Bunny won’t eat pellets!?! Can Humidity decrease a rabbit’s appetite?

[Alfie and Ellie]

Hi everyone.

My 9 week old Holland Lop, Alfie, hasn’t been eating much food at all. It’s been pretty hot for the last couple of days (85-90 degrees fahrenheit). I don’t know if the heat effected his appetite or not, but he has been eating the smallest amounts of pellets. I mean only 2-3 tsp’s a day along with 1 toilet paper tube filled with hay, when he was used to eating 1/4-1/2 cup of pellets along with 3-4 toilet paper tubes filled to the brim with hay everyday. He’s been acting normal though, so that’s good. He is a pretty happy bun from what I can tell.

I’m really paranoid about his health and get upset very easily, so please let me know if you have a suggestion or two for me. I really want him to gain his appetite back. 

[sarahthegemini]

Heat can definitely decrease a bun’s appetite. How about putting a fan out or laying down some cool tiles for him to lay on? You could also put ice cubes in his water bowl. Is he pooping okay?

I would try those ^ and try hand feeding bits of hay too.

[joea64]

I’ve had occasional issues with heat generation since I live in an efficiency apartment where the kitchen facilities including the oven are set in one big room along with the living/sleeping area. That means I have to keep a very close watch on the thermostat at all times and in fact I routinely set it at under 70 degrees F. Fortunately cooler weather is coming along soon…

[CottonBall]

I froze a couple of those stones for chinchillas and laid them down. turned on a fan and let her out to run around so she could pick the coolest spot. Is he pooping ok? Mine still is, so I’m pretty sure it’s the heat. It’s about ninety here. I notice she eats more at night and in the early morning when it’s cooler. I think heat can definitely affect them. Hope your boy is ok.

[joea64]

Posted By CottonBall on 9/26/2017 7:35 AM

I froze a couple of those stones for chinchillas and laid them down. turned on a fan and let her out to run around so she could pick the coolest spot. Is he pooping ok? Mine still is, so I’m pretty sure it’s the heat. It’s about ninety here. I notice she eats more at night and in the early morning when it’s cooler. I think heat can definitely affect them. Hope your boy is ok.

That’s the good thing about my having to get up so early (in the predawn hours) to go to work; my buns are always ready and eager to have their morning pellets! It was warm and stuffy in my place Sunday afternoon (I had to crank up the A/C because both the oven and the laptop were going), so I did notice that they weren’t as enthusiastic about eating their evening salad as usual until the temps had cooled down to the usual comfortable range again (they had no problem with hay and treats though). They attacked their greens with their usual vigor last evening, happy to say.

[CottonBall]

Lucky you. My windows won’t accommodate an A.c. Wish I could get her to eat greens/veggies for more moisture; she never had them before I got her and Still won’t eat them. She’s also in a summer haircut right now. On really muggy days I run the dehumidifier to take some of the stuffiness out, this place used to be a basement before conversion. It’s loud, but seems to help.

[Alfie and Ellie]

Thank you SO much for the wonderful replies, everyone!! Alfie is still pooping and urinating regularly. I filled his bowl up with another 1/4 cup of pellets (along with the 1/4 cup that was still in the bowl from that morning), and by day-light, he had eaten almost all of his pellets! I’m so grateful! Thanks again, everyone!

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Alfie and Ellie on 9/26/2017 3:15 PM

Thank you SO much for the wonderful replies, everyone!! Alfie is still pooping and urinating regularly. I filled his bowl up with another 1/4 cup of pellets (along with the 1/4 cup that was still in the bowl from that morning), and by day-light, he had eaten almost all of his pellets! I’m so grateful! Thanks again, everyone!

Really glad to hear that

[joea64]

Posted By CottonBall on 9/26/2017 9:09 AM

Lucky you. My windows won’t accommodate an A.c. Wish I could get her to eat greens/veggies for more moisture; she never had them before I got her and Still won’t eat them. She’s also in a summer haircut right now. On really muggy days I run the dehumidifier to take some of the stuffiness out, this place used to be a basement before conversion. It’s loud, but seems to help.

I actually have a “central” A/C unit in my apartment; it’s in a locked room (accessible to maintenance only), and maintenance comes by every quarter to check/change the filter. I had them do a special check on the A/C in July before I finalized the adoption since there’d been a heat wave and temps have a tendency to climb even with the air conditioning running; it was verified working fine. There’s one more hot day (close to 90 degrees) expected today but after that temperatures will be dropping back down into the 70’s.

[CottonBall]

Yeah can’t wait till it cools off this heat’s amazing. No central air here…I wish.

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