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Fussy eating

Nichelette

New Kit
Hi - I'm new here and was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience with their rabbit/has any ideas I can try.

Last week I noticed that my bunny wasn't as enthusiastic about eating as usual (particularly her pellets which she would usually make a bee line for), but she was still eating enough hay etc to be okay. I thought she needed a dental so I booked her in and she had them done last Friday morning. The vet said she had small spurs but wasn't in too bad a state. She came around okay and was eating hay, herbs and so on. She actually seemed to come to quicker than in the past.

Now it has nearly been a week since and she still isn't very interested in her pellets but is eating enough to be okay in terms of what is going in and coming out of her. It's not as much as I'd like but it's not terrible either and I'm keeping a major eye on what is going in and out. She is eating harder foods so I don't believe she is in pain, but equally I don't feel like she is being her usual self in eating terms and can't figure out why she would be behaving like this as she is showing pretty much no interest in her pellets unless I hand feed her them individually, and is the same with locust beans which she would previously wolf down too.

Does anyone have any idea why she might be doing this and how I can get her eating pellets properly again?

I wonder if the not eating pellets pre dental was because she had decided she wasn't interested in them more than anything else, and still feels the same way about them?

Thanks in advance..
 
Hi, welcome to the forum :wave:

This is a difficult one, because I would have expected her eating to have returned to normal by now after her dental. You also said that prior to the dental she went off other foods as well, although it was mainly pellets. Is she enthusiastic about food other than pellets now? Are her poos looking normal and not small and hard?

It could be I suppose that she has "gone off" pellets, but in my experience it would be quite unusual if she used to eat them with enthusiasm. It might be worth getting a very small bag of an alternative pellet to see if that makes a difference.

As a bit of background, how old is your rabbit and has she generally been healthy?

By the way I always thought that locust beans were not recommended for rabbits, because of a risk of intestinal blockage? I have never fed them, but I think I have read others on here say they are a danger.
 
Thanks for your reply :). If she hears a bag rustling she is interested as she knows she is getting greens and will munch away on them happily. She is also still eating and seemingly enjoying small cunks of carrot. I want her to eat but am trying not to over free her stuff like that for obvious reasons.

He poo is of a more normal size than it was before dental. I think there is slightly less than before but I have been putting that down to her not having so much bulk with not eating the pellets.

She is about 4 now (was a rescue but I've had her since about 9 months old) and has always been generally healthy bar a dental every 9 or so months. She has as much hay as she wants but I think it's largely genetic with her. I was speaking to the vet as this is her 4th dental and I'm concerned about all the anaesthetics with her getting older now. He suggested a different pellet which they need to chew more and therefore better at grinding down the tooth so I think I'll buy some tomorrow and see if any interest.

I thought with locust beans the only issue was the seeds being poisonous so I always removed those before feeding, but if they may cause a blockage I'll stop feeding them.
 
Yes you are right - it is the seeds inside the locust bean which can cause a blockage in a rabbit's digestive system. Have you tried Fibafirst, I don't use it myself but folk on the Forum do. I would obviously be worried if a rabbit didn't have a good appetite and eat up all I gave him. How many pellets do you feed and do you buy the locust beans separate, as I have only come across them in bags of Muesli. Most good Muesli suppliers have stopped including these now. I hope you can ascertain why bunny has stopped showing an interest in her pellets.
 
I haven't but I'll give it a go. I give her the burgess pellets, the beans are just as a treat but I'll stop those.

She has been eating some pellets from my hand and a skewer with some carrot and cucumber which is all but gone. She doesn't seem like she is in any pain - I've seen her with back paws outstretched a lot and flopped out on her side having a sleep which is usual for her, also she has just been playing with her wicker ball toy.

As her teeth have been done I can only assume they are okay and she is still pooing and eating (granted being picky!), and from here behaviour I don't believe in pain so I don't believe she has a blockage.

We have been thinking and I'm wondering if because I am so concerned about her eating I've given her too much choice and she is out of routine a bit, so I've removed all treat things and will go back to her usual routine of greens in morning and pellets in the evening with just hay during the day to see if that makes a difference. She is an indoor bunny so I'll continue to keep a close eye on her and see how that goes.
 
I haven't but I'll give it a go. I give her the burgess pellets, the beans are just as a treat but I'll stop those.

She has been eating some pellets from my hand and a skewer with some carrot and cucumber which is all but gone. She doesn't seem like she is in any pain - I've seen her with back paws outstretched a lot and flopped out on her side having a sleep which is usual for her, also she has just been playing with her wicker ball toy.

As her teeth have been done I can only assume they are okay and she is still pooing and eating (granted being picky!), and from here behaviour I don't believe in pain so I don't believe she has a blockage.

We have been thinking and I'm wondering if because I am so concerned about her eating I've given her too much choice and she is out of routine a bit, so I've removed all treat things and will go back to her usual routine of greens in morning and pellets in the evening with just hay during the day to see if that makes a difference. She is an indoor bunny so I'll continue to keep a close eye on her and see how that goes.

Please don't think I was suggesting that she has a blockage. I wasn't. I was just remembering how people had suggested that there was a risk of blockage with locust beans.

I think going back to her normal routine is a good plan. It will allow you to assess better how she is now to how she was prior to these issues.

Hopefully, she is just taking a bit longer to get back to normal. As you say, from her behaviour it does sound as though she is not in any pain and so just keeping a close eye on her progress seems to be sensible.
 
Don't worry, I didn't think that, I was just thinking I could rule it out. I'll keep an eye but she has been eating more pellets voluntarily from her bowl so I'm hoping she has just being a bit funny! Fingers crossed going back to her usual routine works. Thanks for your posts :).
 
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