Hey everyone!
I have a 2.5 yr old neutered male holland lop, Dumbo. He rarely had GI issues before, and his diet had always been grass hay (mostly timothy, combined with oat, orchard…etc.) + oxbow essential pellet + veggies (3 types per day) and occasionally fruits. About three weeks ago we learned that oxbow essential pellet contains soy and molasses, which might not be ideal for rabbits, so we started trying to switch to oxbow organic bounty pellets and Dumbo seemed perfectly fine with the transition until last Friday (five days ago). He refused to eat anything during his regular dinner time, so we did some force feeding (oxbow critical care) and belly massage and he returned to normal pretty fast. Most of his poops were fine but I did notice a couple softer ones, so to be on the safe side, we stopped veggie and cut his pellets to half. He’s been pretty good for a couple of days, so last night I tried to introduce veggies back to his diet again by giving him a small piece of romaine and a little bit of carrot top (he’s had both before), and he looked uncomfortable again (lethargic, not eating his favorite hay, hiding…etc.), so we did force feeding+massage again and he seemed fine again. We gave him very small amount of pellets (mixed old one and new one) and that doesn’t seem to create any issue so far.
Now I’m not sure if we should eliminate veggie from his diet. Most resources I read mentioned that veggies are very important and good for bunnies, and frankly we are not completely sure if veggie is the trigger, especially since he used to eat a large amount of veggie everyday. But he seemed to be okay eating hay+pellet, and I’m scared to give veggies another try now. We have a vet appointment next Friday, and I wonder if it’s okay if he doesn’t have any veggie until then? Would it worsen his situation if he needs the nutrition?
Sorry for the lengthy post and appreciate any suggestion!
.
