Rabbit not eating certain foods? (read below)

[mintyowlgirl]

This is probably going to be a gigantic post, so bear with me. 

(And I am sorry if this is under the wrong category, I assumed it was behavior because he is picky)

My few days ago, my rabbit, Kyle (3 years) got constipated. Since we are currently having a blizzard, we couldn’t take him to the vet. But this also happened last Easter. He wasn’t eating his normal food, he wasn’t pooping as normally as normal, and the only thing he would eat is carrots, celery, and anything that was a veggie.

So today, after doing much research, he finally was pooping normally. But he won’t eat his normal food that he has been eating for a couple months. 

Here’s a little background: 

We used to have a local pet store who MADE THEIR OWN PELLETS (no other way to get it)

We would always get our rabbit food their, mostly because it was nice quality and fairly cheap. 

They closed down a few months ago, and it has been really hard to get rabbit food he likes. He is very picky and I know he misses Rainbow Pets food, having eating it for 2 1/2 years. 

I couldn’t really wean him off of Rainbow Pets food because when we went back to get more, it was gone. A lot of people were sad, but Kyle was the saddest. 

What do I do? I can’t exactly go out and buy more because of the blizzard. (I can’t give him anymore carrots because he got diarrhea) 

(And he is eating a little bit of it,but not too much)

EDIT: Some people have been asking about hay. He has always been a picky eater. When we first introduced him to hay, he hated it.

Another Edit: I realized he just has a mild stomach ache.

I think the final edit: YEAH! Before,Kyle’s stomach was swollen, but after drinking pineapple juice, he is starting to act and look normal 

[Zombie-Sue]

He has diarrhea and constipation at the same time? I’m confused.

[manic_muncher]

And what about hay?

[mintyowlgirl]

No, he was constipated, but when we got him back to normal, he get diarrhea from the veggies. I would’ve stopped giving him veggies, but I feel bad for not giving him them. :/  

[mintyowlgirl]

He is a very picky eater. 

[MoveDiagonally]

Are you feeding him hay?

[mintyowlgirl]

He doesn’t like hay

[Sarita]

He needs to eat hay – have you tried different kinds? What kinds have you tried?

[manic_muncher]

There are many varieties of hay you can try to help find one he may like. It’s super important they eat hay to keep their back teeth in check and for good digestive health. Most often from what I’ve read (and experienced with my bun) when a rabbit is refusing to eat hay, it’s because they are over-feeding on pellets. Also hay of poor quality might turn them off from it too. I’m not sure of what else to get you to try, maybe someone else has some input. How is he today?

[Sarita]

How do you know he has a stomach ache?

Also have you taken him to the vet to have a check-up mainly the teeth.

Does he get greens like lettuce, kale, cilantro, etc….or just pellets?

[MoveDiagonally]

80% of a rabbits overall diet should be hay. As Sarita said, he needs hay. What kinds have you tried?

[mintyowlgirl]

His teeth were checked our about two months ago, and I always give him wood blocks so they don’t grow. 

I know he has a stomach ache because he seems to be lying low, like he doesn’t want to be active.

[Tessie]

Is he pooping? You can try rubbing his tummy if he doesn’t mind.

As the others said, hay is the main part of a bun’s diet so it’s important that you find a variety of hay he likes.

[mintyowlgirl]

Yeah, he is.
And about the hay, I have tried, but he was allergic to one kind, and he didn’t like any of the other ones. All he likes is the grow-able wheat grass. He loves that stuff.

[MoveDiagonally]

What kinds of hay have you tried? What type is he allergic too? Have you talked to your vet about this? No good rabbit savvy vet would advise against hay. It is a huge part of a bunny’s diet. 80% of what he’s eating overall should be hay. Your rabbit is having stomach troubles and really hay is necessary for rabbits maintaining digestive health. Your rabbit could be having these issues, at least in part, because he’s not eating hay. 

Chewing on wood only helps wear down the front teeth. Rabbits have back teeth that are only worn down by hay.

I really can’t stress how important hay is to a rabbit. It’s 100% necessary. 

[mintyowlgirl]

Even if I tried to give him hay, he wouldn’t eat it because he isn’t used to it. Like with the rabbit we had as a class pet in 4th grade. She never ate veggies as a young rabbit, so if we have some to her, she would get diarrhea. 

[MoveDiagonally]

The reason your 4th grade class pet couldn’t eat veggies without getting diarrhea is because they were likely not introduced properly. A rabbit should be eating grass hay for a minimum of 4 weeks before trying to introduce veggies. They then need to be introduced in small quantities so a rabbits intestines can develop the right bacteria to digest them. Rabbits are born with “clean guts” meaning they don’t have lots of bacteria in their stomachs at birth. On top of that there are some veggies that rabbits are more or less sensitive too. Many rabbits, even ones that have never eaten veggies, can get acclimated to eating at least some of them.

Check out this article if you would like to learn more about that:
http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

On hay, there are many ways to encourage a rabbit to try hay. The first thing suggested is that you try different types of hay. Botanical hay, Oat hay, and Orchard hay are popular with the majority of bunnies. There are a lot of varieties and it’s unlikely that a bunny will dislike them all. Some people hide pellets and herbs in hay to encourage hay eating. Other’s spritz hay with some natural juice. Once a bunny starts eating hay and develops good hay eating habits these tactics are usually not as necessary.

I encourage you to read up and educate yourself on your rabbits nutritional needs. GI issues are deadly for rabbits so it’s not something that should be ignored. Rabbit.org is a great place to start:
http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/

Hay = 80%
Greens = 10%
Pellets = 5%
Healthy Treats = 5%

Best of luck!

[mintyowlgirl]

And I should mention that rabbit had a couple more rabbit companions, and all of their diets were based on 90% pellets, 10& hay, and they all lived past 11. 

[Sarita]

I’m not really sure what else we can tell you as we have given you what we recommend. Hay is important and that is what keeps the molars which are the back teeth healthy not wood blocks. Also hay is recommended for digestion and that’s a pretty common fact.

Obviously if your rabbit is only eating unlimited pellets that is the reason he is not eating hay as he is filling up on pellets.

You should slowly introduce greens – rabbits don’t diarrhea from greens – they may get mushy cecals but that is not diarrhea. But I would not even introduce greens if you don’t give your rabbit hay to eat or he won’t eat it.

[mintyowlgirl]

He already eats plenty of greens and what are you talking about ‘unlimited pellets’? I feed him 1/4 every morning and night.

[Sarita]

Don’t think you ever mentioned how much but you stated in another post that what I am now guessing is someone else’s rabbit ate 90% pellets – it was a confusing post to me because I thought you meant your rabbit.

I guess then what you are trying to get help with is finding another pellet that we can recommend? or do you want us to recommend maybe some different greens to try?

[MoveDiagonally]

Biologists, vets, and rabbit experts recommend that rabbits have unlimited access to hay. It’s considered a nutritional requirement. This is something that is agreed upon pretty across the board.

I thought you came here to ask for advice because your rabbit was having stomach issues. A lack of hay in a rabbits diet can be part of the issue with stomach problems so that’s the advice we offered. I’m with Sarita. What exactly are you looking for?

Pellets recommendations can be found here:
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/126514/Default.aspx

Veggie suggestions info can be found here:
http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

[Beka27]

I’m coming a little bit late to this thread, but do you have hay available to him, even if he does not eat it? You might not see him eat it, but if it’s accessible and he gets hungry or bored, he may start nibbling on it and decide that he does like it. Have some in the litter box, spread some around, maybe mix his pellets in with the hay so he has to dig through it!

Is that him in your picture? He is super cute!

[Author]

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