Please help

[Ian]

He is about 5 months old he is a silver fox. I have had him about a month and recently he refuses to eat hay. Normally he would eat a ton of hay. I have tried different brands I have tried feeding it to him in a bowl his hay rack a toilet paper tube a pile in his cage everything. He will eat pellets but not much. He is mot drinking as much water. He only gets excited for cilantro. He seems happy and as energetic as normal when I let him out. He gets out about 5 hours a day. I brought him to the vet and he checked him said everything was ok. Told me to get fresh hay so I got more hay even though I tried this before. What can I do, will he be ok, and can he survive on just greens?

[Wick & Fable]

Rabbits 500000% need a majority-hay diet. Rabbits need the fiber to keep their sensitive digestion healthy. Also, the hay grinds down their teeth, which never stop growing!

How often and when do you feed him veggies? It could be you’re spacing it so he feels like waiting for veggies rather than eating hay. Rabbits will prefer veggies and pellets over hay, so if they can wait for veggies, they will. Also, if you ‘give in’ and feed veggies when your rabbit is egging for it, this will continue the selective eating behavior. Think of it as getting a child to eat salad. Children won’t eat salad if they get candy every so often– but, if they realize they only get candy once per day, they’ll cave when they’re hungry and eat salad. In this metaphor, salad is hay, and candy is veggies.

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.

[Ian]

I was giving him veggies every other day or so and pellets twice a day and just a small amount until one day i went to work after filling his hay rack and i got home and he didnt touch it so i upped his pellet and veggies so he eats something

[Wick & Fable]

Ian had difficulty posting a reply. He says in response to my post:

I gave him pellets once or twice a day and only small amounts I change his hay daily and he got veggies once every few days until he stopped eating hay then i upped the pellets so he would eat something i have tried new hay different kinds of hay feeding him in different ways putting treats in his hay and nothing the vet said he is fine

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.

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Wick on 9/06/2017 7:29 PM

Ian had difficulty posting a reply. He says in response to my post:

I gave him pellets once or twice a day and only small amounts I change his hay daily and he got veggies once every few days until he stopped eating hay then i upped the pellets so he would eat something i have tried new hay different kinds of hay feeding him in different ways putting treats in his hay and nothing the vet said he is fine

Thanks Wick. Ian’s reply is there now. ^   It’s now gone in before yours due to the time it was submitted.

[jerseygirl]

Ian, when you first got him, what type of hay was he eating?

[Ian]

Im not sure what the breeder fed him they sent pellets with him but I gave him timothy hay and some botanical hay

[Azerane]

I know you have tried other brands of hay, but have you tried other types of hay such as orchard grass, oaten, meadow, bermuda etc?

[Bam]

If you have access to fresh grass that hasn’t been treated with pesticides and grows in places where there aren’t racoons and wild rabbits, you can try that. Hay is dried grass but grass is often more palatable than hay. It could be a starting-point or a complement. It’s anyway a lot better than just vegs and pellets. You can start with a small handfull. My currently dieting bunny is getting a bit of fresh grass every day now by my rabbit-savvy vet’s order. Rinse the grass properly before serving it.

[joea64]

I give my own buns, Panda and Fernando, 1/8 cup timothy pellets each once per day (in the early morning when I wake up) and at least 2 cups each of leafy greens once per day in the evening (when I get home from work), and refresh their hay twice a day (and occasionally before bedtime) so that each bunny gets a pile of hay at least equal to their body size over the course of a day. This feeding schedule seems to work pretty well in keeping them focused on hay; they regularly retire to their litterbox in the evenings (I don’t really know about the mornings because I’m generally away from home by the time they get really active) and eat lots of hay, foraging actively in the pile for the best pieces, for up to half an hour at a time over several hours, so I infer it’s the same way in the morning hours before they retire for their daytime naps. I think it also helps that they get mixed hay (a blend of several types), which gives them variety to keep them interested.

[Author]

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