Spitting out food

[Joeythenethie]

Hey everyone,

Recently, my Netherlands dwarf bunny has started to spit out some of his pellets when he eats. But he doesn’t spit all of the out, only two or three, and then he eats them again. Other than that, he’s been acting normal. I thought that this could be a teeth problem, but they seem to be at a normal length, and he’s eating his hay as normal. Any ideas?

[Q8bunny]

Hmm… I would have guessed teeth as well, but if you had his molars checked and they look good, then my tooth-spurs theory doesn’t hold water.

Could it be that he discovered a fun new game?

[jerseygirl]

Gosh what a cute little guy!

Could he be picking up to many at a time? If that is the case, you could try scatter them over the floor so he slows down eating or give them to him in a treat dispensing ball.

I would still keep teeth in mind though. Dropping food like this is a classic sign. To get a real look at the molars, he may have to be sedated.

[Bam]

Agree that dropping food is a typical finding when there’s a molar issue, but when my dentally challenged bun does that, he doesn’t pick the food back up but rather shrinks away from it. Like he’s hungry and wants to eat but it hurts him (it probably does).

Scattering pellets is always a good idea imo if your bunny is a little pig, as most buns actually are. That way they must slow down and the risk of choking on a pellet is much lower. For now, I’d scatter the pellets and observe. If he starts dropping more food or refuses to eat certain food that he usually likes, I’d go for a molar-exam.

[Author]

Messages