Change in eating habits

[Kim1218]

I'll start by saying that my concern stems from Shadow's first vet visit after I brought her home in March. The vet told me that her teeth were a little sharp, but nothing a little extra chewing couldn't take care of. She suggested that I give Shadow plenty of chewing toys: toilet paper tubes, wood or willow toys, etc. Well, Shadow couldn't care less about any of the things I bought her. She does chew on toilet paper tubes, but only very occasionally. I know that plenty of hay will keep the teeth down, too, and I do offer her unlimited hay (originally timothy, but now orchard grass for about the last two weeks). I am also pretty sure that her pellet brand was switched a few weeks ago when I bought more because I couldn't remember what I had bought for her in the first place. The new pellets I bought have a high fiber content, 23%, because I chose the highest fiber content timothy pellet I could find.

My concern is that she eats MAYBE half as much hay as she used to. She usually finishes about 1/4 cup of pellets a day. About once a week I find a little cluster of poo in her litter box. I think it's cecals,but I never used to find these before. I'm worried that her teeth might be getting too long. Even if I could manage to get my finger into her mouth to check, I wouldn't know how long the teeth should be. She doesn't seem to act differently, she still races around the house & binkies a lot, and she drinks as much water as she always has. It's entirely possible that I'm being paranoid, but maybe I'm not. As a side note, I switched her hay because she refused to eat timothy hay once she tasted orchard grass. Could the change in her diet still be affecting her body? Maybe she's eating less hay because of the high fiber content in the pellets? Should I gradually switch her over to a lower fiber pellet so she eats more hay? Could her teeth have grown too long because she's not chewing enough (hay and/or toys)? Like I said, I might be over paranoid, but I know I can find educated opinions here, and if it isn't necessary to pay for a vet visit, then I'd rather not.


Oh yeah, she's about 9 -9 1/2 months old if that makes a difference. TIA!

 

[Kim1218]

Nothing? Really? I guess I'll call the vet then.

 

[aurora369]

Did the vet think her incisors where sharp or her molars? The only way to get a really good look at the molars is when the rabbit is under anesthesia or by x-ray.

Chewing toys doesn't really do anything for a rabbit's teeth. It is really the hay and chewy vegetables that help a rabbit's teeth. The teeth grind down on each other.

If she's not eating hay, I would cut the pellets down a bit. How big is she?

You can also try mixing timothy and orchard so she can eat both at the same time.

Excess cecals is normally caused by too much protein or carbs. So cutting down on pellets, or switching to a lower protein pellet if feeding a higher protein pellet can help. But one extra cecal a week is really not much to worry about, it would be worrying if it was multiple a day.

-Dawn

 

[tonyshuman]

Sorry. I would start reducing pellets some because of her age. Her system is changing from a growing bunny to an adult bunny, and probably doesn't need that many pellets anymore. We feed our bonded nethies less than 1/4c total, and they're getting kinda chunky, so you can really cut down on the amount you give. That could be causing the cecals and the lower hay consumption. Usually bunnies eat hay when they're hungry but there's nothing else around to eat--if the pellet bowl is still full, or they're too full from pellets, they won't eat the hay.

If you want to try to check her teeth, you can try to feel for pointy parts on the back molars. It's hard to do but some bunnies will let you do it. The back teeth are usually more of a problem than the front.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

Kim1218 wrote:

I'll start by saying that my concern stems from Shadow's first vet visit after I brought her home in March. The vet told me that her teeth were a little sharp, but nothing a little extra chewing couldn't take care of. She suggested that I give Shadow plenty of chewing toys: toilet paper tubes, wood or willow toys, etc. Well, Shadow couldn't care less about any of the things I bought her. She does chew on toilet paper tubes, but only very occasionally. I know that plenty of hay will keep the teeth down, too, and I do offer her unlimited hay (originally timothy, but now orchard grass for about the last two weeks). I am also pretty sure that her pellet brand was switched a few weeks ago when I bought more because I couldn't remember what I had bought for her in the first place. The new pellets I bought have a high fiber content, 23%, because I chose the highest fiber content timothy pellet I could find.

My concern is that she eats MAYBE half as much hay as she used to. She usually finishes about 1/4 cup of pellets a day. About once a week I find a little cluster of poo in her litter box. I think it's cecals,but I never used to find these before. I'm worried that her teeth might be getting too long. Even if I could manage to get my finger into her mouth to check, I wouldn't know how long the teeth should be. She doesn't seem to act differently, she still races around the house & binkies a lot, and she drinks as much water as she always has. It's entirely possible that I'm being paranoid, but maybe I'm not. As a side note, I switched her hay because she refused to eat timothy hay once she tasted orchard grass. Could the change in her diet still be affecting her body? Maybe she's eating less hay because of the high fiber content in the pellets? Should I gradually switch her over to a lower fiber pellet so she eats more hay? Could her teeth have grown too long because she's not chewing enough (hay and/or toys)? Like I said, I might be over paranoid, but I know I can find educated opinions here, and if it isn't necessary to pay for a vet visit, then I'd rather not.


Oh yeah, she's about 9 -9 1/2 months old if that makes a difference. TIA!

hi,kim,,-yes rabbits tend to switch back and forth,with grasses,,- i harvest local fresh grasses also and offer then with dandelions,,and the quarter cup of pellets sounds good,//,other things to chew on are,,fruit tree branches/twigs-(,pear,apple,plum,),black berry vines and leaves..pm me if you want ,,sincerely james waller:big wink:

 

[Kim1218]

The vet said her front teeth were a little pointy. She was just under 3 pounds in March, and she hasn't gotten much bigger at all. She might be a few ounces heavier now. She doesn't have any kind of flab, so I don't think she is overweight. I tried mixing timothy & orchard but she picked all the orchard out and left the timothy. She just won't touch it even when that's all I give her. The vet did tell me to gradually cut her down to 1/8 cup of pellets per day by the time she turns a year old. I'll give her some more timothy too then. Maybe she'll want that once she has less pellets to fill up on. Thank you all so much! I'm sorry about my impatience, I just get so worried when Shadow's behaviors change. I know bunnies' health can turn so quickly without proper care and attention. Thank you all again!