Hay consumption decreased

[Battie]

I’m starting to wonder if I stink as a rabbit mom…

Last night me, Milo the mouse, and Quincy moved into my parents’ house to housesit and take care of the dog for the week.  Quincy is a bold bunny and doesn’t seem bothered by change, so I hoped the move wouldn’t stress him out.

I’m very confused by his behavior and I don’t know if I should worry.  When I let him out of the cage, he seems okay, but naturally distracted.  He’s eager to explore the laundry room where he’s staying.  He has his curious face on, not his scared face.  If I give him pellets he gobbles them up as usual.  I’ve also heard him drinking several times tonight.  He’s make lots of doots.

However, he seems to have eaten very little hay, when normally he’ll have gone through a couple trays full.  If I give him some directly he’ll eat it, but if he’s touched the tray I can hardly tell.

I’m so scared this is an early sign of Stasis, and I really hope I didn’t stress him into this.  I don’t know if I should stay up all night and watch him or just check again in the morning.  Could it just be that he’s sleeping more because things are so quiet in there?  If there is still a lot of hay in the morning, should I call the vet?

Thanks!

[BinkyBunny]

Is he pooping normally? And are you sure he hadn’t tapered down on the hay prior to coming?
Have there been any changes in the hay? When you were packing up stuff to housesit, could they hay have sat near something that made it not smell as appetizing? Near soaps or ?

If everything is normal, nothing different with the hay, then it may mean that he’s just a bit stressed, his appetite might be a bit suppressed, and needs to get used to his surroundings . As long as he’s eating and pooping normally, then I’d see how he does tomorrow, and if after that he’s still refusing to eat hay, call your vet just to get an idea of what might be up.

Has he ever had teeth problems before?

[Battie]

Thank you for the quick answer!  I’m not sleeping till I have an idea of what to do.

As far as I can tell he is pooping normally.  Pee is harder to tell in that litter, but there was a big puddle outside (messy bun) earlier.  I’ve had him for little more than a month, but I’m not aware of any teeth problems.

There was my vinegar/water mixture in the bag, which of course leaked, but the hay was dry.

Can I give him extra pellets just to keep him eating *something*?  I know they’re not the healthiest, but it’s better than nothing.  If I can get to a store tomorrow I’ll get him some arugula… he likes that.

[Battie]

Well, I went down to check on him and put a small handful of pellets in the tray with the hay. He went nuts for the pellets and is gnawing at the hay a little to get them. I guess I’ll go to bed and hope for the best tomorrow.

Boy am I going to have a hard time explaining why I’m half-asleep at work tomorrow…

[BinkyBunny]

Well, even if the vinegar didn’t get directly on the hay, the odor could have gotten into the hay. You know, like when you go to the grocery store, they are supposed to separate soaps and detergents from breads? It’s not just about preventing damaged squished bread, but odors can also be immersed into the some foods and make them taste funny.

So if the hay was sitting near the leaking vinegar, that could very well be the problem. I recommend going out and getting a small bag of hay and see if that makes a difference.

By the way – How old is he? What does his diet consist of right now? What type of pellets does he have?

[Battie]

Yay! He ate lots last night!

I guess it wasn’t the vinegar. He even seemed perkier this morning. I’m going to keep watching closely, though.

He should be about a year old (always hard to know for sure with adoptions). He always has Timothy hay to eat and I give him Nutriphase rabbit pellets as a treat (he loves them). I try to keep a bag of arugula around for variety.

[JK]

I’m not familiar with those pellets.  Are they timothy based?  They should have no added ingredients whatsoever. Also, are you giving him fresh greens daily?  He should be getting 1-2 cups a day.  Please see Diet under Bunny Info above for the complete list.  He should be getting at least 3 types of greens daily, romaine, parsley, chard etc. Make sure to introduce one at a time slowly.

[Author]

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