Adding weight?

[rabbitgirl]

I'm a bit worried about Bunbun again. Although heis still bouncing around and just was running and digging in his run,he's still thin from his run-in with flea treatment. His belly is taut(healthy feeling, not bloated or flabby) and his ribs still have a bitof cover, so it's not too scary yet, but I need to add some weight.

The problem is that in the past few days he's only wanted to eat treatsand leaves his pellets alone. He grubs all the oatmeal out of his bowl,eats his piece of dried bread, gobbles the leaves....and leaves thepellets! The problem is that he only gets a little of each of those andit's not enough to put weight on him. I can't feed him only on oatmealand dry bread--any ideas why he's doing this and what else I can givehim to put a pound on? I'm going to try sunflower seeds because that'sa fast weight-gain food, but he's kinda picky sometimes.

He always ate everything....I'd say he was sick if it weren't for his violent enthusiasm for oats, etc.

The other guys are eating less too in summer (normal), but Bunbun neverused to do that as much. Maybe the pellets are just stale??? They lookok. I know he's getting older and eats less, but he really could usesome weight.

Rose

 

[2bunmom]

Hi, I am going suggest a product thatPamnock recommends. I also have used it for my bunsrecently. It is called Nutri Cal. Another productmade by the same company is Nutri Stat. It is made by TomilynProducts and you can buy it at the pet store. It is a highcalorie food supplement made with omega fatty acids. It saysfor cats and dogs on the box and you will find it in with the dogproducts. One of my rabbits will eat it off of myfinger the other one does not like it. In that case I justput it on his foot and he licks it off. Hope thishelps. Beckie

 

[rabbitgirl]

Very cool! Thanks! I'll see if they have it at one of the pet stores. They probably do. Is it expensive?

Rose

 

[2bunmom]

Rose, The Nutri Cal was about $7.99 fora 4.25 oz tube. the Nurti Stat was about $5.99 for the samesize tube. The ingredients in the tubes appear tobe the same, soI do not know why the different names andprices. Buck Jones another member on this forum brought it toour attention that they appear to have the same ingredients.You will just have to read the labels and decide foryourself. Basically it is just giving your animal ( a rabbitin this case) vitamin supplements.I think it wouldhelp Bunbun quite a bit. Beckie

 

[rabbitgirl]

Thanks! I'll check it out. I always get worriedwhen they eat less, especially as they get older. But he came runningout begging for treats, so I think he's not sick yet. I hope.

Rose

 

[Carolyn]

He's allowed to eat 'chocolate cake' instead of his 'meat and vegetables' and acting as any child would.

NutriCal is a good idea and certainly can't hurt, yet I think you needto stop spoiling the King and get him back on his pellets and timothyhay. I wonder if you think that I'm starving him by suggesting that,*kidding*, but in all seriousness, the treats have to stop. (I know howhard it is because they get so excited.)

Unknowingly many pet owners literally kill their rabbits with kindnessby giving them too many treats and not keeping their diets simple andsafe by only feeding their rabbits treats once or twice a week.

Treats also pack on the pounds and a fat rabbit is definitely not ahealthy rabbit. I've known of rabbits to just fall over and die fromtheir obesity.

Stop treats immediately and only give pellet food and watch Mr. Piggy Pants
become less chosey.

Be Strong.

-Carolyn

P.S. I do think every bunny household/emergency kit should definitelyhave NutriCal. I'd search for it and get it anyway. You can also buy itoffline. Pamnock has an address for it that she shared with me at onepoint, but I can't find it.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I had this sort of problem with my rabbit, Mocha.A few weeks back he went off his pellets and hardly touched his hay. Ibelieve it was me spoiling him that made him do that. As soon as Inoticed he had gone off his pellets, I removed all the treats and overthe next few days he gradually ate more and more of his pellets untilthe point he ate the full amount in his regular time frame. If you stopfeeding treats all together for a while, he will eventually go backonto his pellets which will make a much healthier rabbit.

Laura, Mocha, & Spice

 

[rabbitgirl]

Lolololol.....He is the king!

Thanks for the advice, and no, I don't think you're suggesting I starvehim. hehehe I am, and always have been, very careful about what kindand amount of treats. They all get a bit a day, maybe one leaf or somegrass, and/or a teaspoon of oatmeal for makeweight, and/or a smallpiece of dried bread.

