1. Why should I use a cool pressed pellet?
Nutri Pressed pellets are designed to ensure they are easy for your small animal to digest. They are formulated without grains and packed full of fibre. We also use a cool pelleting process which helps retain more natural nutrients. Nutri Pressed pellets also have longer cut fibre, so teamed with lots of hay they help support your animals digestive and dental health too! Added to this, because all of this goodness is packed into individual pellets it also helps prevent selective feeding.
2. What food should I feed my rabbit?
Knowing what amounts of certain foods to feed your rabbit can be difficult. They need a variety of vegetables, especially leafy greens, as well as hay, a small amount of pellets and fresh, clean water in order to make up a healthy diet. Good quality hay or grass should make up the majority of a rabbits diet and should always be available. Hay is an essential source of fibre and is needed for healthy digestion and teeth – it encourages the important side-to-side chewing which helps to support healthy dental wear and also supports gut health too. Providing hay and leafy greens also allows them to express their natural behaviours. To make sure you are meeting all of the nutrient requirements of your rabbit you should feed a rabbit food too. These come in different forms, but our special Hypoallergenic Nutri Pressed pellet is a healthy choice. Packed full of tasty ingredients, Marriage’s Nutri Pressed pellets are a great alternative to traditional extruded pellets, helping to provide a wholesome, flavoursome, balanced diet for rabbits. Processing at cooler temperatures helps to retain more of the nutrients which may otherwise be lost during higher temperature manufacturing methods like extrusion. Our gentler cool pressing method helps to retain more of those heat sensitive nutrients, helping to make Nutri Pressed pellets a nutritious choice for rabbits. Designed with their health in mind, we have packed our pellets with a variety of wholesome high fibre grasses and herbs and formulated them without added grains, they also have the added benefit of linseed and have no added sugar.
A handful of leafy greens helps to provide extra nutrients such as vitamins and fibre into your rabbits diet - they also offer different tastes and textures which provides enrichment and stimulation for your rabbit helping to make sure they don’t get bored. Small amounts of treats such as fruit or carrot will be greatly appreciated by your rabbit. It is important that you don’t overfeed treats to help ensure you rabbit stays happy and healthy. It is vital that you always ensure that clean drinking water is available in a suitable drinking apparatus.
3. What plants can my rabbit eat?
Your rabbit can eat a lot of plants, just as it would in the wild. When rabbits are in the wild, they spend a lot of time hiding from predators, they then emerge when it is safe so that they can consume as much food as possible. Hay is an extremely important part of your rabbits diet and this should always be provided as libitum. Generally, rabbits love eating a variety of fruit, vegetables and herbs so it’s important you provide a variety of different ones to ensure you keep them stimulated. It’s important to be aware of food items that are unsafe or are otherwise unsuitable, common examples of items you should not feed are apple pips, avocado, iceberg lettuce, rhubarb (leaves and stalks), tomato leaves etc. Second to hay, a handful of leafy greens will be greatly appreciated by your rabbit – rabbits will enjoy a variety of different leafy greens and herbs, just remember to check they are all rabbit safe. Apple without the seeds and raspberries are examples of fruit that your rabbit will appreciate as treats - Fruit and certain root vegetables such as carrot, should only be fed in small quantities as a treat because of their high sugar content.
4. Why does my rabbit not like being picked up or held?
Rabbits are small and cute, but as enticing as it may seem you can cause harm and distress by handling them the wrong way. When holding a rabbit, you should hold it gently but firmly, ensuring one hand is always supporting their back and hindquarters. To make them feel more secure you can hold all four of their feet against your body. Never pick rabbits up by their ears, or turn them on their backs as though you’d stroke their tummy. Placing a rabbit on it’s back makes them go into a trance state of immobility. This causes their heart and respiratory rate to rapidly increase, as they feel fear-related stress and is harmful for them.
5. Why has my rabbit stopped eating?
A serious reason as to why your rabbit has stopped eating can be to do with a gastrointestinal problem called GI Stasis. This is when the contractions in rabbits intestines that normally push food through the gastrointestinal tract slows down or stops – this can have a number of causes including stress. Rabbits can be quite easily stressed, so they may have been stressed by something without you realising. GI stasis can be life-threatening for rabbits and should be treated straight away. Take your rabbit straight to the vet when you spot they’re off their food. It’s always best to get your rabbit checked with a vet as soon as they stop eating in case in case they need urgent veterinary attention.
6. Bunny Basics: Living with a house rabbit
Lots of people chose to keep their rabbits inside, allowing them play time within the house as well as outside. It’s important to bunny-proof areas of your house to protect your rabbit and ensure they don’t get hurt when roaming around. There are some simple but important things to remember, such as keeping house plants out of reach of your rabbits so they don’t nibble them, making sure any plants are rabbit safe just in case, and making sure there are no cables or wires that your rabbit may be able to chew. A rabbit naturally wants to chew, so providing them with plenty of rabbit safe toys helps ensure they won’t nibble your furniture (although there are no guarantees so always make sure you supervise them when they are out!). Allowing your rabbits to go outside into a secure area will also benefit them a lot as just like us they benefit from the sunshine and fresh air too - they’ll also be thankful for the chance to graze on some grass. If you have more than one rabbit in the house, they’ll have company to entertain each other and they’ll be a lot happier. You should spend time with your rabbits too, but try not to pick them up or cuddle them too much as they don’t like being lifted. Instead you can sit with them and let them come over to you – if you do have to lift your rabbit make sure you do this properly and safely, supporting them.
