not eating pellets

[bathtubhippo]

hello all, longtime reader, first-time poster…!

we have a bunny named ringo who is about 1 1/2 years old, some kind of mini-rex mix although he weighs in at a (healthy) 7.4 lbs. ringo’s always had a voracious appetite, but the last 3 days he has barely touched his pellets. he gets 1/4 cup in the morning and another 1/4 cup at night, and usually his face is in the food bowl before i can serve him, but on wednesday it took him all day to finish his breakfast pellets, and he has eaten only a few here and there since. he gets unlimited timothy hay and his appetite for it is still unchanged–he eats a ton of it. he also gets a variety of veggies everyday (a mix of romaine and whatever else we have handy–collard greens, carrots and carrott tops, kale, dandelion greens, parsley, etc). while his consumption of veggies/greens has slowed a bit, he still polishes them all off over the course of an hour or so. while i’m not positive about this, i think he’s drinking a bit less water than normal as well.

he’s always been a prodigious pooper, and he definitely hasn’t slowed much in that department, although i have noticed a reduction in size and a slight change in shape over the last few days. despite our best efforts, he does tend to be a carpet nibbler and cardboard eater, but i haven’t noticed any real extraordinary binges. any input or suggestions on what i can do for this bunrabbit? thanks, folks!

edit: let me also add that his behavior is otherwise normal–very active and rambunctious!

[Sarita]

Well the first thing that comes to my mind is teeth – maybe have his teeth checked.

Secondly – that seems like alot of pellets if he’s getting unlimited hay and fresh vegetables.

[bathtubhippo]

 teeth were fine at his last check-up (about 5 months ago), but that is something that occurred to me as well.

as far as amount of pellets, i was using the guineline here: http://rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#mature and i went with the higher side since he weighs more than 6 lbs, but since his main diet is hay and veggies, you’re probably right about that.

[Sarita]

I also sometimes wonder if the change in daylight (longer/shorter) affects their appetite and routine as well.

That is basically my guideline too – I only have a few of my rabbits on pellets at all though but none of mine are as young as yours.

I guess you are best to just watch his eating and poops the next few days – it sounds like you have a relationship with a vet too so that is great and important just in case.

[bathtubhippo]

yeah, we’re in wait-and-see mode. he’s still eating tons of hay, as i’ve said, but i always worry when i see changes in his input and output, if you know what i mean. thanks for your advice! if anyone else has any suggestions, it’s most welcome.

[KatnipCrzy]

A lot could change in a bunnies mouth in 5 months since their teeth are always growing.  But if he is still eating and pooing- it might not be his teeth at all.  If he continues to dislike his pellets I would consider if there is something about the pellets?  new bag that tastes different to him?  old bag that is stale?  something that might make him picky about the pellets?

I noticed at a little over a year old my bunny that I got as a baby, Cotton- seemed to mellow a bit more behavior wise.  She is still excited about getting food and treats but she gets a small amount of pellets in the am and pm, salad in the middle of the day, and treats occasionally throughout the day.  I noticed if she was getting everything at once she was very stimulated by all the new things- and I prefer to see the excitement of pellets, salad, etc throughout the day.

And I think bunnies like puppies and kittens get to the point where they do not need to consume are much as their body is no longer growing and in need of all those additional nutrition to support that.

Definitely keep an eye on your bunny to make sure he continue to eat, drink, poo and normal activity. 

[jerseygirl]

I would suggest it is something to do with the pellets too. Is it a new bag? There are sometimes seasonal variations to pellets. I once bought a bag that had a really strong smell to it. Off putting to me, but my rabbit didn’t mind. The man at the feed store told me they are sometimes made up with hay that has been in storage and that causes the different smell. I seem to remember another member experiencing this and her bunnies turning up there cute little noses.

I notice the appetite and water consumption can sometimes vary when a rabbit is molting. This can also effect the poop. Good thing you are watching all this so closely. That he is acting normally is good, and seeing as he is managing without the pellets all at once, you may be able to reduce the amount he gets. If he is still big on hay & veg – you only need little pellets to supplement the diet. You can even go pellet free.

Oh, and a belated Welcome since you’ve been around for some time!

[bathtubhippo]

it actually is a new bag of pellets, but he slowed down his pellet consumption right before this bag, which i initially chalked up to the bottom of the barrel pellets being a bit stale. it’s not impossible though that they were stale and the new bag tastes off to him, so i will pick up a small bag of his pellets today though and give it a shot. i also gave him a water bowl as a second drinking option in addition to extra wet greens, since i’m increasingly sure that he’s not drinking enough.

btw, i like the idea of a few pellets as AM and PM treat. up until the last few days, he always got super excited at pellet time, so i think it might work with him. for you guys on low-to-no pellet diets, do you give your veggies over multiple meals or just once a day with hay always available? the last few days i’ve been giving him some greens in the morning (as well as his usual dinnertime grub) when he’d normally be pigging out of pellets, and he seems to like it.

[bathtubhippo]

good news! he is eating some pellets right now for the first time in days. his poops seem larger today also. i’ve been giving him extra wet greens, and he seems to really enjoy the water bowl instead of the bottle, so perhaps dehydration was causing some sort of GI slowdown or something. will keep a close eye on him but definitely good signs.

[MooBunnay]

I’m glad to hear he is acting more normal with his pellets. I found that mine started to get bored with their pellets and not be so excited about them once they realized that they got them every day. So I cut the amount of pellets that I gave them in half, and they started to get much more excited about them again. I think that bunnies tend to get more excited about things that they don’t get as frequently, like treats, so cutting down on the pellets would be good for him and would probably re-start his interest in them.

[bathtubhippo]

and just to follow up, i got a new bag of a different brand of pellets (higher quality, more expensive ones at that). i mixed a few in with his regular pellets this morning, and he picked all of those out. so maybe there was something to what jerseygirl said about the other bag of pellets tasting off to him. or maybe he sees the new kind as a special treat. either way, it’s nice to see him munching away, and if i’m going to cut back his pellet consumption anyway, i certainly don’t mind spending more per bag.

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