New Dutch Rabbit Very active but refusing most food?

[scndaavian]

Hi All

I'm New to this forum Yesterday I drove two hoursto "rescue" this rabbit whomi was toldWas 8 months old and in perfect health These were non rabbit(probably non animal people who kept him on a poor quality pelletand average quality hay I gave them the 50.00 for the cageand left it behind (too small and old He seemed fine on theride home Carrier case with Hay) and only stopped to offer water andpedialyte Seemed to love his new cage and set up and today he has spenthours jumping off the Sofa chairs playing with toys jumping up to lookout the window playing etc BUT he is hardly eating???? I havenever in my limited experience seen a rabbit turn his nose upvegetables pellets and hay? Is this normal for a new rabbit? He will goin on Wednesday for a pre neuter check up His feces seem normal but alittle on the small side and he is a little skinny about two and a halfpounds?

Thanks Much!!

Staci

 

[Buck Jones]

Welcome,welcome! in,any time with your comments, questions, pics, experiences, etc.

Make sureyour bunhas access to water.Won't eat, if he can't or doesn't have enough water. Be sureit's presented to him in a manner he is used to, either by water bottleor bowl. Can't go wrong by offering it to him in both manners.

Not entirely unusually for a major change like he is going through tothrow him off his feed. Offer him a piece of fruit like pear,apple or banana, which most rabbits like. You also mightplacea generous dab ofNutri-Cal orNutri-Stat(Pet*Smart) on his forepaw, which he should lick up, andmight encourage his appetite to return.

Good on ya for making therescue!

Buck

 

[scndaavian]

Thanks Buck!

I do have both the water bottle and a crock out to cover mybases Just was worried that he wasn't eating even though heseems happy and active enough I'm relieved to here you saythat the lack of interest in food is not a problem at thispoint



Thank you SO much I'll stop staring at him now ( he hates that)

Staci

 

[LuvaBun]

Hi Staci, welcome. Well done for rescuing thebunny. As long as he is drinking, he will probably eat when he is moresettled. Buck always gives good advice so I'd go with that. Good luck -Jan

 

[scndaavian]

Thanks Jan
Have been reading all the back posts from you guys and feelmuch more rabbit savvy after my quick course in bun101 Just got back from petco with the nutrical and He's quite the groomer so this should be asnap Hopefully I'll be back here grousing that he's eatimgmore like a pig then a bun within a few days

Thanks again for the welcome and the reassurance

Staci

 

[Delphinum]

Our dutch is tiny too, but he's less than 2 months old (we think!).

Our rex, Henry, is 6lbs and he's 5 months old... soIthink 2 and a half pounds is awfully small for a dutch. Is ita dwarf mix?

Well done for rescuing the little guy! It's always nice to find people who care!

 

[scndaavian]

Sorry to be so vague! I should have said right off the batthat he is a dwarf!

After observing him for a while I notice that he is off the school ofevery fiber in the mouth and into the tummy:Xeverything but the sea grass mat I gave him that is I do hope he isn'tsuffering from wool block which would explain the smallerfeces (Then again I do suffera bit fromrabbit hypochondria ............)



Staci

 

[trixiesowner]

Make sure the rabbit sees some water come out of wherever his water is "hosted"

As for the not accepting fruits/veggies I think that he just doesn'tknow what they are. I offered a carrot to Trixie a few times and shejust raised her head to see what the inferior substance was then layback down. For some reason, showing her that I was eating it convincedher it was ok :shock:.

As for the pellets, I don't know. Just make sure he has water and it should fix things

 

[Carolyn]

Welcome aboard, scndaavian,

Dried papaya or fresh pineapple can help to move fur blocks if thelittle one isn't eating the Timothy Hay. Don't give up on the TimothyHay. Sounds like he/she could the aid of the extra fiber.

When I first got my rescue rabbit, Fauna, she didn't know what treats,hay or toys were. She wouldn't go near any of those things, but now shecan't get enough of them.

I'm with Buck's advice of giving him anything he'll nibble on at thispoint because he's nervous about the move, most likely. They usuallyenjoy the NutriCal. Be careful of it though because it's high incalories, so you only need a dab or two, tops, a day. As Buck said, itusually can help stimulate their appetite, it boosts their immunesystem, and provides the nutrients they need when they are off theirfeed a couple of days.

Best of luck and do keep us posted.

Good for you in saving a life.

-Carolyn

 

[Carolyn]

P.S. I'm sure you know that a good quality pelletfood is usually not the kind that looks like a child's cereal, but israther boring looking. Colorful bits and pieces are generally high insugar, which is bad for a rabbit's system.

A rule-of-thumb to go by would be to make sure your pellet food has atleast 18% or more of crude fiber and at least 12% or more of crudeprotein. If you can, get your feed from a feed store or a breeder sothat your guaranteed it fresh since it moves off the shelf quickly.

Watch out for him to pretend not to like the pellet food. If they getspoiled with treats, some won't eat the pellets and will hold out for'the good stuff'.

Usually when they're nervous or their schedules and routines aredisrupted, they do lose their appetite. I'm sure he'll be eating withina day or so. He sure sounds happy to be with you!

Lucky Bun. His life has just begun.

(Sorry to have bored you if you already knew this. There's a postfurther down the line, probably going into the next page by nowentitled, "A Cheat Sheet for Rabbit Care". You might wish to check itout just for fun.)

 

[scndaavian]

Thanks Triesowner & Carolyn!

He did eat a small serving of pineaplple and Papaya that mymom keeps on hand for the parrots along witha small bit ofparsley and a bite of carrot Tomorrow when theproduce store opensI will get himeverythingeveryone suggested

yesterday I purchased a bag of Peters maintenanceformula pellets .....Lucerne green meal, dandelion, lettuce,clover tall & golden oatgrasses timothy. bent grass whiteclover birds foot trefoil (? beats me) yarrow french sorrel,oat & wheat bran soubean peel and is21+ fiber and12.60 Protein ) He's not crazy about this brand any more thanhe was of his old 8 in 1

Thanks again Hope I'm not hogging up the bandwidth here

Staci

 

[bluebird]

If the rabbit is a dwarf like you said 2 and ahalf lbs is a large dwarf and he would not be skinny at this weight.Iwould introduce vegetables slowly as he may not be used to them.bluebird

 

[Carolyn]

scndaavian wrote:

Hope I'm not hogging up the bandwidth here

Staci

That's not a worry at all! Please don't even think about that.



-Carolyn