Changing food, on hunger strike!

When people say, cut pellets down to make them eat more hay, what happens when they just refuse to eat! I got my raabit from a friend who no longer wanted him and the guinea pig he was in with. he is now seperated from the piggy, but as he was kept on newspaper and wasn't given hay, he wont eat it. Also he was on muesli and try as I might, he wont eat anything else. At the moment I've got 4 different types of pellet every sort of hay and herbs but if I dont give him the muesli, he just doesn't eat. He is losing weight and his poops are getting smaller. Should i just give in and accept he will only eat rubbish. Funny thing is, I am bonding him with a female at the moment (both neutered) and when they are on a date, he will share the hay with her.:?

Your last sentence definitely shows that you shouldn't give in. Chances are he doesn't actually know what hay is, but when with her, he learnt a bit more. I would suggest getting a taster pack from someone like the Hay Experts to find if there is something he likes more than others, but hopefully with a girlfriend he will learn.

With regards to the muesli and the pellets, if you swapped him straight to different pellets he will likely not know that the pellets are food, plus, they will be 'boring' so have less appeal. You need to make a gradual swap, and probably even slower for him. Maybe over the period of a month, gradually replacing about 5 % of his old food with neew food, and doing that for two or three days and then replacing 10% with the new food, so that he gradually gets used to it and gradually learns, and then once he is on the new food completely, then look to reduce it down. Hopefully by that point he will have learnt more about hay and you will have found something he likes and he may also have a lady friend.

In addition to all that, has he had a vet check? Particularly on his teeth?

Hi thanks for your reply. With regards to vet check, I had him neutered about 6 weeks ago and he had a good look at him and all is fine, apart from his nails were like talons so I and then the vet trimmed them and he is now on concrete run so they are much better. Food wise, I have been mixing the pellets but he wont touch them. I've tried giving them on their own and he will have a few and then gets bored with them. I'm looking forward to him going in with his girlfriend as they get on brilliantly, no humping chasing just grooming and loving each other. Been in together twice for 30min and then 3 hours. Next step is trying them a bit longer. Only fear I have is the food. If he wont eat her pellets then I will have to give him muesli and of course she will want to eat that! What to do?

Think you just have to persist with new pellets - but, as has been said, very gradually. If you can also encourage him to eat plenty of hay that would be good as 80% if their diet should be hay, with pellets eventually reducing to an eggcupful a day. You could try getting a sample pack of different hay on-line to see which he prefers. You certainly don't want to change your doe over to muesli.

Here's my boy sharing hay with his girly but he wont eat any on his own. second pic is just showing off as this is only their second meeting! Rescue ( paws for thought) I got the girl from (white one with lovely brown eyes) is really pleased with how they are getting on and said it was probably one of the best early bonding sessions shes seen!

Have you tried mixing the pellets in with the museli or are you just feeding the pellets on their own? This might be something to try if not, you could start with only a low % of pellets then increase. You could see if he eats the whole lot or leaves the pellets?

from eating no hay to eating hay when with his girlfriend is definately progress the more they do this together, the more he will get a taste for it and get the hang of it. perseverance and patience is the key here i think