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Some advice about Grim my dental bun

Jenova

Wise Old Thumper
Grim, as many people here know, has many, many tooth problems including having no incisors,a few molars missing, spurs on his molars etc. He doesn't eat hay and I have tried everything to make him with no luck. I've given up on that front, but as he doesn't/ can't eat hay I like to give him unlimited pellets so he can graze throughout the day. He doesn't over eat and pellets are all he eats. He has very little veg as it usually makes him poopy and he has bread (not good for bunnies I know, but Grim is an exception).

Anyways... Smoo, or Samus, his lovely lady bunny loves her food a little too much if you know what I mean. :roll: And if there are pellets available she will eat them. So the predicament is that I want food available for Grim but I don't want Smoo scoffing it all and getting fat. I can feed Grim seperately inside, but is he going to be okay not eating for parts of the day? Does he need food available all the time? Sometimes I have to be out of the house early so I would put food in for both of them in the morning and then feed Grim on his own in the afternoon and evening. Do you think that would be okay? Smoo is a healthy bun who eats her hay and veggies. :)
 
Yup. And tying pieces around bread. It all goes in, the hay comes out the bread gets eaten... I've tried making cookies with it, restricting food, you name it! He's about three years old and has never eaten it.
 
Am I right that Grim won't eat leaves either? (Just to get the fiber in to keep his gut moving)
Thumper doesn't like to chew because of spurs. I found that he prefers home dried leaves - bramble, (raspberry, & strawberry, from allotment holders) When dry they become "melt in the mouth crisps". You can also dry dandelions etc.
Ever hopeful we'll crack it but I think you've tried it all.
 
What about the mixes you get of like plantain, herbal gardens, meadow herbs etc from the naturals range in pets at home and similar?
 
Nothing. :mrgreen: Thanks for all the advice I really appreciate it but believe me I've tried everything.

What I really need to know is am I okay to leave him without for for a few hours a day as he's not grazing?
 
It depends on the individual bun, and also the severity of their dental problems. Can Grim eat dry pellets or does he need them soaking?

Mostly it's fine to feed normally, but separate them once a day to feed the dental bun a few extra pellets.

Perhaps feed their pellets over more meals...i.e. 3/4 times per day? So nobun is going hungry for long periods.
 
Have you tried readigrass? My buns wolf it while they tend to turn their twitchy noses up at plain hay.

Does he eat grass in general?
 
Jenova, I don't know how long you can leave Grim for without access to food. I see your problem. Unless someone comes up with a better idea, I wonder if it's possible to gradually building up the time without food while you are at home, to supervise? The only other solution I can see is to separate them side by side, so Samus can't get to Grim's food, but they can lie side by side & groom through the partition.
 
Oh and BTW, I have a couple of dental buns who won't touch hay because they don't have enough molars to chew it. They seem to do fine, despite having smaller than normal poops.
 
Awesome! :mrgreen: Thanks so much for the advice. I will give the fibre plus nuggets a go.
 
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