Sick rabbit -- Change of diet??

Question
I have a 2.5 year old rabbit named Baxter that has been very sick and not eating.  I just relocated from South Carolina to Indiana 2 weeks ago.  When I arrived he wouldn't eat much, which is not very unusual for him after long trips.  After about a week of not eating much, we finally got him into the vet last weekend and he spent from Tuesday-Friday at the vet's office this week.  They had him on an IV and were giving him drugs for the pain and to try and stimulate his eating again.  The last two days he finally started eating and pooping again so they sent him home with us yesterday.  The process was a difficult one because while he was not eating, he was still his normal active self.  Needless to say, we are very relieved to have him home now yet still very cautious about his health and well-being.

My question is, when we talked to the vet yesterday upon picking him up she informed us that he had been eating different vegetables, in addition to hay and papaya treats.  She recommended to us that we continue to feed him lots of the same, but not to ever go back to feeding him his pellets again.  It seems to us that just for him to be eating at all would be essential right now.  Is it healthy for him to only be given vegetables and never go back to pellets, even though he has always had them?

Thanks.

Answer
Dear Travis,

Many rabbit-experienced vets are beginning to recommend a pellet-free diet, not only because pellets tend to be fattening, but also because alfalfa-based pellets have a (relatively low) risk of being contaminated with dangerous mycotoxins.

Personally, I prefer to give a very small amount of pellets per day, simply to provide trace nutrients that are hard to balance with just vegetables and hay.  But the most important item in the diet is grass hay (timothy), followed by fresh, wet greens.

Please read this completely for an overview of the safe type of pellets to feed:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

as well as how to balance the diet to keep your bunny healthy.  Sounds as if you have a good bunny vet!

Hope this helps.

Dana