Pellets in the bowl or the floor??

[gamommaof2]

I fill up Teddies food dish with his pellets and then he takes his two front paws and starts digging at it and pours it out of his bowl and then starts eating his pellets on the floor. Is he trying to tell me he doesnt want it in a bowl?:?

 

[tonyshuman]

Maybe his little loppy nose is too short to reach the bottom of the bowl?

 

[gamommaof2]

I fill his bowl completly full and he nibbles a little and then starts digging them out of his bowl then eats the ones on the floor in his litterbox. So now I dont give him as much because then theywould fall into his litter box where he pops and pees,so a lot of them were going to waste and litterally getting waste on them.

 

[tonyshuman]

hmm maybe he thinks it's a fun toy? I only state that his nose may be too flat because when my bf adopted his nethie, the woman sent him home with an old ashtray to use as a food bowl because the small-sized ones for bunnies were too deep for him. You could get the kind that attaches to the side of the cage and put it away from the litter box so even if he does dig in it, they wouldn't fall in the mess.

Another thing is that my Tony was fed Kaytee Fortidiet with Dental bites for a little while (when I first got him and didn't know any better) :sofa:and he would only eat the "dental bites," not the pellets, so he'd dig in there to find the good stuff. I'm sure you're not feeding one of "those" pellet mixes with the little tasty tidbits though...

 

[gamommaof2]

Nope not feeding him the mixed pellets:biggrin2:. I am thinking he thinks its fun to make messes. :sweepI think I will buy one that attaches to the cage and see how he does with that. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[NZminilops]

Lots of bunnies I've had, have done this. I think they just find it fun . I've also had them do something similar with hay, digging through it and making a huge mess.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

I have a lop and the bowl i use to use was a smallish bowl and he would knock it over, the bowl worked well with my Dutch. So i went to a low side larger bowl and he does much better. But he still has this thi ng with digging in it but never knocks it over.



How about putting them on a paper plate, or a ceramic plate and see if he still does that? or you could save yourself the trouble and just DUMP THEM ON THE FLOOR:shock::laugh: just kidding.

 

[BEAUKEZRA]

My Alice does the same thing but she doesn't eat it off the floor. She digs some out and then just leaves it there. Sometmes I find piles of foodunder her rug :dunno. She's also a lop.

 

[missyscove]

My two used to knock their bowls over so I got them the ones that locked onto their cages, but I've never had a problem with digging in the pellets.
The litterbox on the otherhand...

 

[gamommaof2]

I dont know maybe its just a lop bunny kind of thing to do. Its fun to watch sometimes I say Teddy what are you doing and then he stops and stares at me while he is sitting there with his little mouth twitching because he is eating. Silly buns with so much personality

 

[juliew19673]

I just asked the same thing last night - take a look at the response I received and it may help you (pretty funny)..

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=36915&forum_id=48

Good luck and post back if you find something that works for you I'd love to hear about it!

 

[gentle giants]

I think he's probably jsut palying with his food. I have had soem do this, there was one I finally did just give in and put her pellets on her floor.

One side note, though. You said you fill his bowl completly full? Unless you have a really small bowl, that is too much pellets. Pellets should only be a small protion of his diet.

 

[gamommaof2]

When I first got Teddy I did fill the bowl up with unlimited feeding then I was reading that you should just give them a 1/2 to 1/4 cup so I am giving him 1/4.

 

[tamsin]

A full bowl is probably more pellets then necessary anyway An average rabbit only needs a tablespoon or so per day.

Getting rid of the food bowl would actually mimic natural behaviour more and give him more to do. A great alternative is a treat ball. That's a hollow ball with a small hole - you put the pellets in and as the bunny rolls it they fall out one by one. You can usually find them in the cat/dog section though you can buy rabbit ones too

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Sometimes my bunnies will dump their dishes, and if they do (and they're not on a wire cage) I just make them eat it off the floor (but I will clean up the area around, so they can see the pellets)as a little bit of punishment and I also take the dish away and return it at the next feeding. It seems to help a little bit.

Maybe you should take his food dish out of his litterbox, that way, when he dumps the bowl, the pellets will be on the floor, and not in the box...???

Emily

 

[blondiesmommie]

Lol my English lop is dong the same thing, flipping her owl over, food everywhere lol