Taking care of a Chinese Rabbit

Okay, this may not be in the right forum...sorry for that. I choose the best one I thought possible.

Now, I have recently gotten a Chinese rabbit (two of them, actually, so that they can have some company). This is the second time I have done this, as about a week prior I also got a Chinese rabbit, whom died within a few days.

I have been told NOT to give the rabbit water...rather, it will get enough water from the grass and leaves it eats. I have argued though numerous times that everything needs water, and I didn't think that there was enough water for the rabbit to survive. HOwever, I have been told (through my translators) that since they are Chinese rabbits and not "white rabbits" (not exactly sure what that means), that they are different and thus you shouldn't give it water.

Now, the previously mentioned rabbit I got a week ago was given some water (I gave it some water that was clean, and my friend supposedly also gave it some water, although my friend is unsure if it was clean or not...). I don't know how much though (I gave the rabbit roughly the amount of water in one of those bottle caps because it was so small), so I am unsure if the rabbit got "enough".

I also wanted to check just on what a Chinese rabbit should be fed. I don't think I can find as many pellets here, but green vegetables such as cabbage, carrots and so forth are relatively easy to find.

If anyone here that has experience with rabbits, especially Chinese rabbits, can give some advice/clear some of this up, that would be wonderful.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Got this off of Wikipedia, whether you believe them or not is upto you!!

Quote:

Domesticated rabbits are most comfortable in temperatures between 10 to 21 degrees Celsius (50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit), and cannot endure temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit). Veterinarians specializing in rabbits recommend a diet consisting of hay, water, and small amounts of pellets. Other organic vegetables, such as carrots, are recommended as dietary supplements, but light greens, such as iceberg lettuce, can cause carbon dioxiode gas bubbles in their dietary tracts that can lead to their early death.

I hope you got that last part.

Anyways, I don't know the difference in care between species, but if you bought them from a reputable store and they told you no water, then I guess they know what they're talking about. Best advice I can suggest is an exhaustive search through the internet to find out more information, or look in a bookshop or library.




There's nowhere I can't reach.

I am baffled by the no water bit myself. I didn't know there was a difference between a Chinese and a 'normal' rabbit either. I had always assumed that unless that Chinese rabbit lives in the desert, then it would require water like any other rabbit. Don't quote me on that though, as I don't know myself.

As for the veggies, some veggies are indeed dangerous to rabbits and should be avoided. Here's a C&P from a a website you should look up, House Rabbit Soceity. It contains many information about rabbit care, health, etc:

Quote:

There are different opinions regarding which vegetables are the best for rabbits. Nearly everyone agrees that carrots, carrot tops, broccoli, and parsley are safe, and that beans, potatoes, and some lettuces are potentially problematic. HRS members and fosterers have used many veggies with success, including collard, mustard, dandelion and turnip greens, spinach, kale, endive and Romaine lettuce.

Quote:

Kale, mustard greens and spinach contain high levels of oxalates, the salts of oxalic acid, which can accumulate in the system and cause toxicity over time. Rather than eliminating these veggies from your list (because they are highly nutritious and loved by most rabbits), limit your use of them to 1-3 meals a week

Okay, I did some searching (through search engines of course) and came across a blog aabout a guy who purchased some Chinese rabbits, who subsquently died despite how healthy they were looking. They had some pictures too. Anyway, I scoured down the replies for this blog and came across this:

Quote:

about the rabbits.. yea ur not supposed to feed it water and general veggies cause the excess moisture makes them have diarrhea.. and they die. they’re really fragile, they’re not like the ones in the states. ur supposed to feed em like half a carrot a day or something.. theres no such thing as ‘rabbit food’ (pellets) in china.

Maybe that should help you :3

Here's the pictures from the blog:



Looks like an albino to me...

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Why do they bring in Chinese Rabbits to the States anyway? Are they an exotic pet? I've hardly heard of a Chinese Rabbit and I live in Hong Kong!!

But it looks like if you want to keep them as pets, you're gonna need to give them special care since they're so....fragile. Anyway, good luck. Hope the 2 you have now stay healthy for a long time.




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THanks all, especially you wolf.

But yeah, I am hoping they stay healthy for a long time too. As it were, the person I am talking to is saying that they get enough water from the vegetables they eat when you wash them (which, at this point in time, is restricted to carrots until we get something more, at least I hope my friend did that).

I was speaking idiomatically.

I think going down to your local pet store and asking them is much better, as they probably will have had years of experience with all sorts of different animals, and thus be better poised to help you, not only with nutritional advice but also on general advice on how to keep your rabbit in good shape.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I came across your post when searching for reasons why I was told not to give them water. I also killed one of my rabbits when I gave it a foot bath. Ayi told me not to give them water but I just couldn't believe it. I wish I knew the science behind this, though. It makes no sense. Have you found out anything?

Little morbid here but I'm wondering if the symptoms were the same. A couple of hours after the foot bath (there was no more than a millimeter of water in the sink), I got it back out of the cage and it would try to hop and its back legs would come up over its head. It writhed around in the cage a little while and then it just stopped moving all together and died within a few hours. Does that sound familiar? It really is an awful way to go and I feel awful for giving it access to water like that, especially after I'd been told not to. Of course, there is a language barrier. I just assumed she meant that they don't need water b/c they get enough from the veggies. I had no idea she meant "absolutely do not give them any." She probably thinks, "Dumb American. Everyone knows not to give rabbits water." He he.

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Wow, that's crazy. I don't know anything about Chinese rabbits, or the care of rabbits in general, but it's amazing to think that just putting a rabbit in a small amount of water for a bath could cause it to die. Is water toxic to them or something?

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

No, the water is not toxic to them. Through all of online research, i have come to the conclusion: They have extremely sensitive stomachs. They need a lot of soluble fiber, which is what you get in the rabbit pellets. Since they don't get that in the veggies that are recommended (by Chinese), they get lots of gas. It is so extreme, it can cause their whole digestive tract to shut down. Somehow, water makes the whole situation worse.

I also read that cilantro is good for their stomachs as well as other herbs, but that's the one that's easiest to smell and tell for sure what it is, since I can't read Chinese.

Okay, I know you didn't ask for a litany on rabbit innards, sorry!

Anyone with better knowledge than me, please feel free to contradict.

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