Bunny not eating much

Hi. This is my first post here, and I'm afraid it's not good news. I have a 7 year old Dwarf named Yuki. He has been acting off for the last 2 weeks or so. I've brought him to the vet about 3 times in the last month and each time they couldn't find anything wrong. He had a complete physical last Tuesday, and the doctor said he was in excellent shape. He was eating and drinking fine until last night. I noticed he didn't go to his pellets with such vigour as he did before. He would usually gulp them down really fast, but last night he just ate a bit. I checked on him again at midnight and it looked like he had eaten and drank quite a bit, so I figured I was just being paranoid. I got up at 6:30 this morning and went to feed him like always. I saw that he had not eaten at all since I checked on him at midnight. The same amount of pellets was in his dish, and he had drank nothing more either. I gave him some Romaine lettuce and a baby carrot which he ate, but he still refuses to eat the pellets or drink anything. I have him running around the basement right now, and he did poop normal looking poop. He seems lethargic, and last night his eyes just looked so tired. He is also sitting different which I think is because he's in pain. But I'm also wondering about his back feet because sometimes he'll hop funny, kicking one foot higher than the other, and last night he was stretching one out in a strange manner. He is grooming himself normally, though, and now drinking out of a water dish.

Just a bit on his history, he has had GI Stasis before, when he was a couple of years old. It was caused by chronic diarrhea from ingesting wood chips. I have since taken out the wood chips and line his cage with hay. Even though it was a long time ago, I chose not to get him neutered because I was afraid the illness he had before had weakened him. He's fine not being neutered, though, just have to deal with the occasional hormone flare up. He had a head tilt last May from an inner ear infection which cleared up with antibiotics in less than a week and hasn't had problems since.

He has had serious dental issues since he was about 5. Everytime I take him in he has a little bit of a spur either on his molars, or his other back teeth. The vet just checked that out last week when I had brought him in and clipped one of the budding spurs. That was just a few days ago, could they be bothering him so fast again? I don't know what's going on with him, but I can only hope it's nothing serious and will pass very quickly.

I will be taking him to the vet in about 45 minutes. I just would love to hear some input or if someone else has had experience with this type of thing. Thanks.

Sakura6267 said:

He has had serious dental issues since he was about 5. Everytime I take him in he has a little bit of a spur either on his molars, or his other back teeth. The vet just checked that out last week when I had brought him in and clipped one of the budding spurs. That was just a few days ago, could they be bothering him so fast again? I don't know what's going on with him, but I can only hope it's nothing serious and will pass very quickly.

I will be taking him to the vet in about 45 minutes. I just would love to hear some input or if someone else has had experience with this type of thing. Thanks.

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Did the vet clip the spur without anaesthetic or give any pain relief after? It sounds to me like dental pain leading to GI stasis and bloat (from the odd stretching to relieve potentially gas in the abdomen?). I'd say pain relief and fluids are a vital first thing needed at the vet today followed by careful abdo and mouth exam and possibly a conscious Xray?

I would agree - I think he definitely needs to see a vet asap today - sounds like he's really uncomfortable.

He does sound to be in pain. Is he hydrated? Sorry if you know this but if not, gently pinch the skin/fur between your thumb and forefinger, pull it up and then drop it. If the skin springs back quickly, he's hydrated, if not then he needs fluids.

Either way, definitely good to be getting him into the vets. Speaking of which, is he/she good? If you trust they know what they're doing then great, but if you suspect they're not totally competent, look elsewhere.

Good luck, I hope he gets better very soon and that you can come back on here in better circumstances.

You've already been given some good advice so far but when my Honey had stasis last week she was given a pain killer (eventually) which made her feel loads more comfortable.

We also gave her 1ml of Infacol (from Tesco) which helped break down any gas she was suffering from. Your bunny may need some gut stimulant from the vet along with the pain killer as it does sound as though he's uncomfortable.

Let us know how he gets on

Thank you for all the great replies. I just came back from the vet. Apparently he has a bit of gas build-up, but he's not in GI Stasis since he's still eating something, and he's pooping normally. I saw him eat a few pellets just now, and all the lettuce I gave him. That is all the lettuce I'll give him today since I don't want his poop to get too watery. I got some Critical Care if he doesn't start eating more soon.

The medicine I was given is Metacam for pain, and something called Cisapride to help his gut. I hope they kick in soon.

To answer some questions, yes, my vet did clip his teeth without anesthetic, she always does for the last 3 years and never had a problem before. He has to get his teeth trimmed every 2 months or less, so we think him being under anesthetic that much wouldn't be good. And because the spurs are always easy to get at and he's so cooperative, they can quickly get it all done in less than a minute. I believe the vets at this clinic are competent since they specialize with exotics. They seem to know a lot about rabbits.

