My rabbit won't eat new pellets after a food change. What's wrong?

It will take time for Julius to acclimate to his new cage. Provide plenty or toys and places for him to lay. Always have timothy hay or similar grasses available for him to eat. This should be what he eats most of the time. Rabbits will readily use a box if provided. Place a litterbox in the cage for him. Pick up droppings and place them in the box. For urine, use a tissue to soak it up then bury it in the litterbox. Be patient and be consistent.

Your bunny was probably just used to eating the lettuce and is adjusting to his new diet. You did the right thing by offering him only the pellets and hay. This is what is most beneficial to him. Since his stools are normal I would not worry at this point. If he stops passing stools, stops eating, or if you suspect he is losing weight, then you should take him to the veterinarian to be checked out. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

It's a very big issue with rabbits that have been fed pellets rather than hay, i would recommend trying different types of hay, if it doesn't help just make sure you buy pellets that contain a high quantity of hay in them.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is normal for Julius to have a variable amount of feces everyday. Rabbits also may consume a portion of their feces. However, if you notice that Julius is not eating, or has not defecated for over 24 hours, he may require veterinary attention.

Thank you for your question about Oreo. When rabbits begin having preferences for different food items intermittently, it is often a sign of dental disease. I would recommend having Oreo seen by a veterinarian who is familiar with rabbits. They can perform a thorough examination, including an oral exam. It isn’t enough to just look at the front teeth, as often the issues are further back in the mouth. This area can only be seen with specialized tools that your veterinarian will have. Depending on what they find, they may recommend diagnostic testing to confirm or rule out dental disease. From there, they will also recommend treatments to pursue, which may include trimming the teeth. I hope that gives you a place to start, and that Oreo feels better very soon.

Thanks for your follow up questions about Julius. It sounds like there are a lot of unsuitable baby foods around that would not be good for Julius, so I am glad that you asked! Ideally, if you are going to feed a vegetable baby food, it should ONLY contain the vegetable and no additional sugar or dairy, and we don't want any sugary vegetables (i.e. carrots). Therefore, I would not recommend any that contain corn, sweet potato, milk, or carrots. This may limit your options to spinach or green beans. An alternative would be to grind up pellets (in a coffee grinder for example) and add water to them. This can then be syringe fed to Julius. This will provide more fiber than baby food, which may result in less GI upset than the baby food will. I hope that this answers your question, and please feel free to ask others if needed!

Bunnies like very slow, quiet movements, it may take a few days for him to let you get close enough to touch him. Is your rabbit sick? Is this eating habit new? If so he should be seen right away. If this is normal for him then a diet change is needed. Rabbits need a very gradual change. Over several weeks decrease the amount of carrots and he will gradually eat more pellets. Are you also offering Timothy hay? About 80%of their diet should be the hay. I hope this helps. I’m sorry about the other bunny .