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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE sudden refusal to eat hay? / lack of general enthusiasm

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    • EDY
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        hi all! first post… writing because after getting better and better at eating her hay over the 6 months that she’s lived with me (to the point where she wouldn’t leave a scrap) my silver marten Matilda has suddenly, practically overnight, started to turn up her nose at the timothy I give her. I’ve tried to spread out her pellet servings more in the hopes that she’ll get hungry enough to be less discriminating but that hasn’t worked at all; I don’t want to give her more pellets and throw off the balance of her diet! I try to feed her by the HRC guidelines (though I don’t always have access to fresh greens in large quantities, I serve fresh vegetables daily, spread out a reasonable amount of pellets over several small servings, and as much hay as she’s willing to eat) and as instructed by the shelter I brought her home from I serve her hay in her litter box, which has always been totally fine. I tried changing the box — much sooner along than I usually do! — and it didn’t seem to help. she’s eating some hay but not nearly enough, it seems to me. today I’m going to clean-overhaul her crate to see if that helps… any ideas what could be going on?

        it’s possible that the hay isn’t the freshest (I bought two bags at once about three weeks ago, but the second has been sealed until I opened it a few days ago so I don’t know how it would have gotten stale… still, there are some brown strands in it, which may be indicative?) but this was really sudden and I don’t know what could be causing it. she’s still pooping fine, thank goodness.

        (for background, she’s also been really grumpy and unfriendly the last week or so… things have been a little stressful on account of her having had to share the room with the kitten for almost three weeks last month when her (the cat’s) spay incision got infected and I needed to keep her in the house — they don’t get along super well despite my best efforts at bonding but their disagreements are limited to mutual chasing, nothing scary or I wouldn’t have left them alone together! but that was a while ago. for a long time I felt like our relationship was getting closer every day: she was much more open to extended pets, etc. and would even ask for them by sticking her forehead under my hand — but for this week she’s been awfully standoffish, sometimes running away when I try to pet her. I’ve been kind of depressed on account of life stuff and endless new england winter, so perhaps that’s rubbing off? she does still take a nap at my feet most mornings, which is a comfort. I try to engage with her as much as possible but don’t always know what to do — the shelter folks told me right off the bat she doesn’t like toys at ALL, which I’ve found to be true, but they didn’t suggest any real play alternatives. when she first came home she lived in a large crate/hutch attachment I built for about a week, coming out into the room only when I was home, but since that second week she’s been free-range. when I first used to let her out she was SO excited, running around in circles and binkiing left and right, but as she got used to the space and freedom she hasn’t been binkiing much at all. I know her energy isn’t pent -up anymore but it seems she should be showing more signs of happiness! I just worry I’m not providing for all of her emotional needs, especially now that she’s eating oddly.)

        wow, this ended up being long and not 100% relevant to this specific forum… just a couple months of thoughts out at once! paranoia and my first bun; please forgive. I’ve wanted to get her a bondmate for a while but am unemployed for now and can’t justify it until I’m more financially stable. in the meantime, does anyone have any ideas what I could do to keep her as happy/healthy as she deserves?


      • Sarita
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          How old is she?

          Many times a change in eating behavior could be due to dental problems.


        • EDY
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            they don’t know! she was a stray, definitely full-grown when the shelter picked her up. no more than a few years was the closest they could say.


          • bunnylova123
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              If it gets worse ( no eating and refusal to eat, hiding, and generally looking sad ) take her to a vet IMMEDIATELY, bunnies digestive systems are like conveyor belts, if they don’t eat something for a long period of time, generally 12 or so hours, they just shut down and can’t eat. It’s probably just the stress of the cat being in the house, rabbits can get stressed very easily. As long as she is eating and pooping she should be fine, but watch out for her getting too thin ( visible ribs, and spiky backbone when stroked ) Offer her all her favorite veggies, treats etc. If she refuses to eat, and a vet visit is not an option, try using oxbow critical care, mashed up pellets and pumpkin, unhealthy shop bought treats ( I wouldn’t reccomend these normally, but if she won’t eat, you have to try all options, just don’t use anything that’s not vegan, or artificially coloured ) and keep her warm. Hold her, use a bottle filled with warm water, a hot water bottle covered in a blanket, ears are normally an indicator of temperature. Try using this site, I know you said she doesn’t like toys, but all buns like different things, so maybe you haven’t found ‘ the one ‘ yet http://www.budgetbunny.ca/category/rabbit-toys/ ( sorry for all the information that probably isn’t relevant, I had a bunny with 3 different cases of appetite loss, and an ongoing tooth problem, so I had to go through this kind of thing a lot )


            • Sarita
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                Well it sounds to me like she is eating but just not hay.

                What is the rest of her diet like? Any fresh greens? or just pellets?


              • EDY
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                  no thank you very much! to be clear, she’s gobbling up everything else and eating some hay, just very uncharacteristically slowly. just want to keep her diet balanced as it has been for a while! and the play tips could be very helpful, I’ll take a peek.


                • Sarita
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                    Okay, just reread, she’s getting some greens.

                    How much pellets are you giving her daily?


                  • EDY
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                      fresh greens as often as I can, and small bites of fresh veggies daily.


                    • Sarita
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                        From the sounds of the way she is eating the hay, I do question whether it’s a dental problem. Maybe take her to the vet to check those teeth.


                      • EDY
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                          I spread the pellets out over six or so tiny handfuls so I have to turn down the hungry fiend less often when she comes running, so it’s hard to tell precisely, but 1/4 cup tops.


                        • EDY
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                            her teeth seem fine to me but I’m no expert… will have someone take a look. I need to take her in to get her nails done anyway, I tried once and it was a hopeless failure!


                          • bunnylova123
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                              Is there anything that might be distracting her? a building site, dog, loud TV? Bunnies are really sensitive to noise, Vienna doesn’t eat her food when next door are mowing the lawn etc


                            • EDY
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                                not really, the house is noisy enough in general but nothing has changed recently and we’re on the 3rd floor.


                              • Sarita
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                                  LOL – I totally understand about the nails – many rabbit owners find nail trimming problematic.

                                  Definitely have the vet check her teeth – it could be molar spurs and there isn’t a way to check those without an otoscope and some rabbits have to be sedated to see those very back teeth because many times even an otoscope doesn’t tell the whole dental picture with those small mouths and tongues getting in the way.


                                • LBJ10
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                                    Sounds like a lot of pellets. Do get her teeth checked though. If they are okay, then I would suggest reducing her pellets to see what happens. You could also try a different kind of hay. Mine prefer oat hay over timothy.

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                                Forum DIET & CARE sudden refusal to eat hay? / lack of general enthusiasm