Rabbit Decided He Doesn't Care for Pellets?

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wildeden

wildeden

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I have a silver marten buck who, while he was in a pretty severe molt during the end of August/better part of September, decide he didn't care much for his daily pellets anymore. He's still with me, keeping up with the weird behavior :shock:

That's not to say he didn't/does still eat any pellets, but definitely a large reduction from his daily cup serving. I've checked his teeth and that issue has been ruled out. Like I said, he'll still eat SOME pellets but not a lot. He's not severely under weight either (still within the SOP standard's for weight), but definitely not holding his condition like he used to and I can feel his pin bones :(

Any ideas or what else i can do or check for?
I've been adding small amounts of sweet potato, oats, and BOSS to supplement during this time.
 
Does he eat hay? If a rabbit stops eating the food that is harder to chew, and favoring softer foods I would suspect the teeth, even it you checked them there could be something going on with the back teeth and you can't really see those (unless you have an otoscope).

If he is still eating lots of hay, and just not pellets, that would be a good sign that his back teeth are ok because usually they stop eating hay when they have issues with their back teeth.

Other than that I don't have many other ideas for why he's not eating his pellets, maybe someone else has insights.
 
Wool block, maybe? If he has a belly full of fur, he may feel too full to eat much. I would start him on wool block treatment- this thread is full of information on the subject:

post109646.html

If you are feeding hay, make sure it is grass hay, not alfalfa. Supposedly the leafy part of the alfalfa can get stuck to the wool mat and start to ferment, causing gas and other problems.

If wool block isn't the issue, maybe he isn't getting enough water to drink? Some rabbits on bottles or valve style waterers drink only enough to sustain them because of the effort involved. Try giving him a water crock instead.

Parsley is an appetite stimulant, and that may also help him.

Good luck!
 
He inhales his hay (which he enjoys the most), and I did end up switching him from a water bottle to a bowl and he consumes plenty of water as well.

I will feel his stomach to check for wool block and perhaps give him some papaya tablets.

Thanks for the input!

Maybe someone else will come along and let me know if they've ever dealt with the same thing as well.
 
This may sound strange, and I am not saying that you have the same issue but I have a buck that slowed down on his pellets. He was still eating his grass hay and treats and drank the same amount . I thought it was worms but no . He just lay around then he started to hide, under his hay, under the shelf..had me baffled and afraid.
Anyway ...we had butchered the buck in the cage to his left and had put in a new hay rack in the cage to his right. Blocking the view of his neighbor. When we put a new buck in the empty cage he started eating again and stopped hiding. When we moved the cages around so he could see everyone he started playing again. I guess he was just lonely, he is a happy healthy buck now
I guess what I'm saying is if he's not sick..maybe it's his mental health. ...
 

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