Rabbit food pellets had bugs in them

[Knabbel Did It]

I purchased a second bag of name-brand rabbit food pellets from a name-brand store earlier this month.  When I opened the bag, the pellets looked a little different than the first bag – there were a few holes in some of the pellets.  Then I noticed that there were a few clumps of pellets stuck together.  I inspected the clumps and found nothing unusual, so I thought maybe there had been some condensation in the bag earlier and it was now dried up.  WRONG!!! 

Turns out that a few days after I opened the bag (and, yes, very unfortunately fed them to Scooter Beans) we started noticing little tiny bugs on the floor.  The first night we just figured they were outside bugs coming inside and cleaned them up.  The next day there were more, but again, didn’t make the connection.  By the next morning we realized they weren’t regular outside bugs and started investigating.  Sure enough, there were bugs in his pellet container.  When I broke apart one of the clumps of pellets, there were several little bugs inside.  I didn’t see that when I originally checked out his pellets on the first day.  I think they may have been in a larva stage when I opened the bag and hatched in the followng days. 

We immediately took the pellets outside, washed all his blankets, and vacuumed the floors.  No trace of the bugs since then!  I called the vet and she said as long as he’s still eating, drinking, peeing and pooing that he’s probably fine.  So far, so good.  It’s been two days since we took the bad food away.  I did end up having to buy a different brand of food at the big box store since that’s all they had, and, yes, it was the kind with all the nuts and seeds in it, yes, I know that’s not good for him.  We tried to pick out most of the seeds and stuff and will save those for an occasional treat.  He didn’t really like the new pellets though. 

I called the store where we purchased the bad pellets from and even though I had thrown the bag out, I still had the receipt, so they happily exchanged the bad pellets for a new bag at no cost.  I did check over the new pellets very well before feeding them to Scooter Beans and he was very happy to have his normal pellets again.

I guess I’m just posting my experience because I didn’t realize that there could be a problem with the pellets I bought even though they looked fine except for the holes.  I didn’t want to be one of those freaky people who returns stuff without probable cause, but now I will be even more cautious of the things I feed my bunny. 

The bugs (weevils?) are hard to distinguish in the photo, but they’re there.  I have another photo, but can’t post them both in the same post I guess.

 

 

[Malp_15]

AHH!! That’s horrible 😐

What brand was it? If you don’t mind saying of course

[Stickerbunny]

Sometimes happens with pet food – dog, cat, bird, etc. Usually it’s from a bag not being sealed properly and they get in, if it gets wet it’s the perfect breeding ground for bugs. :s i’m always careful to inspect food for this reason, yuck! Glad your bun didn’t get any negative side effects from the bad food.

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By Stickerbunny on 06/24/2011 02:28 PM
I’m always careful to inspect food for this reason, yuck! Glad your bun didn’t get any negative side effects from the bad food.

That is very good advice — good idea to inspect pellets, hay, greens.   Even the best companies may miss something (hard to keep track of every product at all times).  

I must say though, though I check hay and greens, I definitely did not keep as close of an eye on pellets.  That is normally just easier to spot since you are giving smaller portions at a time and I haven’t used pellets with Jack in general.   Thanks for sharing your experience though as in the future I will definitely keep a closer eye on pellets when I use them again.  

[jerseygirl]

Mold could have been a concern too. I’ve had weevils in pellets before. I buy small bags from a fodder store that have been repackaged from a larger bag. I think it was storage at the store that was the problem, not the pellet manufacturers. They allowed me to get a new bag when I returned it.

It probably pays to transfer feed straight into a suitable container soon after you buy it. Then you know straight away if something is not right. I had a big bag of hay cubes and when getting toward the bottom. I discovered a big lump and mold. Now I will make sure I empty the bag when I get it.

[RabbitPam]

You always want to alert the store immediately. First to get a full refund. There’s not question that they did the right thing in giving you an exchange. But also, they may have received a bad shipment, in other words, the problem may have happened in their store (damp back room for storage, change in weather caused influx of bugs in their store) OR the co. that sent it may have shipped bags of bugs. If that’s true, the store may also get a refund or replacement from the manufacturer, so they might benefit by knowing as well. So don’t be embarrassed to complain. It’s very legit!
(Thanks for not posting the store/brand name. If you want to check the brand’s website for a recall notice, then let us know about that, it’s different because it’s not a one time thing.)

[Knabbel Did It]

I didn’t find anything about that specific brand having any recall notices. The salesperson didn’t offer any comment on whether there had been any other complaints, but then again I didn’t really ask either. She did take the food back with no questions asked, didn’t even look at it, just said they had to throw it out obviously. It seemed to me that it was store policy to refund or exchange when the problem is something like vermin in the food. Unfortunately, it probably happens more frequently than they would like regardless of whether it happened at the plant, in shipping, or in the store. I didn’t mention the brand or store because I don’t know where the infestation originated.

I just wanted to post my experience because I was naive about the holes and the few clumps in the pellets and didn’t want that to happen to someone else who may not be familiar with the problem. I should have taken it back to begin with because of the possibility it could have been moldy because of the clumps.

The vet did say that it’s more of a problem when you find bugs in the loose hay; something that horse owners have to watch closely. I will be much more vigilant about food in the future.

[Beka27]

Don’t they say that people may accidentally eat several spiders a year? ICK!!!

This kind of thing happens sometimes. It’s food, and food is desirable for pests. You did the best thing you could; you stopped feeding it once the issue was discovered and notified the store.

I find the bags really hard to adequately seal after opening, so I have one of those small plastic storage containers with an airtight lid. It fits a 10-lb bag of pellets and a measuring scoop. I just dump the entire contents of the bag into the plastic container, and as I do so, I can check for any abnormalities. For example, I found a corn kernel in my last bag of Oxbow. But I recognize that the food is made in the same facilities where they make food for other types of pets, so sometimes that will happen.

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