# My rabbit won't eat



## Meagan (Mar 6, 2013)

Hi I just signed up and I have a Q
I have a three year old rabbit that I just had fixed about two weeks ago.
His name is Rico Sauve and he is very small (compared to ther rabbits I have seen). I believe that he is a silver Martin. He is very energetic and when I first got him when he was a baby, I lived in an apartment where he had his own room to run around in. When I moved back in with my parents I had to keep him in a cage (dads rules) but I have started bunny proving the living room in my house so he can run around ( with supervision).
Anyways there's his history and here is the problem/q..
So my rabbit for the past 2 years will st eating pellets Somtimes, and he will drink a lot less water, but he will still be super energetic and playful. He does not act lie he is sick or feels bad in fact there will be almost no difference in his behavior. His poops will be smaller and dryer, and he will do this any where from a few days to a week or so. What I do is try to get him to eat more kale cuse that's the ONLY veggie he will eat, and I'm wondering why he is doing this and what I can do to either prevent it or help him when it happens and also what it is. The vet says its not GI.. And it happens often enough that I think maybe stress? I've tryed to keep a log and Somtimes when he does it he went through some sort of stress right before. 
He eats pellets, Timothy hay, cranberry, and kale..
He eats treats like yogurt drops dryer bananas and he chew on wood toys, he also chews on anything and everything he can reach.
Sorry for so much info.. Or too little(?)


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## Meagan (Mar 6, 2013)

This is Rico..


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## BunnyWabbit (Mar 6, 2013)

How much are you feeding him of everything? Generally speaking it is recommended that an adult rabbit eat 1/4-1/2 cup pellets(plain pellets not seeds or dried fruit in them) per 6lbs, unlimited hay, and 1-2 cups veggies per 6lbs every day.

The only things I can suggest diet wise would be to try to encourage him to eat a larger variety of veggies (Here's a list Rabbit.org - Fruit & Veggies). And while yogurt drops are marketed for bunnies I've been warned against using them as a treat. It's basically icing, sugar and dairy, which bunnies don't process as well. A small bit of fruit makes just as good of a treat and it's healthier (has fiber). 

It sounds like you're doing the right thing when he goes through his hunger strikes by pushing more veggies (and hay). I've heard that salt licks can encourage water drinking but I've never tried one myself. It could be stress related and the fact that he's confined more lately. 

I was not so helpful >.<

Hopefully someone else will know a little more about this.

Edited to add: What a cute boy you have!


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## Meagan (Mar 6, 2013)

You were helpful! Lol
I will try and ween him off the yogurt drops
But he Is such a picky eater and I have a super hard time getting him to eat new things (that aren't what he considers treats) like the with the cranberry, it took me atleast 4 days of offering it to get him to try it. And he loves them but he will eat one and then hoar the rest. I guess I'll have to try and mix up his diet a bit. If any one else has anymore suggestions I would be grateful. He weighs about 4 pounds. He loves kale to death but I've heard If u give them too much that it will also make them sick. Is there any truth to this? Also I have put a salt lick in his home but he shows no sign of interest in it at all. Lol
Thank u very much I really appreciate ur response!


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## Spikethebunny (Mar 6, 2013)

Have you noticed when he goes through these periods any shedding? Bunnies like to eat their own hair when they shed, and this can do things like make poops smaller (can also lead to fur getting stuck and them not eating). During sheds, make sure you are getting rid of as much hair as possible.

How much hay is Rico eating? The more he eats, the more will pass through his system and his poops will be bigger. If you find that he isn't going for just the Tim hay as much, you may want to incorporate other types of hay into the Tim hay to get him to eat it. I'd also really try to push dark greens like romaine. Even if you mix them with the kale you are giving him or sprinkle the pellets on top of the lettuce to try to encourage him to eat it. As Bunnywabbit said, veggies are the key. Roughage and fibre are a bunny's digestive system's best friend. Definitely try to take the yogurt drops out. Bunny tummys don't like dairy, even though the bunnies themselves do. Try to decrease the sugar and up the greens and hay in any way you can. 

Also, Rico is adorable!


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## BunnyWabbit (Mar 6, 2013)

I've heard conflicting things about kale. Some people think it should only be fed at most 3 times a week and others think its fine everyday. I've seen it debated a lot. If you've been feeding him kale everyday for years now and he hasn't had bladder or mushy poo problems then it seems like he can handle it alright. I would push other veggies just because variety is always good but I wouldn't stress too much about the kale if it hasn't caused any problems for you at this point. 

