Bunny Owners

[dani nero]

Hi all. My bun's pellets contain wheat X( I checked everything in the house but completely missed them. They've probably been CC the whole house. I'm feeling devastated. This has obviously been the cause of all my symptoms. I blamed it on so many things and even thought I was imagining the symptoms at some point. I put myself on this elimination diet thinking it must have been some other food or my thyroid when it's probably been this ever since I came back to sweden.

Anyway, anyone else have a bunny? I'm hoping there are pellets out there that are gluten-free and not harmful to buns. I don't give him any of the pet-store cereals, just these particular pellets because they mostly contain timothy hay and make his fur shiny. He's completely crazy about them as well, but I sadly have to start gradually taking them off the menu and replacing them with more veggies. I just don't want anymore contaminants in my home.

[kareng]

Rachelle lives in the US so I don't know if that feed is available where you are.

[cruzmom]

I am so glad to read this. I have been worried about my daughters guinea pigs food. I checked the link out and they have a wheat free food for pigs to

o! Thank you!

[Adalaide]

I haven't checked my little Freya's pellets. She likes them and the brand is trusted by bun lovers around the world. They are the perfect blend of nutrients and I'm going to keep right on feeding them to her. I also buy her hay at a local farm supply store so I'm confident it will contain some traces of gluten. (Five dollars a bale that lasts 4-6 months vs. $20 a bag for 2 weeks? Yeah, we'll deal with possible wheat, etc in her hay.) But, she doesn't get the run of the whole house. She has an enormous condo and can spend some time in the living room. I don't have to really worry about where she's getting her green stained little paws since she won't be anywhere near where I have food. My policy is to wash my hands after feeding and the rare occasions she pities me greatly enough to allow me the great honor and privilege to pet her. I haven't had any issues I could attribute to her. If her royal highness did get to run the whole house, I'd likely rethink my strategy.

Don't forget, bunnies aren't rodents! It is not safe to give bunnies hamster, guinea pig or other rodent food. It has to specifically be bunny food. If you can't find a gluten free one, you may want to talk to your vet. Pellets are an extremely important part of a bunnies diet and it is unlikely a bunny could remain healthy without them.

[rosetapper23]

My kitties prefer a dry food that contains wheat, so I use a scooper--no contamination, as a result. As long as you don't physically touch the food, there should be no contamination.

[dani nero]

Rachelle lives in the US so I don't know if that feed is available where you are.

thanks so much for this link kareng. I'm sure Im can find a pet store willing to start distributing these.

I didn't think about possible cc from hay either as I thought it was mostly timothy. Sheesh! Thanks again :-)

[dani nero]

My kitties prefer a dry food that contains wheat, so I use a scooper--no contamination, as a result. As long as you don't physically touch the food, there should be no contamination.

my bun LOVES being pampered by eating from our hands so I touched them all the time. I also gave him some to munch on while I brushed him on my lap. They're all over the place. I'm upset at myself for not checking, but I wiped most of the surfaces that could have been a source of cc (light switches, knobs, the sofa) and hope it's under control now.

[dani nero]

A question that pops up though. Although I've been having symptoms (not as severe as before), and amenorrhea was the major problem I had from ingesting gluten, I still got my period last month. I thought that even the smallest trace can cause full-blown reactions.. so why did I get a period! Could it have been a one time fluke

[UKGail]

Hi Dani, I wouldn't worry too much about the amenorrhea coming back while you are on the gluten-free diet. I'm a fair bit older than you, I think, (47) and early menopause is more where I am heading if I am not careful, but I've had my period every month for 6 months, bang on time, since going gluten free, even though I've had ups and downs along the way. My last period even kept going through a nasty glutening which kept me either in bed or the bathroom over the weekend.

My feeling is that amenorrhea is a symptom of full-on untreated celiac rather than something which is sensitive to the day to day ups and downs of complying with a strict gluten-free diet. Maybe someone else has another perspective though?

Fascinating story about your bunny. I hope you can find a way to deal with it. We have a WE chinchilla in a cage, and I can feel the slightly wheaty cloud around her cage when I walk past (I suspect I am wheat allergic). I don't think there is anyway to manage this for a chinchilla (I did look for alternative pellets), so I just try to steer clear. It's not good for her though, as I was the main person looking after her and bringing her out for cuddles and treats etc. My poor old husband has to do it now, and he doesn't really have the time or the inclination. It's an issue I don't like to think about too much as it is upsetting.

