Question: My rabbit has been eating less and is starting to lose weight. I feed him all the pellets he can eat. I tried a different kind, but it hasnt made a difference.
Answer: If your rabbit is eating less and losing weight, he needs to be seen by your veterinarian as soon as possible. He may have overgrown teeth or a tooth infection. This needs to be treated quickly.
Your rabbits teeth may need to be trimmed or floated to get his bite level. Rabbit teeth tend to wear unevenly, and the sharp points can cause ulcers in their mouths. Rabbits need roughage to chew to keep their teeth worn properly.
I recommend rabbits get lots of good quality hay, as that it is most of their diet. Their teeth grow continuously and need to be constantly chewing. A diet of all pellets is very soft they dont need to eat much to get their calorie needs met, so they dont end up chewing enough. Their digestive systems are set up to slowly digest the fiber they consume, and can have gastrointestinal issues when they dont get enough.
Rabbits that have been fed all-pellet diets should have all the grass hay that they can eat. Once they are eating the hay, you can slowly decrease the amounts of pelleted food they get each day. Feed them a small amount of pellets.
You can start by offering your rabbit some fresh dark greens every day. Most rabbits will readily consume the fresh greens. Then, mix the fresh greens with the hay, and encourage him to eat the hay.
Oxbow makes a few different mixes of herbal hay and other varieties that will usually get most rabbits to start eating healthier.
Originally posted here:
This is the diet your rabbit should be on - Palm Beach Post
