My bunnies won’t eat their hay or pellets??

[Beki]

Hi everyone!

Both my bunnies all of a sudden are refusing to eat their hay and pellets. They will only eat veggies and treats and are following me around my house begging for food when their bowls and hay grift are completely full. I stopped giving then any veggies last night hoping that would make them eat but this morning their bills were still full. What do I do to make them eat???

[Wick & Fable]

Both hay and pellets are more “hardy” in terms of texture and effort needed to chew them down. Because of this, I wonder if they are having dental issues, preventing them from eating the hay and pellets. Selective eating is a common sign of dental discomfort.

It is interesting that both your rabbits are experiencing this (could just be coincidental), but that makes me wonder if there were any recent changes to your hay and/or pellet supply? Perhaps they’re a new brand, recently exposed to something that would change their scent/taste, etc.?

It is extremely important that your rabbits eat pellets and hay, especially for the fiber, teeth grinding, and needed minerals/vitamins provided from them. I recommend a vet visit to have their teeth examined for molar spurs.

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.

[Beki]

I haven’t changed their diets at all- and I thought the same thing about them having dental issues but they are able to eat carrots which are really thick and their treats are similar in thickness to their pellets so I have no idea what’s up. They are acting completely fine too which is the really weird thing

[JLH]

so let me make sure I understand, you say you didn’t change the brand or type of pellets? my bun get’s greens and carrots twice a day and hay 24/7, she get’s pellets twice a day in the amount per my vets instructions. even though she get’s greens and carrots she will bang her pellet bowl around if it’s empty when it’s time to put some in it (I swear she has a clock to keep track of feeding time) my point on the pellets though is my bun had baby bunny pellets fed to her from 8 weeks old when I got her, at 5 months old my vet had me switch to adult pellets as baby pellets put fat on them to help them grow, when I switched to adult pellets she tipped the bowl over and dumped all the pellets on the floor and refused to eat them. my mistake was that you have to make a half and half pellet mixture of the old pellets and new pellets, she still would pick out the baby pellets but after 2 weeks she started to eat the entire mixture until I slowly removed the baby pellets all together. if you didn’t change the brand or type of pellets then it’s best to have your bunny vet give them a checkup. even though my bunny is in great heath I still have her bunny doc perform a checkup every 3 months.

[Wick & Fable]

It could be spur placement and also it could be the discomfort isn’t enough to turn down yummy carrots, but it does sound like a vet visit to examine teeth would be good — if it is teeth and it’s delayed until your rabbit stops eating anything, it may mean there’s damage to the tongue or cheeks, which has happened to rabbits unfortunately.

My Wick has had over a dozen molar grindings and he always eats normally and acts normally, but his chewing changes to try and accommodate the uncomfortable spurs.

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.

[Beki]

The only thing in their diet that changed was trays. They did get some new treats for Christmas. I also went away for alittle over a week to see family and my boyfriend was watching them and he said he gave them ALOT of veggies…this has happened before where hey refused to eat pellets and hay for a few days but I would feel better bringing them to a vet.

Update: This morning I checked their food and they had eaten almost all of their pellets and it looks like they also ate some hay. I still am going to call a vet today and have them checked out just in case.

[Wick & Fable]

Being spoiled by veggies and treats can definitely worsen hay and pellet appetite.. They are so tempting for rabbits so if they get used to it, they can abandon hay and pellets, which happen to be the most important part of their diet! How frustrating that can be sometimes!

That’s great detective work on your part, haha. It is also great to do a vet visit, just in case as well. Even a general check-up occasionally is good for rabbits.

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.

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