[dani nero]

Hi Dani, I wouldn't worry too much about the amenorrhea coming back while you are on the gluten-free diet. I'm a fair bit older than you, I think, (47) and early menopause is more where I am heading if I am not careful, but I've had my period every month for 6 months, bang on time, since going gluten free, even though I've had ups and downs along the way. My last period even kept going through a nasty glutening which kept me either in bed or the bathroom over the weekend.

My feeling is that amenorrhea is a symptom of full-on untreated celiac rather than something which is sensitive to the day to day ups and downs of complying with a strict gluten-free diet. Maybe someone else has another perspective though?

Fascinating story about your bunny. I hope you can find a way to deal with it. We have a WE chinchilla in a cage, and I can feel the slightly wheaty cloud around her cage when I walk past (I suspect I am wheat allergic). I don't think there is anyway to manage this for a chinchilla (I did look for alternative pellets), so I just try to steer clear. It's not good for her though, as I was the main person looking after her and bringing her out for cuddles and treats etc. My poor old husband has to do it now, and he doesn't really have the time or the inclination. It's an issue I don't like to think about too much as it is upsetting.

You have no idea how glad I am to read that. Thanks so much for sharing your experience, you've made my day and put my mind to ease :-)

The best way to deal with the bun's pellets is by gradually replacing them with a variety of fresh veggies until I can get my hands on the pellets kareng provided a link to. Pellets make only 20% of his diet so it won't be a very big change, but they do make feeding a little easier since I would otherwise have to combine just the right amounts of different types of vegetable to balance out his vit intake.

Sorry to hear about your chinchilla. Indeed it's very upsetting.. I sadly don't know much about them or their dietary needs to be able to suggest anything, but I found that the wheat-free brand which kareng linked us to provides chinchilla pellets as well Open Original Shared Link

[dani nero]

Just a short update about my bun's food. I emailed the company producing his hay asking what types of grass it contains, and here's their reply:

"Our hay contains stuff that grows on leys (grassland), such as grass of meadow fescue, perennial ryegrass and timothy. So no grains."

Unless I'm allergic, the ryegrass with no grains should be safe right?

[mommida]

We have Holland Lops and it is a constant concern about the feed.

I'm not sure if rye grass is any safer.

[Skylark]

I don't think ryegrass is the same plant as rye. It should be fine. Open Original Shared Link

[mommida]

Thanks for the link.

[dani nero]

I don't think ryegrass is the same plant as rye. It should be fine. Open Original Shared Link

"Ryegrass should not be confused with rye, which is a grain crop." Thanks Skylark :-)

[Skylark]

I kinda cheated on that one. I seed my lawn with annual ryegrass in the winter so it's a familiar plant.

[red island]

A question that pops up though. Although I've been having symptoms (not as severe as before), and amenorrhea was the major problem I had from ingesting gluten, I still got my period last month. I thought that even the smallest trace can cause full-blown reactions.. so why did I get a period! Could it have been a one time fluke

I have been reading this thread with interest because I just cc'd myself last weekend while cleaning out the bin that my sheeps' alfalfa pellets were in. I developed muscle and joint pain and stiffnes and am still having some wild mood swings - usual symptoms for me when I get contaminated - but all the GI symptoms are missing...so I am getting different reaction to breathing in the offending gluten as opposed to eating it. Maybe that is the case with you too.

I checked out the alfalfa pellets last fall - they are made with pure alfalfa, no wheat starch filler, so I have not been as careful as I should be when working with them. But I never considered til now that the alfalfa itself is more than likely contaminated with wheat. And it would be if it was grown in rotation with grain crops. Ugh, live and learn.

[dani nero]

I have been reading this thread with interest because I just cc'd myself last weekend while cleaning out the bin that my sheeps' alfalfa pellets were in. I developed muscle and joint pain and stiffnes and am still having some wild mood swings - usual symptoms for me when I get contaminated - but all the GI symptoms are missing...so I am getting different reaction to breathing in the offending gluten as opposed to eating it. Maybe that is the case with you too.

I checked out the alfalfa pellets last fall - they are made with pure alfalfa, no wheat starch filler, so I have not been as careful as I should be when working with them. But I never considered til now that the alfalfa itself is more than likely contaminated with wheat. And it would be if it was grown in rotation with grain crops. Ugh, live and learn.

The food industry needs to consider so many changes, but they sadly don't care as much about people's health as much as increasing production ;-(

[UKGail]

The food industry needs to consider so many changes, but they sadly don't care as much about people's health as much as increasing production ;-(

Hi Dani thanks for pointing this out. These pellets look great for all small animals. It seems that importing this into Europe is a bit of a pain though. The UK importer quoted me a lead time of 3-6 months to delivery because it is manufactured to order and they need to gather sufficient customer orders before they can approach the manufacturer. Given this I think I'll approach our local pet food shop (who are quite helpful), our exotic vet, and maybe also our chinchilla's breeder to see if I can garner any support/combined orders to hurry things along a bit. Have you looked into ordering yet? I see they don't list an importer for Sweden.