He's always eaten everything indiscriminately. What worries me is thatwhile I haven't changed his diet, he abruptly stopped eating his normalfood--in one day. And he is so far from obese that I'm concerned. Allmy bunnies are kept slim, but this is too thin.Because he's been sosick, I'm a little afraid of experimenting with his food.

But he seems active, so I may try that tomorrow. Or at least cut the oatmeal and bread and just give him a small leaf.

Hmmmm.....

Thanks so much for the advice! I'm a tough "mom" when it comes tonutrition, but he's so fragile right now I just want him to eatsomething.

Rose

 

[pamnock]

2bunmom wrote:

Rose, The Nutri Cal was about $7.99 for a 4.25 oztube. the Nurti Stat was about $5.99 for the same sizetube. The ingredients in the tubes appear to be thesame, soI do not know why the different names andprices. Buck Jones another member on this forum brought it toour attention that they appear to have the same ingredients.You will just have to read the labels and decide foryourself. Basically it is just giving your animal ( a rabbitin this case) vitamin supplements.I think it wouldhelp Bunbun quite a bit. Beckie

The Nutri-Cal / Nutri-Stat is the same product. It's marketedunder a few different names and a number of different packagesdepending on the distributor. I've found it for approx. $4.00a tube on the internet. It contains complex Bvitamins to help stimulate appetite.

Pam

 

[Carolyn]

I see more clearly now, rabbitgirl.

Sounds like it's NutriCal to the Rescue!

Keep us posted.

-Carolyn

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

rabbitgirl wrote:

What worries me is that while I haven't changed his diet, heabruptly stopped eating his normal food--in one day.

Mocha too stopped eating his pellets in one day, it wasn't a slowchange as I watch for these things. I'm pretty sure it's pickyness.Packing on the pounds by being given treats is not a good idea at all!Just increase the amount of pellets and cut the treats for at least aweek all together, even the most stubborn will get hungry and eatsooner or later! And try the Nutri-cal as others suggested, it willhelp, I've never used it myself but the others are very knowledgableabout it.

 

[pamnock]

I just want to post a reminder that Nutri Cal is a *high calorie* dietary *supplement* so should be used sparingly



Pam

 

[rabbitgirl]

Carolyn wrote:

I see more clearly now, rabbitgirl.

Sounds like it's NutriCal to the Rescue!

Yeah, I think so too. I thought maybe it was his teeth (pellets toohard) but they look ok. He wouldn't open his mouth too much though.

Rose

 

[Carolyn]

pamnock wrote:

I just want to post a reminder that Nutri Cal is a *high calorie* dietary *supplement* so should be used sparingly

?

Pam

Indeed, it was shocking to find out that they just needed no more than about a pea-sized drop of the NutriCal.

* * * * * * * * *

rabbitgirl,

You certainly have a point about his teeth. Tooth spurs can happen. Notsaying it is, but as you pointed out, the back teeth are harder to see.Often times if a rabbit is in pain, it won't eat or its appetitediminishes.

Is there any swelling in the area? Is it only that he won't eat the harder foods or is it just his pellets?

-Carolyn

 

[rabbitgirl]

I don't know about the back. He was stubborn aboutopening his mouth. Usually I can find the right spot to get them toopen, but he wouldn't.

Swelling....he's got a fat fuzzy face, so it's hard to tell. I didn'tfeel any when I pressed his jaw to get him to open his mouth. And hedidn't flinch more than normal--I had him flipped over and he's soticklish.

And he WAS eating some pellets when I checked him today. I think. Maybehe was just digging for oats. But I think he was eating pellets. Hechomps the dried bread too and that's pretty hard.

I have a sneaking suspicion he has arthritis and this wet weather hasmade it worse. I wonder if that's why he's not eating. My other elderlybun, Smokey, doesn't eat much and moves slow in wet/cold weather. Oncehe gets moving he goes pretty fast but it takes him awhile to get going.

I've just been running through every idea I can think of that might bewrong. Some are scarier than others, but as long as he's still cheerfuland somewhat active I shouldn't jump to conclusions. It's just that myMinnie stopped eating before she died. But she had other signs ofadvanced ovarian cancer (I didn't know at the time).

I worry too much anyway.

Rose

Rose