Sudden change in eating habbits, no hay

[joshehansen]

Hazel is a 9 year old Netherland dwarf, about 2.75 pounds. Her normal diet includes a tablespoon of timothy hay-based pellets in the morning, unlimited timothy hay, and a handful of fresh veggies in the evening.

A few days ago, she abruptly stopped eating hay (she usually plows through it). She still eats the pellets and the veggies, but more slowly than before, and almost sounds labored as she does eat them (mini grunts). At times, while chewing, she now jerks her head back a little. Her feces have also changed - they are much fewer in number, darker, smaller, and wetter. There have been no changes to her diet or environment in the last few months.

We took her to the vet two days ago, her exam was unremarkable, and she got 50mL of fluid subcutaneously, though the vet didn't think she was dehydrated. I have bought several different types of hay, but she remains uninterested in it.

Her medical history is significant for two things. She has a bowel obstruction in 2005, treated successfully with IV fluids and syringe feeding. She also had a bout of right-sided weakness last year, chalked up to E. cuniculi, which was treated with antibiotics - she's recovered about 90% of her strength, but has some mild residual balance issues.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Any input is appreciated. Our vet is closed on the weekend, and I don't consider her case an emergency at present.

Thank you all very much (and apologies for the lengthy post),
Josh

 

[Imbrium]

I'm not sure why she'd suddenly stop eating hay... hopefully someone experienced with older rabbits can offer more insight than I can

you can up her pellet intake slightly (to as much as 1/4 cup or so a day) since she's still eating pellets... could also offer a tsp or two canned pumpkin as it's high in fiber, good for their digestive health and it's nummy.

if you can't convince her to eat hay again and can't find a medical reason for it, my recommendation would be to make sure you're feeding a very high fiber pellet.

sherwood forest food (my personal fave) - https://www.naturalrabbitfood.com/rabbit-food-labels/
and oxbow essentials - http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/type/detail?object=1536
are widely accepted as the best rabbit food brands and both contain a much larger amount of fiber than your average rabbit food (24-29% for sherwood, 25-29% for oxbow). sherwood forest actually says it's designed to be free-fed and is a complete diet (though most of us who use it feed hay and veggies anyway ).

I hope she feels better soon and you can get her eating hay again!

 

[JBun]

Did your vet check her teeth. If her teeth are hurting her that might be why she stopped eating her hay. Digestive issues are a possibility too. You could ask your vet about giving her probiotics.

 

[joshehansen]

Thank you for the suggestion. He did inspect her mouth, though at that point I think we were more concerned about a bowel obstruction. Will touch base with him again on Monday about it.

The Oxbow Essentials is actually what I feed her. I'll try some of that canned pumpkin as well - thanks!

Josh

 

[Imbrium]

ah, good! I would up the pellets a bit until you can figure out the hay thing, then (unless she starts to seem overweight)