my 7 week old baby bunny

Question
HI~ I had a few questions about my new bunny. She is 7 weeks old and I've had her for about a week. I've noticed that she won't eat her pellets! She will eat the Tim hay and various treat bars the pet store told me she could could have but not one pellet. I'm worried that she's not getting enough nutrition in her diet. When I let her out she acts like she's starving eating anything she finds on the floor and she tries to eat the cats dry food all the time.
Another thing is she's starting to nip and bite a lot, especially when you tell her NO. So my questions are...Is her diet ok and what can I do to improve it? How can I get her to stop bitting?
Thank you~
Tiffany

Answer
Hi Tiffany

Babies aren't supposed to be taken away from their moms until they are 8 weeks old.  They don't develop their necessary normal bacteria in their tummies until they are about 7 weeks old.  Since you got her when she was about 6 weeks old she probably didn't develop the bacteria yet and she still needed her moms milk to help her.  

The very best thing to do is to take her to a veterinarian.  They may need to give her IV fluids.  Don't listen to the pet stores they have no clue what they are talking about.  Baby rabbits are not supposed to have any treats at all.  They are supposed to be on strict hay and pellet diets until they are about 4 to 6 months old.  I would stop feeding her treats of any kind and feed her as much hay as she wants.  Since she is still under 6 months old you can give her alfalfa hay.  After 6 months old they shouldn't have alfalfa hay because it has to much protein in it.  If she isn't getting treats she will eat her pellets.  Also don't buy any treat type pellets.  She may like them but they aren't good for her.  Instead go to a animal supply store and get pellets that have at least 15 - 16% crude protein.  Try a different brand of pellets, she may just not like the pellets you are using.  

You can put in a small handful (just a few pieces) of old fashioned rolled oats and mix it with her food and this might entice her to eat it.  You might also want to put some non flavored pediatlyte in her water.  Make sure she is drinking.  If she is not drinking she wont eat.

Honestly the very best thing for her is to see a doctor.  Since she was taken away from her mom so young and she isn't eating properly she could develop GI stasis which can lead to death.  I would strongly recommend this.  The small fee for the doctor would be worth it.

I can't tell you why she bites but rabbits that are purchased from pet stores have a questionable back ground.  You never know if they were abused as babies or what kind of living conditions they came from.  I absolutely despise pet stores that sell rabbits because they absolutely don't care about anything but profit.  The best thing to do when she bites you is to consistently let out a loud shriek each time.  She will know that she is hurting you and hopefully she will stop.

When she is old enough you will want to have her spayed.  This should calm her down and make her more passive.  I am so sorry you are going through this and I really hope that this helps you.

If you need anymore help please let me know.

Pam