I was thinking, have you tried herbs? Like cilantro, parsley, mint, and so on? They can be enticing to a bunny that doesn't like many other greens.


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## JBun (Mar 6, 2013)

How do your rabbits poops look normally? Are they normally irregular sizes and shaped, or are they the normal round ones and all about the same size? What the smaller than usual poops indicate is a gut slowdown, and with rabbits this can be a dangerous thing as it can then lead to a blockage, which at times can be fatal. I've had two rabbits that have had GI stasis. One unfortunately, died from it, and the other came through it after two weeks of hand feeding and meds. So, it is something to be concerned about, and something you will want to try and correct so that it doesn't get any worse. 

You first need to try and figure out what could be the possible cause. The most common has to do with excess sugars and carbs in a rabbits diet. Every rabbit is going to be different. Some rabbits can have treats and never present any digestive trouble. Others are very sensitive and can have very limited, to no treats. My rabbit that came through the stasis, gets zero treats. He can't even have pellets as that will cause him to go into stasis again. He gets hay and some leafy veggies. So for a rabbit with a sensitive digestion, you will either need to eliminate or limit treats, and sometimes the pellets as well. Some other causes of stasis are specific veggies causing gas and discomfort, ingested foreign matter(ex. carpet fibers, cat litter), health problems, sudden changes of food, molting and ingesting hair, not getting adequate hay and fiber in the diet, environmental stressors, or changes in the rabbits life causing it stress. So you will want to pay attention to when your rabbit starts having the small poops and try and pinpoint what may have happened just previous to the gut slowdown to cause it. Did he just have a treat, does it always happen right after he eats his pellets, is he molting, did you just rearrange his cage, did he get spooked by something, did you just have visitors and he was nervous, did you just take him somewhere, did he just rip up a piece of carpet, etc? I realized with my rabbit, that everytime after I just fed pellets, he would either sit in the corner squinting his eyes, or he would lay down with his butt pressed into the air and his belly pressed to the floor, because his stomach was bothering him. So I knew it was the pellets causing the problem. Since I stopped the pellets, he hasn't had anymore stasis episodes.

Water is really important also, in helping to keep a blockage from occurring. If your rabbit drinks from a bottle, then try a water dish, as rabbits generally drink better from a dish. If you can get him to eat more leafy greens like green leaf lettuce or cilantro, that will help. Always introduce new foods in small amounts and one at a time, so you can see if it causes digestive problems, and also to give the digestion time to adjust to the new food. Avoid the veggies that are prone to causing gas. Kale can sometimes be one of those veggies, so try and see if he starts having any of his digestive problems after feeding the kale. What kind of pellets do you feed? Do they have treat pieces mixed in them? You also may want to consider reducing pellet amounts to see if that helps. It will also get him eating more hay, which helps prevent gut slowdowns. And also cut or eliminate treats to see if those may be causing the problem. I know they love their treats, but if you ever have to deal with a rabbit in stasis, you realize it's not worth the risk for rabbits with sensitive digestions. If you find that the gut slowdown isn't food related, then treats can be brought back, but no need to take the risk until you are sure.

This article explains GI stasis really well, and was very helpful to me when my rabbit was first having problems with stasis.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html


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## Meagan (Mar 6, 2013)

Here are some more pictures, I feel like he is a little smaller than most rabbits. I think he is a silver margin.. When I got him I was told he is a Dutch, which I'm pretty sure he is not. And he usually only sheds a lot twice a year.. When the major them pasture change like from winter to spring and summer to winter. And I will use a pet comb to try and get most of the hair. I went and bought some parsley, Papaya, kale, bananas, one bell peppers and mint. He already ate kale but the others he wasn't sure about.. He is a super picky eater like I said and it takes work and time to get him to try new things. And I thought that adult rabbits were supposed to mostly eat Timothy hay, but I guess not. He has a bit of an attitude problem, if he doesn't think ur watching him he will be destructive. But he will contunie to glance back at u to see if ur watching. Somtimes I feel like his eating problem is a combination of stress, his pickiness of food, and change of the environment around him. Such as I just recently have started letting him run around the house for large periods of time. He is litter trained and will ONLY want to use his litterbox. If he can't find his cage or litterbox he will let u know by tugging on tugging on ur clothes.. And as soon as u take him to it he will use it and I ideally do a few laps around his home and the want out. Anyways as soon as I started letting him have this freedom.. He started with the whole not eating! So am I to think that all these things are a part of this eating "cycle"? Maybe he is just super sensitive to the environment around him?? Thanks again guys for all ur responses. I feel like I'm finding new things out and I'm gonna to try them, and I'm confident. More comments, responses, and/or helpful info would be much appreciated. The picture of him with the stuffed bunny.. That's his "girlfriend" although since he was fixed his interest in her has most def. faded. But I spent literally months teaching him it was only ok to do "that" with this toy, eventually he only would do his business with that and he completely stopped taking his frustration out on me, my mom, sister, and female cat! I just read the above post, and yea I usually keep his food bowl full all the time, so I will limit that as u suggested. But I a very surprised about the water bottle v.s a water bowl!! I guess that since when I got him I was told to use a bottle, it wasn't until my boyfriend got a Flemish giant and he used a water bowl.. And at that point I just assumed Rico was too small. So I would like to try th bowl.. BUT he as ALWAYS only used a water bottle so my q would be how should I make the transfer? Since I think he is very sensitive to changes? Should I leave both his home for a whileso he can slowly adjust to the change? Or would just switching them out completely would be better?


