My rabbit will not eat her pellets and I am losing my mind!!!

[XtrialbyfireX]

If anyone can help me out I really need it b/c my rabbit refuses to eat her new pellets. I have been feeding her bulk rabbit food from a farm supply store for the three years I have had her. However in the last bag I bought her the pellets were slightly darker in color and smelled sweeter. She absolutely refuses to eat them.

I supplement her pellets and hay with a slice of banana, so I tried hiding the pellets in the banana and she just eats around them. I tried putting them in her mouth and she just lets them fall out. I tried mashing them up, and putting them in water (making a paste out of them) and opening her mouth and putting it in, and she just holds it till I stop and spits them out! I don’t have any of the old food left to mix together so I have no idea what to do.

Then I went to the petstore and bought the absolute most expensive rabbit food mix they have, and she nibbles it a little but won’t really eat it. That stuff smells so good I want to eat it! But it’s not good enough for her!

I was also supplementing her diet with a little bit of dried apple, but now she won’t eat that either! So basically now all I’ve gotten her to eat is her banana and a little spinach for the last three days. I don’t want to feed her too much of that b/c I know too much fruit is bad, and spinach can cause her kidney stones. I don’t want to take away her treats b/c I am worried about her GI system and kidneys. However, I know she is hungry b/c I have seen her shredding cardboard and eating it >_<

I am pretty much at my wits end! Can someone please offer me some advice? She is the absolute most picky pet I have ever had. I am only allowed to pet her when she is sitting in certain places in her pen, and she will only approach me if I am doing certain things, or sitting in a certain place. If I don’t pet her exactly right she will get mad and grunt and swat me, or sometimes bite me. I have never had a pet this particular about everything, so I’m guessing this isn’t helping her food situation.

[Azerane]

It’s possible that it’s the smell of the new pellets she is refusing, however to stop eating hay and apple as well and only eat soft foods like banana and spinach to me indicates that she could possibly have a dental issue. Overgrown teeth, or tooth spurs can be very painful to a rabbit and prevent them from eating. She really does need to get eating again, especially since it’s been three days without much in her system, especially things without much fiber. I’d suggest a vet visit to get her teeth checked out. In the meantime, if you mix the pellets up with a little bit of water into a soft mash, you can syringe feed (no needle, just the plastic syringe) into her mouth from the side so that at least she is getting some fiber and nutrition in her. I think they recommend syringe feeding every 3-4 hours.

That being said, you don’t specifically say whether she has stopped eating hay or not. If she is still eating her hay really well, it won’t harm her to not eat pellets for a week or so. You’ll likely need to up the leafy green intake, but hay is really the most important part of the diet until you can get her eating the new pellets.

[XtrialbyfireX]

I had basically tried the thing with the eye dropper, but I couldn’t get get the pellet mush in her mouth with it.  So I just opened her mouth and put the mush in with my finger, which she promptly spit out.  

Her teeth looked in good shape, not overly long, and her gums did not look inflamed.  I think this all just started b/c she is unbelievably finicky about absolutely everything, and the smell of the new food was slightly different.  

She never ate much hay, but there was hay in the pellets also.  She has hay available at all times.  I sit it in the edge of her very large litter tray so she can much on it while she is hanging out, but I don’t know how much she eats.  

We are feeding her romaine lettuce and kale now, which she is eating, but I need to get her back on pellets b/c of the cost and convenience etc.  

[tobyluv]

Azarene gave you some good advice. Have you tried any other veggies or greens? Kale, romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce, spring mix lettuce, cilantro, parsley, broccoli, radicchio, clover, carrots and carrot tops, mint, etc., are veggies that most rabbits like. I have had rabbits in the past that were having some GI issues, and they would rather eat cardboard than food. I’ve never understood that, but I’ve had it happen more than once. It could be that your rabbit is having GI issues. Does she have any signs of GI distress, such as shifting uncomfortably, sitting hunched, pressing her stomach to the ground? If you have seen any of that, you could try giving her some infant simethicone. I know that you have already tried to hand feed her some pellet mash, but you could try adding a little plain canned pumpkin or some baby food to the mash to see if it makes it more pleasing to her, otherwise you will need to syringe feed her.

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