Poor mr. Smartie :(

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isadorastar

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Poor mr. Smartie must have really been neglected before him and lucky(passed away) where abandoned. His nails are so long and he doesnt know what pellets or timothy hay is either :-\ I trimmed his nails back. But idk what to do about how to get him to eat hay and pellets... what also troubles me is i cant seem to find any droppings anywhere...just a pee soaked towel i put into his cage :-\ any suggestions?
 
Take some greens out and see if that will work. Give banana or anything to get him eating does not matter at this pointand then if you do get him to eat something mix that thing up with his pellets :)

Bless you for taking this poor bunny in !!
 
Right, Michelle. I would recommend mashing some banana & pellets & adding some short pieces of hay. You can form it into cookies or just leave it in drops, like granola.
 
How old is he and how long have you had him? Is he eating anything now or has he been eating anything since you got him? How long since he stopped pooping?
 
Just caught him outside yesterday..... We had his friend too but had to put her to sleep causeof her spinal injury.... I don't want to into that story again cause i will start crying again. He is not neutered so i dont think he is bonded... He will eat veggies but not hay or pellets and doesnt seem to know what i water bottle is
 
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And i canr really tell how old he is got a vet appointment for next tuesday.... he is literally skin and bones .. ive been trying to catch him for weeks and i finally did.... he did. start pooping but still not eating pellets or hay
 
I have a rabbit that is an adult now, that never learned from her mom how to drink out of a bottle, and still doesn't know how, so she has a water dish. They actually drink better out of a dish anyways. This rabbit of mine also wasn't properly weaned and didn't know how to eat grass or pellets either. She would only eat leafy greens. They didn't give her soft poops, so for the first 10 days that I had her, I was feeding her as much leafy greens as she wanted, which was a head of green leaf lettuce a day. She peed alot because of all the water content, so in a case like that electrolyes or vitamins might be needed to offset the excessive urination.

I would hold off on the pellets because he won't be used to them and it could upset his stomach if he eats them. Maybe just have like 5 pieces in the dish, so that if he decides to try them it won't upset his digestion. You could try buying a different kind of hay, that might make a difference, or maybe try mixing in a pinch of oats into the hay and see if that gets him interested. You just don't want to overdo carbs or treats as it could get him sick. Just keep some hay in with him and I think he will eventually try it, maybe as he becomes more comfortable being in his new place. Can you get any fresh grass to see if he'll eat any of that? If he'll keep eating veggies, then just keep doing that for now. I wouldn't try too many different veggies at first cause you don't want him to get an upset stomach. Maybe stick with leafy greens like parsley, cilantro, green leaf lettuce (not iceburg), things like that, and keep an eye out for any soft poops, or no poop at all. As long as he's eating something that's a good sign. Does he seem nervous in his cage, or does he seem to be adjusting to the new environment ok?
 
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he seems to be adjusting well...seems to be playing and sleeping in his litterbox and doing his business on the blanket i put in his cage >.>. I put hay in the litter box and straighten out the carefresh bedding in it..and he jumps right back into it throws out the hay and messes it all up again on me >.< :brown-bunny oh well what can ya do lol.
Hes been eating romaine lettace and broccoli o_O Doesnt seem interested in his chew toy :-\
He was quivering when i trimmed his nails but they were so long... they gotten to the point that they started to curl over like a cats claw o.o..must of been uncomfy for him..So i made hima b it more comfortable now...

Mr.smartie pants.jpg
 
Awww, what a cute little dutchie :) He sounds like he's doing really well and he looks good. If he keeps peeing on the blanket, try taking it out and see if that helps him want to pee in the litter box better. Lol, sounds like a typical rabbit. They don't like the way we arrange things for them, and have to do their own remodeling

My rabbits, that I've had for years, still hate their nails trimmed, and their little feet shake the whole time too. Has to be done though.

Just keep in mind that if all he'll eat is veggies, then he will need a lot of them to make up for the hay he's not eating yet. I had to feed a little 8 oz. rabbit a whole head of lettuce a day.

I'm glad you've taken in this little guy. He looks like a sweetheart :)
 
Actually my bunny that would only eat lettuce, never learned to drink either at first. She was getting all her water content from the lettuce. I know because she was peeing a ton. So if he's eating a lot of veggies and lettuce, he may just not need any additional water right now. When my bun started to gradually eat pellets and hay, I had to still feed lots of lettuce too, cause she still didn't know how to drink from a dish. I ended up having to put her with one of my big bunnies, to learn how to drink from a dish. So it may be that he's doing ok with the water in the veggies. But if you have another rabbit, maybe you could put then in cages next to each other, and he'll be able to learn from your rabbit. You can always wet down the veggies too, before you give them to him, if you think he needs more water.
 
i would put him with my cadbury but i was adviced not to introduce them till he was neutered cause it may make tempters fly in my cadbury...she was sniffing me all last night and kept looking at me as if to say OMG UR CHEATING ON ME...I SMELL ANOTHER BUNNY
 
you could try spiking a bowl of water with a little bit of unsweetened pineapple or apple juice to make it tastier until he gets the hang of things
 
I don't mean putting them together, just in a cage next to each other. If they don't seem to get along through the cage bars then you can always separate them and it won't really hurt any attempt at a future bond, plus it may really help this new bun in adjusting. I've had new rabbits that have a hard time adjusting to being in a new place, get really stressed, and stop eating, and they always do better if they have a buddy next to them that they seem to get along with. Plus she may teach this new bun how to eat and drink. It can get kind of hard when a rabbit won't eat rabbit food, hay, and drink water. I got really weary of washing so much lettuce after a week and a half :)
 
He looks like a lovely boy and you´ve done so well so far...he´s such a lucky little chap to have you taking care of him. Yes, just put the two cages close so they can smell and see each other and he might well pick up how to eat and drink from your other rabbit. And wetting the veggies before you give them to him will really help. He´s got this far, with all your care, he can only get better..

:happyrabbit:
 

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