification) so am confidently able to carry out wellness checks on her at home). she is currently on pregnancy watch just in case (housed with males in previous home) but she is not ready for a vet trip yet as i have only got her and she is too stressed at present IMO... she'll be going in the very near future though. 

an 'any other relevant information' box at the end may come in useful? because without the above info my questionnaire could well come across as completely incompetent! 
x


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## HoneyDolphin77 (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks very much for filling one in and for the extra info!
Yes that's a great idea thanks I'll add one in now  x


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## kodakkuki (Aug 8, 2011)

hows the survey going?

i'd be interested in your questionnaires overall results at the end of the survey if you wouldn't mind sharing!



(and this will give the post a wee cheeky bump up the listings for you!)


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## HoneyDolphin77 (Nov 26, 2014)

Hi
Yes it's going well so far thanks for asking  I've had about 100 responses so far so definitely getting there! I'd be happy to let you know what I find out - the project is due in for after Easter so it will be a while before I know I'm afraid, but will let you know then.


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## Acer (Feb 27, 2014)

Hi, I have 3 rabbits and just filled in the survey for each of them. I'm intrigued what your investigation/title is?


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## HoneyDolphin77 (Nov 26, 2014)

Hi, thank you for filling them in! 
I'm looking at the impact that the type of concentrate feed (muesli or nuggets)rabbits and guinea pigs eat has on their dental and digestive health.


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## Polski (Mar 16, 2014)

Done.

We feed muesli which others have said is a no no but the piggies eat all parts, and are especially fond of the hard pellets. They lost a lot of weight when tried on the nugget type food as they simply didn't like it. 

I think common sense among owners is needed, if certain items in muesli are ignored nuggets would be better.


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## Acer (Feb 27, 2014)

We always had some muesli left over, the green hard pellets mostly. Switched to pellets and (touch wood) no teeth problems. Although no teeth problems when they were on muesli either for that matter! 
I think a lot is down to breeding. 
That said, when they are old and getting picky with food, I often switch them slowly to muesli, which they are happier to eat in their last few days after they have gone off pellets.


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

HoneyDolphin77 said:


> Hi, thank you for filling them in!
> I'm looking at the impact that the type of concentrate feed (muesli or nuggets)rabbits and guinea pigs eat has on their dental and digestive health.


This is going to be a tricky thing to analyse.

Not all dental issues are caused by poor diet, as there is also a strong hereditary element.

I've filled the survey in for one of ours - 12 more to go; but the answers may be misleading, as so many are rescues, who came to us in poor condition (diet unknown in most cases). So, whilst they are mostly on a high quality hay plus a few Science Selective pellets, the majority of them are sadly dental bunnies (plus other problems).

Two were fosters, now permanent, and came to us in a group of five very young things, when their mother died, having been stupidly bred back to back. They had been given goat's milk, and are even now prone to dodgy stomaches. Therefore, in addition to their fresh hay, they are fed pro Fibre pellets daily (and lifelong).

So, we adjust each rabbit's diet to suit their health, as needed.

We did have a rabbit who became "allergic" to hay (or the spores and dust in it) which badly affected his airway.  That was very tricky. For him, we grew our garden grass long, and also grew tub after tub of wheat grass. Interestingly, he never needed another dental after he switched from hay (good quality) to grass. Just as well, as he had other problems too.

We currently have a rabbit, again with other health problems, who can only have hay from the Dust Free Hay Company.

I suppose that what I am trying to say, just very badly, is that a suitably adjusted diet can improve the health of a rabbit, even though it was fed an exemplary (high quality) hay/ minimal pellet diet previously.

It could be that our motley crew would distort the results of your survey, so I won't be offended if you don't want me to do any more.


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## MerlinsMum (Aug 2, 2009)

Summersky said:


> So, we adjust each rabbit's diet to suit their health, as needed.
> ----
> I suppose that what I am trying to say, just very badly, is that a suitably adjusted diet can improve the health of a rabbit, even though it was fed an exemplary (high quality) hay/ minimal pellet diet previously.
> 
> It could be that our motley crew would distort the results of your survey, so I won't be offended if you don't want me to do any more.


Have given you rep for this, as i too believe there is no "one size fits all".

A friend of mine took on a Mini Lop adult doe, as a pet, who was very overweight. I sent her all my booklets on natural diets for rabbits and suggested she tried it. After a little while it became clear that this doe had excess caecals on every type of pellet she was tried with. Cutting the pellets down meant the doe lost a lot of weight - too much in fact and started to become very skinny. But every type of concentrate also produced excess caecals.

In the end, someone suggested giving the doe some barley rings (in addition to hay, which has always been freely provided) I sometimes give a few to mine as a treat, but rarely they are very low fibre and higher in oils than most pellets. But strangely, these do suit this particular rabbit who has begun to put on weight again and no excess cacals. It may possibly be that the high Omega 3s in barley rings are needed by this individual rabbit.... especially as previously her coat was very dry and scurfy. The owner is almost at the point where she can cut down on the barley rings and find the right amount that keep her in the best condition, in addition to hay and greenfood of course.

While nobody would recommend that diet as a first choice, it seems that it has worked for this rabbit - it's easy to forget they are all individuals.


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

MerlinsMum said:


> Have given you rep for this, as i too believe there is no "one size fits all".
> 
> A friend of mine took on a Mini Lop adult doe, as a pet, who was very overweight. I sent her all my booklets on natural diets for rabbits and suggested she tried it. After a little while it became clear that this doe had excess caecals on every type of pellet she was tried with. Cutting the pellets down meant the doe lost a lot of weight - too much in fact and started to become very skinny. But every type of concentrate also produced excess caecals.
> 
> ...


Thank you.

If you get right down to it, they are very complex pets. And you've got it in a nutshell - they are all individuals.

One of ours (grossly inbred, and with complex problems) has a very fast metabolism. Amongst other things, she is a dental bun. We have to get her home and eating asap, or the weight just drops off her. Fortunately, and probably because of the same reason, she just shrugs off an anaesthetic, and acts like it never happened.

The vets now know to send her home far earlier than they would usually do.


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