Picky Eating?

[Marsh]

My rabbit used to be very food motivated, but now he isn’t eating his leafy stuff. He’s not sick— he’s still enthusiastically munching away at his hay and pellets, it’s just the leafy greens. I thought maybe he was just bored of what I’d been giving him? But whenever I try and give him something new, he doesn’t even try it. If I leave a brussels sprout or leaf of romaine out for him, he’ll usually get to it eventually, but that’ll be twelve hours later sometimes. I’m not excessively worried—he’s still eating hay, pellets, and the occasional bit of fruit—but I know he’s not getting all the nutrients that he should be.

He’s also been molting. Could that have something to do with it?

[GlennTheLionhead]

Often picky eating is a classic symptom if dental issues. Molar spurs can sometimes be very difficult to see in routine vet check ups. Also sometimes the tiniest spur can cause them to become picky. Dental issues can be slow and progressive before any serious symptoms start to show and often the rabbits will act fine until they develop tounge lesions and find it painful to eat anything.

Molt can sometimes cause GI slow down, in my experience the symptoms are usually gas, low appitite, belly pressing.

Hope you get to the bottom of it soon!

[Marsh]

But the stuff he’s refusing is often softer herbs, and wouldn’t he refuse the brussels sprouts all together if it was dental issues? When I give him swiss chard from my mom’s garden he’ll nibble at the leaf but eat the whole crunchy stem (he used to eat the whole leaf but not touch the stem at all) He’s also eating a lot of timothy hay. Other than this, he’s not shown any behavioral changes. He’s pooping and drinking a normal amount as well. Are there any signs of molar spurs that I should watch out for?

[DanaNM]

It does sound like a medical issue, and most likely dental. Dental issues are weird because there isn’t one thing that buns will stop eating. Some go off their pellets, some go off their hay, and others weirdly enough don’t want greens and go for crunchy stuff. It may have to do with the nature of the problem, but it’s hard to know.

It’s good that he’s still eating hay and drinking though. I would still book him in at the vet and have them do a very thorough oral exam. Light anesthesia or xrays are needed to see what’s really going on because they have 24 molars in that tiny mouth!

. . . 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.  

[LBJ10]

Yes, I think it would be a good idea to rule out a dental issue. They can present differently sometimes.

Another thought… has he ever seemed uncomfortable after eating veggies? Some bunnies have tummy trouble from veggies. If he felt ill (i.e. gassy) after eating some, he may think he needs to avoid them.

[Author]

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