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## Meagan (Mar 6, 2013)

Rico


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## Meagan (Mar 6, 2013)

Rico again , is he a little smaller than most other rabbits?


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## BunnyWabbit (Mar 6, 2013)

On Hay, I actually don't feed my bunnies any Timothy Hay because my husband is severely allergic. They get Orchard and Oat Hay, which doesn't bother him so much, so really any high quality or "horse hay" is good. You can mix hays which gives a bunny a little variety which can help keep them interested and consume more. 

JBun gave some good advice/info about GI Stasis and if he stops eating/pooping for a 12-24 hour period it should definitely be considered an emergency and vet should be seen immediately. I'm hoping your issue is solved by him getting a little more variety in his veggies (Oh how the picky buns make us worry). 

Rico is a smaller bunny for sure but I wouldn't say "smaller than most" because bunnies come in all shapes and sizes  He's definitely smaller than my buns (6lbs, 7lbs, and 9lbs). I'm terrible at guessing breed but he looks like he might have a little Netherland Dwarf in him to me. A lot of bunnies are mixes so it gets really hard to tell. Whatever type of rabbit he is he's 100% adorable.


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## JBun (Mar 6, 2013)

For adult rabbits, most grass hays are good. Don't feed alfalfa hay as it is too high in protein and calcium for adult rabbits. Bermuda, orchard, timothy, meadow hay are all good grass hays for rabbits. Oat hay and grain hays, can also be fed, but you need an early cut that doesn't have seed heads on it. You especially don't want to be feeding the grain hays with seed heads, to rabbits with sensitive digestive systems.


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## Meagan (Mar 6, 2013)

See I didn't know any of that either! Usually when I buy hay it's at a pet store, and I only see two or three kinds, and so I know of a few "feed store" a short drive from where I live, BUT I think for the hay, they only sell it by the bale. So if I were to do that, I feel like he def. wouldn't eat all of it or it would take hm a really really long time since he is small. Buying a bale is a whole whole lot cheaper than buying from the pet store, they are both the same price. So is it worth the money still to buy the bale.. How long could I keep the hay (when would it go "bad", or is there maybe another option such as a trusted online store? I've had Rico for three years and I'm learning so many new things that I never knew, and I read books and talk to his vet often. I feel like these things are very good suggestions coming from actuall rabbit owners, which makes me feel more confident in the suggestions and advice! I'm already planning some changes like I would like to have his cage, but I'm nw possibly going to get a larger "pen" (metal cage walls?) that are placed on the floor and a rug (he super does not like hardwood floors so I feel the rug will help) so he has a lot more space to live a d play in but at the same time I'm good with my parents, I have tryed to just let him run around my room, but its all hard wood flooring and he DOES not like it. He flips out every time I try to place him on it and he will get really upset, so maybe the pen and rug will work. But I wanted to keep his cage in the large pen as well, u know its his house.


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## BunnyWabbit (Mar 6, 2013)

I would see if they sell smaller quantities at a feed store. You could call and ask. I get my hay from a feed store and sell it to me by the flake. I buy a lot of stuff from BinkyBunny.com and they sell a variety of hay in mini bale form. I don't know if I would buy a whole full size bale for one rabbit of any size as it's likely to get "old" and a picky bunny might lose interest. 

You could get a x-pen (puppy pen) and put it around his cage for a little leg stretching time. That way he's contained and it pleases your parents but he has a little more room. It can also be folded up and put out of the way if you need the space.

