rabbit not as interested in pellets anymore?

[bumpybunny]

for the past week or so, my rabbit hasn’t seemed interested in pellets during her supper time. in the morning she eats all of them at once, and when i give a few to her throughout the day as a treat she always runs and takes it. but in the evening when it’s time for her supper i sprinkle her pellets around and she eats maybe 1/3 of them and leaves the rest, then sits at the door of her pen waiting to be let back out. sometimes she misses a few and i figured that’s what was wrong so every night i’ve been gathering them all up and handing them to her in a pile and then she eats them all. but now i’m pretty sure she sees them and just isn’t eating them for some reason. she’s eating everything else fine, eats tons of hay and always taking treats. she hasn’t been very interested in her salads but i’m not too worried about that because she always ends up finishing it little by little over a few hours. (it’s a long story, but i had to do an elimination diet and i’m just now starting to add new veggies back to her diet so i believe she’s just bored of the same 2 veggies everyday).

 

is this something i should be concerned about? i’m feeding the same pellets i have been for over a year. any idea why she’s doing this? she’s pretty lazy in the evenings up until around 8pm or 9pm, and i feed her supper at 6pm so i’m wondering if it could just be that? sometimes if i just leave the room and leave her in her pen for a little while i’ll come back and the pellets will be gone. other times they will still be there.

[bumpybunny]

i know nobody has replied yet but i just wanted to update and say that instead of handing her all the pellets she didn’t eat tonight i left them and within an hour she had gone back into her pen and finished them and her salad in a few different trips. tomorrow i’m going to feed her a couple hours later and see if that makes any difference.

[DanaNM]

Hmmm, it’s possible she could have minor dental issue, or some other discomfort. One of my buns would go off his pellets when he wasn’t feeling great, but there were other signs as well. It could also just be that he’s feeling secure about his food and doesn’t feel the need to wolf everything down.

Since it’s going along with also less interest in salads I think the safest thing would be a check up to make sure there’s not something going on with her molars. Usually dental issues cause lower hay consumption, but not always.

. . . 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.  

[Wick & Fable]

I agree it could be food security setting in and just realizing that grazing is a fine option as opposed to scarfing it down! It’s also a nice thing for peace of mind in a way, as it cuts down on any choking risk if pellet eating is a more… calm time, haha.

 

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.

[Mom21]

That’s how my rabbit started and it turned out to be dental issues.

[Author]

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