Sparky and Harley

[lauraj27]

Hi everyone,

I'm just a little worried about Sparky and Harley; possibly unnecessarily so it's just been a horrendous year (lost my father in law in May a few days later my dad was taken sick, a few weeks later one of our rabbits, Snowy passed away when she was being brought round from an op then a few weeks after that my dad passed away) so I may be being over sensitive.

Anyway I have noticed over the last few days that Sparky and Harley are taking a bit longer than usual to eat all of their nuggets. They aren't bonded but they are both indoor bunnies. Harley has the run of the downstairs and Sparky has the upstairs bedroom.

Harley is 10 years old and had a dental on Tuesday for some small spurs and recovered really well from the op and was back to his usual cheeky self by about 8pm.

Sparky is 12 years and 8 months old, he has bad cataracts in both eyes so his vision is pretty much gone but he is still able to get around using his other senses. He's not as fast as he used to be and a couple of years ago he did have head tilt as the result of an ear infection. It took a lot of TLC and many months but he recovered; sometimes he does lose his balance but I'm not too surprised given the cataracts.

They are both enthusiastic at feeding time, periscoping, hopping around excitedly and immediately go for the nuggets but they used to devour them within an hour or two but now for both of them it seems to be four /five hours, sometimes even longer for Sparky.

They are interested and instantly nibbling when given fresh hay and any of their fave veggies. Kale is a particular favourite but they only get that once maybe twice a week as I am conscious too much can cause gas.

I appreciate I am probably over reacting as they are eating everything that is put in front of them, they are just taking a little longer to finish all of their nuggets to what I'm used to.

Harley was obviously at the vets the other week and had a full check - the only issue were some small spurs which have been taken care of.

Sparky is due his annual vaccination so we will try and get him booked in this week for that and an overall check.

I'm just so worried and over sensitive given the way this year has gone so far.

 

[Zoobec]

Do you give them quite a lot of nuggets? I don’t feed them normally, but if I did, the recommended amount of an egg cup full per bunny is hoovered up quite quickly.

 

[joey&boo]

I wonder if nuggets just get a bit more difficult as they get older. Mouse eats them slowly theses days & not in one go (my vet said to give her more as she is underweight) but she is much more normal with her veg & forage eating - hay is slower too. Obviously its wise to mention your concerns at vacc app but I honestly wouldn't worry too much - as long as they are eating other foods well & their poop is good.

Have you tried a different brand or bag of nuggets - I guess not likely but could be a factor

I'm sorry you've had such a rotten year

 

[InspectorMorse]

Are they drinking more than usual ?

Did the change in speed of eating occur after starting a new bag of nuggets ?

 

[lauraj27]

Thanks for all the replies.

They each get 30g of nuggets which may sound like a lot but this is pretty much what they have always had; when we tried reducing the amount down they lost too much weight; though this was a good few years ago.

Sparky is on the Burgess excel mature rabbit nuggets and has been since he was about 6/7. Harley is on the Burgess excel adult rabbit nuggets and again he's pretty much been on these most of his life. I know we should probably swap him onto the mature rabbit nuggets but the problem is the bag only comes in 2kg bags so it won't last long between the two of them.

There's been no change in the the brand of nuggets and they haven't been new bags that have been opened in the last week or so. We make sure that the bags once. opened are secured shut and stored in a cool dry place.

Hay is meadow hay and again the brand hasn't changed (pure pastures) and is what they have always had.

Poop output is good, plentiful and normal and I can't say I have seen any change in drinking habits, seems to be about the same. They have water bowls and even if there is some water left towards the end of the day, I tend to chuck it, wipe the bowl clean with just some warm water, dry it off then refill with nice clean cold water. They both have a habit of getting hay into their water bowls!