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Hector refusing food :(

A

amyhhh

Alpha Buck
Hector ate his pellets and quite a bit of hay this morning, but when we offered them some parsley (his favourite treat) and carrot this afternoon he refused both (Honey wolfed hers down). I've tried offering him dandelion too and he isn't interested. I spoke to the emergency vet on the phone who said if he had eaten lots this morning then he is probably just full... but i have NEVER known Hector to refuse food ever, especially not his favourite treats... :(. I'm not panicking yet as he did eat this morning but i know something is not right.

I've tried giving him a bit of a belly rub and got him hopping around a bit - anything else that i can try?

I can't think of any reason that he would be off his food - he's been really good at eating masses of hay recently with lovely big hay-filled poo! He's moulting a bit but not masses (and he refuses the bromlain tablets that i've been giving honey).

Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks,

Amy
 
Hello it does sound like Hector is feeling a bit off colour. Honey would never refuse her favourite treat either. If you have got any probiotic it might be worth trying some of that that usually helps when Honey is off her food. You are doing the right thing by rubbing his tummy and getting him to move around. If you are still concerned about him in a few hours I would give the vet another call.
 
Thanks for the quick reply! I've got some bio-lapis so i will try to give him a bit of that - though i don't think it will be easy to persuade him to drink any. Otherwise i'll give the emergency vet a call again later.
Thanks again!
Amy
 
Hi, try to tempt him with any food at the moment. Get him to move around as this can help to move the guts and some tummy rubs.

Try to get some extra fluids into him. Can you get hold of a fresh pineapple and squeeze it to make some fresh juice. I then add it to some warm water to encourage them to take it, normally syringe if I want to make sure they are taking it.

Today I have added a dash of boiling to my bunnies so it is "warm" and they do tend to like it like this (out of a bowl too).

Keep Hector warm too.

If he is still not too good in an hour or so I would advise you to take him to the vet if he has not eaten or pooped.

Sending some vibes for him to get better soon.
 
Thanks for the vibes and advice! I've just tried getting him to drink some bio-lapis solution but he wasn't keen... i tried syringing it but he refused to swallow much so most just dribbled out. I'll try and get hold of some pineapple to dilute, but if not i'll get him to the vets (even though they weren't convinced they needed to see him). He definitely isn't feeling well :(
 
Go with your gut instinct, you know what is "normal" for Hector. One of mine was like this Christmas Day and they kept putting me off until I insisted I took her.

Try the additional warm fluids with some pineapple juice (just cut a slice of pinapple and squeeze it with your hands into a glass) try a little "straight" too. I am convinced fluids and movement helps more than anything else. Don't leave it too long though before going back to the vet.
 
Poor Hector!

I agree with other posters, fluid and movement may help. Also try to keep him warm because poorly rabbits find it difficult to keep their temperature in the right place. If you have any Infacol, I'd try that too.

If there is no improvement in the next 30 mins, I'd go to the vets, it'll put your mind at rest if nothing else.

Lots of vibes

FC xx
 
Just in case you may want to look up GI Stasis (you probably already know this). Whenever my buns 'look' as if they have stopped eating and have tummy trouble (loud gurgling sounds) I give them Infacol for babies which contains simethicone and that sometimes helps. But definitely see a bunny savvy vet (in my experience emergency vets aren't always the best people to see).
Sending Hector vibes.

Anthony & Max & Harlie
 
Thanks all for all your support and advice. He's suddenly woken up a bit and hopping around and looking a lot more lively, which i hope is a good sign. He's still not eating anything though :(. I'm going to keep tempting him with nice things and will try again to get him to take some fluids. If he doesn't eat anything in a bit though i'll take him to the vets - even though i don't have huge confidence in the emergency vet i spoke to.
 
:wave: no can't say I'd have too much confidence in the emergency vet either if that was their response :?
Everyone else has advised what I would have done too.
If any of mine are like it I t tummy rubs, bothering them a bit so they keep moving, some infacol, and syringe feed water or I usually mix pellets together with hot water, let it cool then try that. Def offer a bowl instead of bottle if you haven't already (though I'm sure you will have)
Otherwise it'd be off to the vet with mine.
Sending lots of get well vibes to Hector x x x x
 
Good news - he just ate a little bit of parsley! And did some much-smaller-than-usual and a bit mishapen poos... So he is definitely feeling a bit better - though his tummy is definitely not quite right. So i'll keep an eye on him tonight i think and then get him checked out properly by a vet once the normal vets are back. THanks all for your support - i'm such a worrier!:oops:
 
He is so much better this morning! He happily ate his breakfast, so he seems to have recovered :D I will be keeping a close eye on him though. Thanks all!
 
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