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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 HOUSE RABBIT Q & A My 9 week old bunny can’t eat pellets!

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    • ImaBunnylover
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        Hi everyone!  I apologize for any errors as to the nature of this post but I’m brand new and trying to figure it out!

        I’m currently living with three “special needs” bunnies, first off  They are great but they are time consuming; I love them all anyway.

        If you go to my profile you can read all about them (I would love for you to, in fact!). My main concern at the moment is my youngest bunny, Skittles.  I obtained him from an auction and didn’t know what he had eaten, exactly how old he was, what kind of hay he liked, etc.  I was just hoping he was healthy

        The day I brought him home he was dehydrated and starving from sitting at an auction with no food or water all day (poor little guy) but he made it safely home with me.  I gave him Oxbow pellets (for youngsters- same as I have my other two on) and he seemed ok….. Until the next morning.  I woke up to find him not moving, not eating, shaking, etc., WITH FREEZING EARS.  On top of it, he had a HUGE, hard tummy!   AAAHHH!  It scared me. 

         I put him in a heating pad, gave him a 15 minute long tummy massage, syringe fed him some water with Pedialyte, and after squirting diarrhea all over me, about 15-20 large, hard pellets (poops) came out of him.  As soon as this happened he wanted down and began  hopping around, eating, and drinking again.  I was thinking to myself, “great, GI Stasis,”  but he acted just fine now.  He already had his unlimited amount of hay so after playing all day, I gave him his fresh water and pellets and put him back in his (INDOOR) cage.

        I woke up the next morning to find him lethargic with cold ears and lacking any little poops in his cage.  Here we go again….  Same exact thing happened that second morning. 

        Since I had no idea what the little guy had eaten all his life I figured I should go with a different kind of pellets, as maybe the Oxbow pellets were too rich for him so I got a lesser quality pellet from Tractor Supply that they recommended.  I didn’t have the time OR the need to wean him off one or the other (I do know better than to do that under normal circumstances) so I gave him those pellets that night…. REPLAY ON THE THIRD MORNING.

        The fourth day I decreased the number of pellets I let him eat to encourage his “hay munching” needs.  I also added mint, as I know it helped Cinni-Mini’s upset tummys when she got them.  It didn’t help him…. it was a replay all over again. 

        I spent the next few days weaning in new herbs and veggies to substitute the nutrition he is no longer getting from his pellets, and I tell you what, he is eating TONS of hay (in addition to his “salad.”) He also had not had a single sign of being ill again in the last five days.  He IS, however, jealous of Smoky and Whisper because having FRS, I am keeping them on pellets twice a day.

        I raised Cinni-Mini, my Angel Bunny, on a diet of hay and veggies because she snubbed her pellets and she did wonderfully.  I wasn’t nervous with her at all in taking her off pellets but now that I’m dealing with his bouts of (what mimics) GI Statis and the other two’s FRS, I’ve become paranoid to say the least.

        Here is a list of what he eats a day:

        Cilantro, mint, turnip greens, dill, basil, a quarter of a baby carrot- He gets a packed cup on top of unlimited hay and water.  Sometimes he doesn’t finish all of his veggies and I’ll take out the little bit that’s left after a while, but he finishes most of it. 

        With this diet he is no longer developing the lump in his stomach, he has TONS of energy, and he eats his hay like a [teeny-tiny] horse.

        I’ve had 3 bunnies prior to these three and they all did great on a pellet free diet but like I said, I got paranoid with Skittles.

        Do you guys have any suggestions as to what else I need to add to supplement the lack of pellets in his diet?  Your help is appreciated!


      • Sarita
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        18851 posts Send Private Message

          Moving to Q&A


        • JackRabbit
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          5451 posts Send Private Message

            Where is your profile with bunny stories? I don’t see it in the BB profile and would love to know more about your bunnies!


          • ImaBunnylover
            Participant
            29 posts Send Private Message

              I have them under my “albums” but I think it was set so that only “friends” could see it. Let me know if you still can’t view them please! ? Maybe that’s not where they go…?

              I am still trying to figure all this out and have now lost my “topic” also….

              Thank you for asking!


            • LongEaredLions
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              4482 posts Send Private Message

                The site doesn’t support friending, so we won’t be able to see the photos unless you change the viewing settings to “everyone.”
                Your topic has been moved to a new section, the Q and A. It isn’t lost, you will just have to check there for your topic.
                As for your bunny- even if it has stopped now, I would see if you can get Skittles to the vet so you can determine what his illness is/was. It may not necessarily be diet related. If you do continue to go pelletless, you need to ensure he receives a large variety of veggies (10+ types per day) and a variety of hays.


              • ImaBunnylover
                Participant
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                  Thank you LongEaredLions- I appreciate your help and I’m sorry to have posted in the wrong place!


                • litheandgraphic
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                  608 posts Send Private Message

                    Yikes! Sounds like you’ve already been through a lot with this little bun! I’m glad to hear you managed to solve the issue for now by yourself, but I would highly recommend taking him into your nearest rabbit-savvy vet right away, just in case he has a chronic condition or if he has some sort of bacteria or imbalance of some kind that caused the illness, and to make sure it won’t come back or get worse. As you probably know, diarrhea in rabbits is really not a good thing at all!

                    Otherwise, as far as his diet is concerned, since he’s 9 weeks you’re probably just introducing him to veggies. I’d think the basil, cilantro, and mint are all right, but I’d also suggest introducing (slowly, of course) some more mild, typical greens such as romaine lettuce and green leaf lettuce, especially since it sounds like he may have a sensitive stomach. I’m curious if one or more of the veggies he’s not quite used to may exacerbate the problems he’s been having.

                    Welcome to the forum and good luck with the new little guy!


                  • Sarita
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                      I think it would be a good idea to have a vet check him for coccidia. It would be a good idea overall to have a vet check him anyway.

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                  Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A My 9 week old bunny can’t eat pellets!