Bun’s going off his hay

[tskelly93]

Chaos has had a variety of issues in the past month and a bit (conjunctivitis caused by blocked tear ducts and overgrown teeth which in turn cauaed stasis) and we’ve managed to get them all sorted. He has arthritis and we’ve increased his metacam as he was showing signs of increased pain. Since he got his teeth filed down I’ve noticed that he’s gone off his hay. We give him oxbow Timothy hay with a little bit of orchard hay as a treat, and he’s always been a good eater. He’s now picking a small bit of the hay, mainly going for short, soft pieces avoiding longer, hard strands. At first I thought he was in pain from getting his teeth done as he would eat the orchard hay no problem, and eat the softer bits of Timothy hay.

It’s been 5 weeks since he got his teeth filed so I’m not sure if I should bring him back to the vets to get a check, or try altering his diet and eating habits abit more before I get him checked? His poo seems dark and slightly damp. He doesn’t really get pellets (They’re a treat) but we’re transitioning his pellets from junior and dwarf to mature pellets. We’ve reduced his veg portion significantly but it’s not making much of a difference. I recently pur a small amount of straw in his cage as it’s been getting colder. I’m not keen on doing it as he’s always gorged himself on straw, but I know keeping him warm and comfy is good for his joints. (His cage is completely lined in a vetbed so the straw is more for ontop of his litter pellets and in a tunnel he likes to lie in) My other bun eats plenty of hay, she does leave some hard bits but it’s generally less than half a centimetre of a long strand

[A Happy Herd of Hares]

Hmm, I would be carful with straw, but he does need to stay warm. Could you maybe put a Wooden house stuffed with hay?

Anyways: if he isn’t eating hay, back his pellets down a tad bit more. Or maybe see if you can get fresher hay if your hay is getting old or extremely dry. ?

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