Ah - see I picked up the wrong post from you - oops! I meant to thank you for the link to Zupreen pet foods. Thanks to the OP about this too.

Best wishes

Gail

[UKGail]

I have been reading this thread with interest because I just cc'd myself last weekend while cleaning out the bin that my sheeps' alfalfa pellets were in. I developed muscle and joint pain and stiffnes and am still having some wild mood swings - usual symptoms for me when I get contaminated - but all the GI symptoms are missing...so I am getting different reaction to breathing in the offending gluten as opposed to eating it. Maybe that is the case with you too.

I think this is true for me too. Airborne fumes normally inflame my sinuses very quickly, followed by migraine, joint and muscle pain. A mild stomach ache will follow if I haven't gotten away from the contamination quickly enough. I only seem to get a big GI problems if I have managed to ingest a bigger dose, which might be difficult via airborne contamination. I spent yesterday evening at the mall with my kids, and we had supper at a popular restaurant, which is supposedly ok for gluten free food. I just had some spicy fried rice, which seemed the safest thing to eat, but my children were eating large portions of smelly garlic bread (they don't get to eat hot gluteny foods at home any more). This morning I woke up a tell-tale headache, and am achy all over, but my stomach is fine. So I suspect the fumes from the kids garlic bread, and maybe other minor environmental CC, rather than any contamination of my rice. I can't keep anything in my stomach for a day or so if I get a dose of contaminated food. I do wonder if the airborne reaction is just a lesser reaction due to a smaller dose, or whether it is an allergic reaction rather than a celiac one. Mood swings can be a problem for me too, but it has't happened today.

[dani nero]

Hi Dani thanks for pointing this out. These pellets look great for all small animals. It seems that importing this into Europe is a bit of a pain though. The UK importer quoted me a lead time of 3-6 months to delivery because it is manufactured to order and they need to gather sufficient customer orders before they can approach the manufacturer. Given this I think I'll approach our local pet food shop (who are quite helpful), our exotic vet, and maybe also our chinchilla's breeder to see if I can garner any support/combined orders to hurry things along a bit. Have you looked into ordering yet? I see they don't list an importer for Sweden.

Ah - see I picked up the wrong post from you - oops! I meant to thank you for the link to Zupreen pet foods. Thanks to the OP about this too.

Best wishes

Gail

Save some of your chinchilla's current pellets when it's time to switch with new ones in case she doesn't warm up to them quickly.. You can then give her mixed feeds until she eats them! (you probably already know that!)

I was planning on doing the same thing through pet stores.. no other way. If all fails, Soot (my bun) will be loving his new fresh veggie diet anyway, just that it will have to come slowly :-)

I thought about giving him to another family but I couldn't part with him! He's my little black fur-ball!

[dani nero]

I think this is true for me too. Airborne fumes normally inflame my sinuses very quickly, followed by migraine, joint and muscle pain. A mild stomach ache will follow if I haven't gotten away from the contamination quickly enough. I only seem to get a big GI problems if I have managed to ingest a bigger dose, which might be difficult via airborne contamination. I spent yesterday evening at the mall with my kids, and we had supper at a popular restaurant, which is supposedly ok for gluten free food. I just had some spicy fried rice, which seemed the safest thing to eat, but my children were eating large portions of smelly garlic bread (they don't get to eat hot gluteny foods at home any more). This morning I woke up a tell-tale headache, and am achy all over, but my stomach is fine. So I suspect the fumes from the kids garlic bread, and maybe other minor environmental CC, rather than any contamination of my rice. I can't keep anything in my stomach for a day or so if I get a dose of contaminated food. I do wonder if the airborne reaction is just a lesser reaction due to a smaller dose, or whether it is an allergic reaction rather than a celiac one. Mood swings can be a problem for me too, but it has't happened today.

GAIL! I went to the pet shop today to see if they'd start distributing the zupreem pellets, and they had a different product which they just started with. They seem to not contain gluten but I emailed them to make sure. They also have chinchilla pellets Open Original Shared Link

It seems to be a European brand so perhaps getting it would be easier.

[UKGail]

Hi Dani

sorry I didn't see this for a few days. I have been battling a busy period with minor cc symptoms, so haven't been looking at posts much. Thank you very much for the info. This food looks quite promising, perhaps not as good as the Zupreen, but much better than what we have at the moment. I will go to our pet food store with both suggestions and let them see what they can do. I'll let you know how I get on.