1. What should I feed my guinea pig?
Guinea pigs need a balance of pellets, hay and fresh vegetables to have a healthy diet. Just like humans, they also can’t produce their own Vitamin C so they require vitamin c rich foods in their daily diet. Guinea pigs need a variety of vegetables, especially leafy greens, as well as hay, pellets and fresh, clean water in order to make up a healthy diet. Good quality hay or grass should make up the majority of the diet and should always be available. Hay is an essential source of fibre which is needed for healthy digestion and teeth – it helps to support healthy dental wear and also supports gut health too. Providing hay and leafy greens also allows them the opportunity to express their natural behaviours. To make sure you are meeting all of the nutrient requirements of your guinea pig you should feed a specific guinea pig food too. These come in different forms, but our special Hypoallergenic Nutri Pressed pellet is a healthy choice. They are packed with tasty ingredients, and help to provide a wholesome, flavoursome, balanced diet for guinea pigs. Processing at cooler temperatures helps to retain more of the nutrients which may otherwise be lost during higher temperature manufacturing methods like extrusion. Our gentler cool pressing method helps to retain more of those heat sensitive nutrients, helping to make Nutri Pressed pellets a nutritious choice for guinea pigs. Designed with their health in mind, we have packed our pellets with a variety of wholesome high fibre grasses and herbs and formulated them without added grains. A handful of leafy greens helps to provide extra nutrients, fibre and additional moisture into your guinea pigs diet - they also offer different tastes and textures which provides enrichment and stimulation for your rabbit helping to make sure they don’t get bored. Very small amounts of treats such as fruit or carrot will be greatly appreciated by your guinea pig. It is important to ensure that you don’t overfeed treats to help ensure your guinea pig stays happy and healthy. It's vital that you always ensure that fresh, clean drinking water is available in a suitable drinker.
2. Guinea pigs housing
Guinea pig cages need to be roomy enough to allow them to freely wander about and have plenty of spaces to hide and feel secure. Whilst some cages on the market can be larger vertically, guinea pigs really rely on a lot of floor space rather than lots of levels. The minimum recommended size cage for a guinea pig is around 30 by 50 inches, which allows just enough room to roam around, explore, climb up ramps and play with toys – if you can allow more space then that’s great too. Remember though, the more guinea pigs you have, the more space you will need! The cage is where they spend most of their time, so living in a confined space can cause them significant amounts of stress. Low height ramps and platforms provide enrichment, but they do need enough room to exercise, even with their daily play outside of the cage. Having enough space is vital to ensuring they can have time to themselves when they don’t want to play with the others. Larger spaces are also easier to clean because they help prevent a build up of waste and with some training, may allow guinea pigs to separate their bathroom area to their living and play area. Ensuring they have plenty of hiding spaces will also help to keep your guinea pigs happy and healthy.
3. Does my guinea pig need a friend?
As social animals, guinea pigs are typically very affectionate not only towards their friends, but also towards humans too. Having a companion in their cage can increase your guinea pigs happiness, allowing them to not only have a bond with you but also within their cage too. Without proper companionship, they can start to feel lonely – inevitably leading to further health problems. In their natural habitat, guinea pigs live together in herds. Often surviving better as a pack, this originally would help them warn each other of predators and keep each other warm at night. Guinea pigs need company of their own kind, so it is important that they have a guinea pig friend living with them to keep them occupied and happy. If you find yourself in a situation where your guinea pig sadly loses their companion, it’s important that you seek advice before attempting to introduce a new guinea pig. It’s really important that if you’re planning to bring a new guinea pig into your current pig’s life that you do it really carefully. Doing it properly will help to stop any disagreements.
4. Why isn’t my guinea pig touching their food?
There can be a few reasons your guinea pig has stopped eating their food, but it’s important that you get them eating again as soon as you can and seek veterinary advice where needed. A sudden change in their diet may lead to a refusal to eat what you’ve provided, so when changing their food it’s important to gently ease them into it, so they get used to the new mixed with the old. Illness can be another reason they’re off their food, for example if they’re having dental problems this may cause them pain when eating. Keeping old, uneaten food can also put guinea pigs off their food, so don’t leave old uneaten food in their cage and it’s a good idea to split the daily feed of pellets into two feeds so that you can see whether the first portion has been eaten before you add the second feed of the day.
5. Misconceptions about guinea pigs
A big misconception about guinea pigs is that they don’t like to interact with humans. Guinea pigs are actually very sociable animals and enjoy the company of not only you, but other guinea pigs too. They may come across shy at first, but as soon as they get used to their surroundings and have bonding time with you and other guinea pigs, they’ll love being around you. Another important misconception is guinea pigs are great pets for children. Some people often think that smaller animals such as guinea pigs are easy for children to care for, however they’re not ideal starter pets for children. Kids can get excited about carrying, snuggling and playing with a guinea pig, but it’s important to know their boundaries and understand they need to be held gently and with care. This isn’t to say children can’t have a guinea pig, but it’s crucial they know how delicate and sensitive guinea pigs can be, as well as what a big commitment they are too.