The pens look like this:






You can also find a lot of pictures of really neat bunny habitats HERE


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## BunnyWabbit (Mar 6, 2013)

I was re-reading the thread and I missed your question about the water bottle/bowl. I would put down a bowl of water but leave the water bottle to see what he prefers before removing it


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## JBun (Mar 6, 2013)

I buy timothy bales at the feed store, but I have several rabbits, so I use it up pretty quick. It's soooo much cheaper to buy a bale. For the price of a 9 lb bag of hay at the pet store, I can buy a 60 lb bale for the same price, at a feed store. You want to make sure the hay is good horse quality grass hay, that has never been wet(you never want to feed hay that is moldy) and is a good green color. Sometimes the outside of the bale may be a little sun bleached, but as long as the inside is a nice green color, then it's good. Hay stores fine as long as it is kept dry. Storing it somewhere dry, dark, and where pests like mice can't get to it, is best. If it's stored in a container, then it needs ventilation holes as well. If you live somewhere humid, then you need lots of ventilation to keep the hay from going bad. As long as the hay stays dry, it stores forever. It does lose nutritional value over time, but if you are feeding pellets, then pellets provide the required nutrition for your rabbit and the hay is mostly there for roughage.

My rabbits hate slippery floors too. Rugs will work if he's not going to chew on them. Low pile rugs without loops or long carpet strands, that could be chewed on or a toe snagged on, are better to use. Rubber mats also would work well.


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## JBun (Mar 6, 2013)

You do want to limit pellets. You don't want to free feed adult rabbits, especially with him having some digestive issues. In fact, once you start limiting his pellets, it may solve the digestive problems he's having. Limiting the pellets will also get him eating more hay. 1/4-1/2 cup was mentioned as a good amount. It's going to depend on the kind of food you are feeding him, and on his individual metabolism. At 4 lbs. he shouldn't need more than half a cup a day. I like to split mine up in to a morning and evening feeding. Maybe start with a half cup, give 1/4 cup in the morning and the same at night, and see how long it lasts him. If he's not finishing it all by the next feeding, then cut back to 1/3 cup a day. You want to get the pellet amount down to a point where he is also eating a big handful of hay in the morning and at night. So if at this point, he is eating mostly pellets and not much hay, then cut the pellets back so that he runs out of pellets an hour or two after feeding them, then he can munch on hay the rest of the day. If he's not a pellet hog and grazes on pellets all day, and eats plenty of hay, then just cut back on the pellet amount so that he is just running out of pellets 2-3 hours before the next feeding time. You always want him to have access to hay, so feed enough that he always finishes almost all of it, but still has a tiny bit left over at the next feeding. I find with my rabbits, that if I feed too much hay, they just end up wasting the less tasty stuff. So I feed just enought hay that they finish most of it up and have to eat all of it, but still have just a little left over.


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## Azerane (Mar 7, 2013)

A lot of fodder stores sell hay buy the bale and the bag. I believe they get the bales and then bag them themselves (at least that's what my local one seems to do) I would certainly try adding a different variety of hay and definitely push for more veg.

My rabbit, Bandit, is also very fussy. Every new thing I try to give him he basically refuses to eat. It took him 3 days to eat bok choy, and it's taken almost a week to get him to even try brussel sprouts. The only thing that he ate straight away was some basil. I think because herbs have a strong smell that's why they can be more appealing. Try parsley, basil, coriander/cilantro. Bandit is certainly fussy, but I just kept adding the bok choy to his bowl day after day after day. Eventually when he's tired of eating hay and it's the only green thing left in his bowl, it becomes very tempting to eat  I also found that it helped to break it into smaller pieces than one giant bok choy leaf. I think partly it increases the aroma, and secondly, it makes it harder to pick out from the veg he does like.

I also agree with adding a water bowl for him, definitely keep the drink bottle there to begin with, but if you see that he ends up preferring the water bowl and drinks from it often, then you can just switch to that. I bought Bandit from a breeder who had bottles on the outside of all her cages, I bought one just in case, but as far as I know Bandit never used it, he has simply always preferred the bowl.


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## tonyshuman (Mar 7, 2013)

He's a real cutie. Will he eat romaine lettuce? Kale is fine but not every day due to calcium and oxalates, which can cause bladder stones. My buns won't eat a new thing if I'm watching, but may nibble on if after I go away. You definitely want to limit pellets.


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