Ronnie is off his pellets

[Little Bay Poo]

Over the past three to four days, Ronnie has stopped eating his pellets. Billy is eating his pellets just fine, so I don't think it's an issue with the food. I have also noticed Ronnie shaking his ears, which could be a sign that his head tilt is coming back. His poops are smaller and darker.

Prior to this he was scarfing down the whole bowl and looking for more food to eat. He's hardly touched his pellets (other than to pick off the oats) for two days. Chris is just now telling me that he's eating a few pellets and drinking water.

Other than the pellets, ear shaking, and darker poops, Ronnie is behaving normally. He ate lettuce, hay, and celery yesterday. He still likes his oats and apple chips. He is very active and likes to hump things.

We're going to head over to the store to buy more lettuce and see if we can find a different brand of pellets at a local feed store. Right now he's rejecting both Timothy and Alfalfa Oxbow pellets.

Has anyone had this happen before or have any advice? Thanks!

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

well if i don,t say something now i may regret it...so here goes,,how is he doing on the hay..?? ie timothy,orchard grass/-(nondigestible fiber)-that is 70% of the diet,,quality low fat pellets are generally alfalfa(digestible fiber)-make up a small portion of the diet,only require a small amount daily-=(for vitamins and nutrition)-,anything else is a treat,,though fruit tree branches are great for the teeth and gitract.//.i like to feed some grasses,dandylions,clovers,plus h2O...i don,t mean to be mean,,but these are requirements for our furry friend,..sincerely james waller

 

[Little Bay Poo]

james waller wrote:

well if i don,t say something now i may regret it...so here goes,,how is he doing on the hay..?? ie timothy,orchard grass/-(nondigestible fiber)-that is 70% of the diet,,quality low fat pellets are generally alfalfa(digestible fiber)-make up a small portion of the diet,only require a small amount daily-=(for vitamins and nutrition)-,anything else is a treat,,though fruit tree branches are great for the teeth and gitract.//.i like to feed some grasses,dandylions,clovers,plus h2O...i don,t mean to be mean,,but these are requirements for our furry friend,..sincerely james waller

Ronnie is eating his hay, although a bit less than I would like. We only have timothy hay at the moment (Kleenmama's 3rd cut). Today he ate a cup of leafy greens, some timothy hay, and oats. He may have inhaled a pellet or two while going for the oats.

Some more general information to keep everyone updated:

I took the opportunity to weigh him and he is 2 pounds 5 ounces. His normal weight from a few months ago was 2 pounds 3.5 ounces. Before this week he was eating A LOT and getting a little chubby, so he must still have some of that extra weight on him. We bought a different brand of alfalfa pellets at the pet store but Ronnie is not interested in these.

So, what I'm thinking it could be:

• Dental issue, preferring things that are easier to chew
• Temperature issue. It's getting warmer here and he might not be taking to the change well
• Overfeeding of pellets in prior weeks. He was really going at them and maybe outdid himself and is sick of them

We're also keeping an eye out for signs of head tilt returning. I'll keep updating as changes occur.

 

[aurora369]

Personally I would be suspecting the teeth. Has he ever had an x-ray of his head taken? He might have some spurs.

Make sure he's staying nice and hydrated too. If he is starting up some GI issue, then getting extra fluids in him will help. Soak all his veggies in water before giving them to him and maybe offer a dish of water with a tiny, tiny amount of juice or flavour to make him drink more.

In the end, the hay and veggies is most important in his diet. So as long as he's eating lots of hay, some veggies and pooping lots, he should be okay.

-Dawn

 

[Little Bay Poo]

aurora369 wrote:

Personally I would be suspecting the teeth. Has he ever had an x-ray of his head taken? He might have some spurs.

Make sure he's staying nice and hydrated too. If he is starting up some GI issue, then getting extra fluids in him will help. Soak all his veggies in water before giving them to him and maybe offer a dish of water with a tiny, tiny amount of juice or flavour to make him drink more.

In the end, the hay and veggies is most important in his diet. So as long as he's eating lots of hay, some veggies and pooping lots, he should be okay.

-Dawn

He's never had an x-ray before, and this is something we'll have to consider soon, especially if his eating doesn't improve. I'll be watching more tomorrow to see how he's doing, and then weigh our options. A vet visit may be in order for a dental.

The good news is he's still active and lively, still pooping, and still eating everything but pellets. It's a little difficult for me to judge his water intake because I haven't been paying attention to the level of water in his bottle; another thing for me to look for tomorrow.

 

[Maureen Las]

I would also suspect an ear infection if he is shaking his head considerably.... may want to get both the teeth and ears checked.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

I'm no expert, but the first sign Rory showed when his gut started slowing down (beginning of stasis) was going off his pellets. He still ate his veggies and some hay though. Is he shedding or anything? Could he have something going on with his tummy? Poor Ronnie baby.

 

[Little Bay Poo]

No, Ronnie is not shedding yet, although it looks like he's about to start. He had been chewing at the carpet in his cage in prior weeks, and may have ingested some of these fibers. I'm not seeing any stringy poops though.

Update for today:

Ronnie ate about 1/8 cup of pellets, 1 cup of leafy greens, hay, and his nightly sprinkling of oats. I did not see him drink anything while I was around, but I'm going to remember that his water is now filled to 600, and check the level tomorrow.

Ronnie is very active, running around and trying to hump both me and his stuffed toy. He was really excited about being fed tonight. He seems to only shake his head when I pet him over the ears. His output looks normal.

 

[tonyshuman]

That sounds like a pretty good food intake, well except no hay. I wonder if he's having a recurrence of his ear infection--the shedding, ear shaking, and going of pellets are all signs of stress/ear issues.

 

[Little Bay Poo]

Just checked on him a minute ago. He's eaten half of his pellets from last night (so about 1/8 cup, because I give him 1/4 cup nightly). The level in his water bottle is significantly lower so I'm assuming he drank some. Right now he's happily eating spring mix. He's never been a big hay eater, and I usually only see him eating hay outside of his cage during the 5 hours of free run time. However, I'd estimate he eats about the same quantity of hay as Billy.

Now I'm left puzzled, because whatever it was seems to be clearing up. I'm thinking I should read up more about dental issues in rabbits, just so I have some knowledge about that. We've had about a 20 degree increase in temperature over the past week (from the mid 30's to the high 50's Fahrenheit). When he came down with head tilt in October 2008, I think the weather was rapidly changing as well.

I'll continue to keep an eye on him during the week for any changes.