Unusual behavior concerning hay

[whispercalm]

Charlie is almost 6 years old. She does get occasional bouts of stasis and I have medication from her vet to use whenever she seems to be starting.
The problem right now is she refuses to eat Timothy hay. This started a couple weeks ago with a slow down in consumption. It was a bag of Oxbow that was as green as I usual like to see. I figured maybe it was just that bag and got her a different brand she loves. Still turning her nose up.

She is eating her greens, eating very rock hard oxbow treats… like the lollipop on a stick, eating her vitamins, pellets, etc. I had wondered about teeth but with the super hard crunchy stuff she’s taking doesn’t make sense.

The only hay she will eat right now is meadow grass.
She did seem to be starting some stasis the past weekend, so I started her meds. She went 12 hours without pottying. After starting med she is pottying a fairly decent amount Saturday night, Sunday and she had a good pile this morning.

However still does not want anything to do with Timothy hay. Only meadow grass and she will only eat that if she can pull it directly from the bag herself. She ate a lot of meadow grass this morning.

I do have an appt schedule with her vet for tomorrow. But I’m super puzzled over this.

[LBJ10]

I had some “bad” hay. Bought a different brand and it was essentially the same. It was as if they both came from the same field… which I guess could be possible. I was beginning to worry because my bunny was refusing all of it. I kept having to pick through the “bad” stuff and only give him “good” pieces. It was so frustrating. Then I bought some hay from the same brand, but I ordered it from a different place. The quality was way better and he was much happier. Started eating the hay like there was no tomorrow.

I would definitely have her checked out to make sure everything is OK. As you said, it could be a tooth issue. If everything seems OK, then maybe continue experimenting with the hay.

[Wick & Fable]

LBJ offers good insight. I’ll also add that Timothy Hay is just not very appealing for a lot of rabbits. Orchard hay has been more popular in my experience.

Also, I do want to say, please be mindful of medicating rabbits as a preventative or as a reaction to perceived stasis. Stasis is a symptom; not a sickness. And it’s also not something that occurs in a short period of time — stasis is the state of organ function where the GI system is stopped or significantly slow, and this happens in reaction to something. There are times when overly cautious and attentive rabbit parents rush to the stasis conclusion, when it could be the rabbit is lazy, sleeping, tired, or has an appropriate amount of gas that can be naturally passed without intervention.

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.

[LBJ10]

Good point Wick! I had a bunny that was prone to little bouts of gas. He would usually snap out of it pretty quickly though, sometimes without simethicone or anything.

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