i just got a new bunny but it wont eat

Question
the new bunny all it eats is paper from books and corners of shelves and once it ate some paint chips. did the paint chips do real damage .and wont eat the pellets
please give me some solutions to have the bunny eat the pellets.

Answer
Hi Anny,

rabbits are a little different than cats and dogs.  You cannot buy a different pellet mix and expect they will eat it.  You need to find out what brand and mix your rabbit was eating before and get that.  They need to be switched over to a different brand gradually over a period of weeks, if you don't want to give them the brand they are currently eating.

What you need to do is get a small bag of the brand your rabbit was eating.  To switch him over to your other mix, do this:

week one: 75% old pellets, 25% new pellets
week 2: 50% old pellets, 50% new pellets
week 3: 25% old pellets, 75% new pellets
week 4: 10% old pellets, 90% new pellets
week 5 - 100% new pellets.

And jsut so you know, rabbits must have hay.  Lots of hay.  Good fresh smelling timothy hay or orchard grass.  Pellets are not the same and do not give them the long fiber they need to survive.  Their gi tract requires hay to work properly.  They will not get fat on hay.  They will get fat on pellets, so limit these to no more than 1/4 cup per 5 pounds body weight per day.

The other thing you need to do is bunnyproof the areas of your house you are going to let him out for exercise and play and interaction with you.  You will need to move books you don't want chewed, gate off areas you don't want him going to (and/or shutting doors), remove any poisonous plants (to rabbits), protect with cord protectors and cords that are exposed, and remove anything from tables that could fall on him that are breakable or heavy.

Lee

I would suggest picking up the books I recommend (in my profile) and going to the House Rabbit Society web site (www.rabbit.org) and searching on "bunnyproofing" and "diet".