Won't eat hay, chew on anything, and eats litter

Hey everyone. I'm entirely new to the bunny world. We rescued Palmer from being someone's soup (literally). No clue how old he is, seems definitely full grown. He is a giant Flemish. I'd say about 15 lbs.

First I noticed he only eats pellets, bananas, and some treats. He will not eat hay in any form (loose, cubed, or compact disks). He will not eat grass either. He seems a good weight and his poo seems regular.

Second he will not chew on anything. Great right? I don't have to worry about him chewing furniture, wires, etc. but I am worried his teeth will over grow.

Third, we got him an automatic litter box since the odor associated with a 15lb rabbit is immense. He was using doggie piddle pads in a box with the newspaper pellets and it was just stinky in less than 2 days, I am 36 weeks pregnant and have a hard time cleaning a litter box daily. We knew not to get clay based litter so we tried wheat clumping kind, he was using his new box just fine but flat out eating the litter. It made me nervous so we went back to the original,piddle pad/newspaper set up. I went to PetSmart and told them my dilemma and they had me use a pine clumping litter. Thinking he won't even chew wood why on earth would he even try eating this? Well he stopped using the litter box so we placed him in it with a few stray poos and he seemed content in there. Then he started eating the pine clumping litter!! I don't know what to do. I need to continue using the auto litter box due to my temp handicap. I could try the corn based clumping litter but I feel he is DEFINITELY going to eat that being food based. Do they just nibble on the litter and I shouldn't worry about it if I go back to wheat or try the corn? It seems like he thought it was a giant bowl and would of eaten the whole box not just nibbling though. Baby is coming soon and I'd like to try everyone's ideas and get into a routine before Zoey joins us in this world. Thanks!

Thanks for rescuing him. First of all, take out the clumping litter! It's dangerous if he's eating it as the clumps could block up his gut. I use kiln-dried pine pellets (also known as horse stall pellets or wood fire pellets) that break down when wet, it's super cheap and bunny safe.

I highly recommend taking him to see a rabbit vet who can give him a dental check. Rabbits who won't chew or eat foods that they have to chew often have tooth problems that are hurting them. Keep him on plain pellets in the meantime, banana is a highly sugary treat that shouldn't be fed often.

Lastly, rabbits should not stink. I'm guessing Palmer stinks because he is an intact male? Another reason to take him to the vet! A neutered bunny will not have stinky pee, tends to be much friendlier and easy-going and happier overall.

Good advice from Laura. No to any clumping litters. I like wood pellets the best. Control odor well, cheap, and ok if bun nibbles on a bit.

I agree that a dental check would be a good idea. Your bun may be munching his litter because he is craving fiber because of slow gut movement because he isn't eating hay, which may be due to sharp points on the molars. It's also possible he's just a picky bun and/or isn't used to hay. Try some different varieties of grass hay(meadow, timothy, orchard, bermuda, oat without seed heads, etc). Some buns are just really picky about hay. Some will only eat a certain cutting of hay too(first, second, third), or some prefer soft vs. stalky hay. You may have to experiment a bit until you hit on just the right one.

It's so hard having absolutely NO info on him whatsoever. I was told the pine, corn, and wheat clumping litter was 100% safe even if eaten in small amounts by my vet tech who raises buns so that's why I figured the auto box wouldn't be an issue. Thinking he's not neutered since his pee definitely does stink! I'm planning on finding a small animal vet ASAP to hopefully tell me age, intact or not, and dental stuff. He is a healthy weight and his food I made sure had Timothy hay as the first ingredient for fiber since he's only eating pellets. And he only gets a bite of banana once a week not even really but it was just one of the things we experimented with that oddly he likes. He does chew on those bunny sticks at PetSmart that have different seeds and treats compressed that are mean to hang on the cage and I give him one weekly to hopefully help with grinding down his teeth if need be since he won't chew wood chews.

I have two 16lb + rabbits and they rarely, if it all smell so I think your bun isn't fixed yet. As for litter, I used Yesterday's News at first but the price seemed out of hand so I switched over to wood pellets. Much better cost wise and very odor absorbent. Not sure how an auto changer would work with it though.

Not quite sure about natural clumping litters. I just assume that any litter that clumps together can possilby cause a GI issue/blockage in a rabbit, as it is meant to absorb/hold moisture and bind together, nothing that you want occuring in a rabbits digestive system.

Not sure if this will work with your type of litter box, but putting a layer of hay over the litter can sometimes discourage eating litter and encourage hay eating. A grate or screen may be another possibility.

Those treat things actually aren't going to be helpful with tooth wear, and are pretty bad for a rabbits diet, and may further discourage hay eating as starchy treats will fill up a bun more and slow down digestion, which means your bun will be less hungry and eat less. Slow digestion in a rabbit is not a good thing and can sometimes lead to digestive problems. If you can find untreated willow or apple branches, most rabbits tend to like them(especially if fresh) and they are good for tooth wear.

Are you free feeding pellets or are they limited, and how much do you feed him per day? He may just be filling up on pellets and isn't hungry enough to want any hay.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/showthread.php?t=13366
http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

Palmer, did the vet not check for testes to see if he was neutered?

I haven't had a vet that does small animals yet. No luck finding a good one near me so far. He gets a little over a cup of pellets away which he nibbles on throughout the day. He doesn't just eat the bowl gone in one sitting. When the bowl is empty and he was outside for a short time he'd lay in the grass but never ever eat it. We have horses also so I've been able to try all types of hay and all cuttings of hay along with store bought cubes and compact disks.