Actually the last time the doctor just took off a spur that was getting long. I'm not sure if it could be from pain from doing that since it was over a week ago. Wouldn't it have bothered him right away?

He seems normal otherwise. He's alert and active. The only problem right now is that he's not eating pellets. I'm not even sure if he's eating his hay since I next to never see him eating it. I assume he is.

hi so glad your bunny is feeling a bit better & it was nothing too serious..

Im not sure if its right or not, but isnt lettuce bad for rabbits? doesnt it give them diarhea or bloatng? could this be the course of his gas ?

debbie_7155 said:

hi so glad your bunny is feeling a bit better & it was nothing too serious..

Im not sure if its right or not, but isnt lettuce bad for rabbits? doesnt it give them diarhea or bloatng? could this be the course of his gas ?

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lettuce can cause runny poos in rabbits, I wouldn't fed him that any more if I were you.:wave:

I just feed him the Romaine lettuce. I heard it was only iceberg lettuce that was bad for them. It does cause his poo to be a little wetter, but not really runny. I've given it to him everyday for pretty much his whole life with no problems. He's not very tolerant of vegetables, and I found that only lettuce and carrots are the only ones I can give to him.

I need to mention something else that I'm really concerned about now. I don't think Yuki reacted well to the Cisapride because he suddenly looked out of it and was acting funny after I gave it to him. I called the vet and she said it could be a illness setting in, but this only happened after I gave him the medicine. Now he seems a bit better, and he hops with no difficulty. It's just the way he sits. He'll have one of his front legs kind of tucked under him, or it will be out to the side. I actually noticed that right away this morning. I just don't know what to think anymore. Why is he acting so strange? He's at least eating some more pellets now so I won't give him the Cisapride anymore.

Are you sure that the unusual position of the front foot, isn't to do with your bun eating caecotrophs at an unusual time?

In the UK we don't use cisapride. We use Ranitidine (An H2 blocker). It reduces the risk of gastric ulceration & increases the motility of the hind gut. This may be of more help.

His unusual posture still sounds gassy to me. What I mean is the posture with his leg to one side sounds familiar to me, my bun does something similar when he has gas from bloat, it is how they push their tummy to the floor to relieve the pain. Did the vet give him some stronger pain relief by injection? He may be able to have a higher dose metacam?
Over the counter paediatric simeticone preparations like Infacol, or infant gripe water can be very helpful to relieve gas, as can a gentle but firm tummy rub. I hope he feels better soon.

vibes for this bun

So the thing with his right front leg is really from the gas? I hope so because it's really putting me in a panic. I saw that one of his claws was growing funny so I took him to the vet because I thought it was infected. It wasn't, it was just growing at an odd angle and it didn't stop him from pushing the paw inward again. It's like he sits with one paw out and one in which makes it look like he's leaning to one side when he actually isn't.

He is eating more now so I don't think I need to give the Critical Care today. But I saw that he pooped out strung together poop so I'm wondering if the pain in his stomach is caused by hairballs. I also gave him a tummy massage which seemed to help a bit. I'll stick with the Metacam for now and see if it clears up by tomorrow. If not, I'll most likely bring him to the vet once again.

Sakura6267 said:

So the thing with his right front leg is really from the gas? I hope so because it's really putting me in a panic. I saw that one of his claws was growing funny so I took him to the vet because I thought it was infected. It wasn't, it was just growing at an odd angle and it didn't stop him from pushing the paw inward again. It's like he sits with one paw out and one in which makes it look like he's leaning to one side when he actually isn't.

He is eating more now so I don't think I need to give the Critical Care today. But I saw that he pooped out strung together poop so I'm wondering if the pain in his stomach is caused by hairballs. I also gave him a tummy massage which seemed to help a bit. I'll stick with the Metacam for now and see if it clears up by tomorrow. If not, I'll most likely bring him to the vet once again.

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Not necessarily - it was just a guess, it may be to do with his toe or something else I can't tell. :?
Fur strung poops after a bout of stasis are usually secondary to the ileus rather than the tirgger for the ileus. I'd be more worried if the fur wasn't passing through, this is a good sign that it is. Keep up the encouraging him to eat. Lots of vibes for him.

I think his leg may be hurt because he holds it in even when I pick him up. I don't think it's broken, but it could be twisted or something. If it doesn't go away by tomorrow I'll bring him in to check it up. At least it's not something neurological. That's what my vet was really worrying about when I told her on the phone that it seemed he was leaning to one side. But then I figured out he wasn't actually leaning to the side, but his leg was tucked under so it made it look like he was. So it doesn't sound neurological which is a huge relief. I hope that if he had a hairball that he pooped it out and he'll be ok now. He's eating a lot more now so I think that may have been the problem, but he's still not feeling well, especially with his right leg.