Ways to prevent rabbit tipping over his pellet bowl?

[amandaaaa_xxo]

So I have been starting a food transition for my rabbit. I've been feeding him the grain pellet mix (at the time I didn't know it was the wrong choice considering the store keeper was all about selling). I recently bought the Oxbow adult pellets. This is the second week of his food transitioning. For instance, this week I'm providing 50% grain mix and 50% oxbow. However, I don't think he's enjoying the oxbow pellets? He's constantly tipping over his food bowl searching for a particular type of pellet? (Perhaps something in the grain mix). I'm not sure what it is but it's starting to bother me because he's just tipping over his food and because he's not toilet trained, would urinate on it and I would obviously have to throw it away and provide fresh pellets. I'm sort of just wasting money away.

How do I prevent him from this habit and how do I make him actually eat the oxbow pellets?

Thanks!

 

[majorv]

To prevent tipping you could get a ceramic bowl that's big enough he can't pick it up. You could also get a cup that clamps to the side of the cage.

 

[Aki]

Rabbits picking out some grains to eat them is common, it's the main reason to avoid mix. Oxbow is a good choice, but like all the good pellets, it's not salty/sugary/fat like the mix which makes it less appealing to the rabbit's tastebuds at first. Your rabbit will get used to it and will eat them when he doesn't have a choice anymore - anyway, he won't eat much of them when he's grown up (from your description, I'm gonna suppose he is still growing). You'll have to introduce vegetables if he isn't eating some already (carefully, if he's a petshop rabbit whose mother has never seen greens in her life) and he will only eat a few pellets a day so it won't matter if he doesn't eat a lot of them. For the bowl, I also recommend a big ceramic bowl to avoid the tipping over problem. That and the urinating are probably caused by hormones (intact teenage rabbits are pigs and like to redecorate, in my experience) - he will probably stop when he is neutered. If he is too young for that, in the meanwhile... you have to be patient. It's hard, I know - I wanted to throw Tybalt out the window ten times a day when he was around 4 months old. If I'm mistaken and that your rabbit is a neutered grown-up, your rabbit is just a natural pig, you're screwed (and you give too much pellets). XD

 

[majorv]

Throwing around the bowl doesn't really have much to do with hormones. The rabbit might be picky about what they eat or might be bored, or want more pellets than you gave them. We have intact rabbits...some try to mess with their bowl but most don't. My daughter had a French Lop that was fixed and also messed with his bowl...I think because he didn't think I was feeding him enough 😉

 

[Blue eyes]

I've had rabbits that just seemed to enjoy tossing their bowl. It seemed they thought the bowl was a tossing toy like a ball. Whether it did or didn't have food it in at the time didn't make any difference.

These bowls twist onto a clamp and are impossible to tip. I use them especially for water.

 

[flemishwhite]

So I have been starting a food transition for my rabbit. I've been feeding him the grain pellet mix (at the time I didn't know it was the wrong choice considering the store keeper was all about selling). I recently bought the Oxbow adult pellets. This is the second week of his food transitioning. For instance, this week I'm providing 50% grain mix and 50% oxbow. However, I don't think he's enjoying the oxbow pellets? He's constantly tipping over his food bowl searching for a particular type of pellet? (Perhaps something in the grain mix). I'm not sure what it is but it's starting to bother me because he's just tipping over his food and because he's not toilet trained, would urinate on it and I would obviously have to throw it away and provide fresh pellets. I'm sort of just wasting money away.

How do I prevent him from this habit and how do I make him actually eat the oxbow pellets?

Thanks!

Just pellets? Your rabbit may be a little boored with it's food. Why not some green leafy veggies from the grocery store? Also a sweet treat in the morning at at bed time?

I've only owned three rabbits, but my experience is that they are readily litter box trained. Ok, fertile rabbits can show good litter box manners but will still urine mark for some period of time..until they get everything marked. If your rabbit has bad litter box habits, this needs to be addressed..rabbits are very clean animals and will naturally adapt to a litter box....well most.

My now Flemmish babies, at 3 months old from the breeder, had been running in a large outdoor cage and were just peeing and pooping anywhere. Their feet were yellow urine stained. They are white rabbits. Bringing them home, they just automatically demonstrated great litter box behavior. So work with the forum here some more on the litter box issue.