Can't chew Hay, but vet says teeth look fine?

Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS. SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED. We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best.

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

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.

What are we about? Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 6sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 5 months ago by LionelLop.

Viewing 6 reply threads

Author

Messages
- 04/23/2021 at 10:56 PM
  LionelLop
  Participant
  31 posts
  My rex about 2 weeks ago completely got off her hay and refused to eat it. I offered her favorite even, timothy hay, and she tries to eat it but it’s almost like she can’t. Usually when eating from a pile of hay she just takes the first piece she sees, but now she digs in it and tries getting tiny pieces at the bottom. When she does chew it it’s almost like she struggles to and just bites off pieces with her front teeth and spits them out. She also sometimes makes this wet chewing noise like it gets stuck.
  
  She eats pellets perfectly fine, but I don’t want her to not be able to eat hay for the rest of her life.
  
  I took her to 1 of the 2 exotic vets an hour drive away from me and they said she was the picture of health and that her molars looked fine. Has anyone else had this problem?
- 04/24/2021 at 3:38 AM
  TORY93
  Participant
  11 posts
  Maybe she has gotten bored of it? I sometimes have to switch up the hay i am using as sometimes my rabbit will take a bit and drop it like urgh what is this..I give her a different type and she eats it again. Have you tried different hays?
- 04/24/2021 at 4:38 AM
  Hazel
  Participant
  2587 posts
  Did they put him under to check his teeth? Usually that’s the only way to get a proper look at the molars.
- 04/24/2021 at 8:39 AM
  LionelLop
  Participant
  31 posts
  I assume they did because otherwise I don’t think she’d allow them in there. Also I did switch up the hay originally she was on orchard and now I’m offering timothy, still not interested.
- 04/24/2021 at 4:55 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9064 posts
  It really sounds like a dental issue. I would call and confirm that they did x-rays. If not, then that would be my first plan of attack. Abscesses in the mouth can also cause issues that might be hard to see without imaging.
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 04/28/2021 at 5:33 PM
  Jadeo09
  Participant
  83 posts
  I had this problem once. It turned out it was her teeth in the end. She ended up very poorly before they finally put her under anesthetic to check for spurs. If you can get a few different hays 3rd cut Timothy hay or dried grass like readigrass and they still wont eat it I would inform your vet they still wont eat hay. Im sure they will do a more thorough look if it continues.
  
  A diet lacking hay and high in pellets does cause teeth to wear unnaturally which can increase the risk of dental spurs so the way your rabbit is eating isnt sustainable long term.
  
  Some rabbits are extremely fussy with hay and can go off foods if they arent offered variety of hay.
- 05/04/2021 at 11:38 PM
  LionelLop
  Participant
  31 posts
  Thanks so much everyone. She started eating hay a couple days ago thankfully. If she goes off again it I’ll be taking her to a more rabbit savvy vet too.
Author

Messages

Viewing 6 reply threads

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.