Refusing food and sulking UPDATE: At the vets overnight

Hi everyone,

One of my buns was completely fine, happy and normal this morning, she was binkying, eating and running around as she usually does.

However, my mum went out shopping for an hour and when she came home, she went out to give them all a treat. Usually, all three tackle us to get a treat, but only Elmo and Illy came over, whilst Chinook stayed flopped out.

My mum has tried tempting her with every kind of food, from fresh small bits of veg, fenugreek crunchies and pellets etc, but she is refusing it all. My mum has also put a frozen bottle near her and some water in case she's hot, but she's pushed the bottle away and ignored the water.

She has stayed sat in a corner and has occasionally flopped out and moved around, but she's definitely not herself.

I have spoken to Jo from Fat Fluffs who has given us some great advice (thank you!!) but I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this and if so what should we do?

We have a great vets near by and we are happy to take her asap, but we don't want to unnecessarily stress her by taking her there. Also, as she is bonded in a trio, should we take all three? The other two hate any sort of travelling, so I would be terrified of setting them off too :shock:

I'm in London and they're in the West Midlands with my mum at the moment, I wish I could be there

Please help I'm so scared.

It sounds like she could be in GI stasis or could have abit of gas.
I would give it another hour or so, in which time keep her very warm, massage *very gently* her tum, an keep offering her her favourite foods. I would also syringe her some boiled and cooled water to keep her hydrated.
If in an hour theres no improvement, Id pop her to the emergency vets :wave:

Thank you Gemmapookie for replying! My mum also just checked her bum for flystrike and she's clean which is a relief.

I've advised her to give her a gentle tummy rub, I hope that will help. We don't have any syringes is there anything else we could try?

She last ate around 8am, should we take her to the vets now just to be sure?

Is there anything we should make sure she gets, like pain relief or gut motility drugs??

I could cry I'm so worried

Mine have their sleepy time in the afternoon so don't really touch their food, although having said that if i offered a fenugreek crunchie they'd bite my hands off at any time of day or night and if they all normally come over but one hasn't today then it does seem somethings up.

I would ask your mum to check if she is pooping (although i know its hard to tell with more than one bun) and if not or theres any doubt and she still not eating or drinking then i would definitely get her off to the vets.

I always take my bonded pair in together to the vets and when Joe had his last lost of stasis the intially only kept him in but then after a night at home on her own Jessie stopped eating too so they admitted her too free of charge and they were in separate cages for poo counting purposes but were next to each other and had playtime together in the run.

Hope she's ok, let us know how she goes on xx

Pain relief is important for buns in stasis ours have in the past been given meloxidyl or metacam. Gut motility injection is also important.

I would suggest taking him to vet as soon as possible as they will be able to administer these. It ould also be worth getting some Oxbrow critical care food or science recovery along with some syringes from the vet.

As for home therapy, offer water in a bowl and you may want to give them a small dose of infacol as this can help get rid of any gas, but taking them to the vet is the best option.

Definitely Vets

I would not advise doing any abdominal massage unless you are *certain* of what you are feeling. Abdominal masage can do more harm than good if done in inappropriate circumstances such as Bloat or a full obstruction.

Good luck

Jack's-Jane said:

Definitely Vets

I would not advise doing any abdominal massage unless you are *certain* of what you are feeling. Abdominal masage can do more harm than good if done in inappropriate circumstances such as Bloat or a full obstruction.

Good luck

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Oh ok

Its just I have done this once with Mimi and once with Max when they displayed the symptoms of the OP's bunny (not eating, shifting uncomfortably) and in both cases I heard a few belly gurgles then it passed and they were fine afterwards.

Listen to Jane not me though! :wave:

Thank you for all your replies

My mum has been mainly stroking her as she was nervous of doing more, but Chinook has just nudged her off as if to say "leave me alone hoomin!" :lol:

None of the rabbit savvy vets in the area are working today

But I have spoken to a lovely chap at a local high tech vet, who said "I would hate for you to think I'm a rabbit expert when I'm not, but I have treated many rabbits before and we have all the relevant medicines etc here" and I checked about metacam, gut motility etc and he recommended critical care too in the meantime, so I'm confident he knows enough for her to be safe.

My mum is taking her over now, please wish her luck and lots of healing vibes as Chinook is the sweetest, gentlest, most wonderful bunny who is so full of life.

Also, we have no idea what we are dealing with as her tummy felt okay (the same as the other two) to my mum, she was fine this morning and has only really been quiet and not eaten in the last few hours. My mum hasn't seen her do any poos as she's been sat in mostly the same place all morning.

Is there anything we should make sure she gets?

It depends whats wrong with her, but Metacam is an absolute must. I would also think theyd give her Metacloperamide (gut stimulant) and possibly sub cutaneous fluids if they think shes dehydrated. Make sure they take her temperature aswell and have a check of her teeth.
Good luck to your little one :wave:

Thank you, I have passed that on to my Mum.

They're almost there and the vet is ready and waiting, he really seems nice and like he'll do his best. I'm sure she'll be fine with some medicine and some more cuddles, but that doesn't stop me getting worked up and worried.

My mum put the carrier in front of Chinook to take her to the vets and bless her, she sniffed it and then hopped straight in and settled down quite happily She's so amazing. I'm sure Illy and Elmo will look forward to her coming home and snuggling up in their bunny sandwiches.

My mum just text to say that Chinook is curious of her surroundings (she's always been curious ) and that the vet can feel poo in her colon, which he was happy with.

No further news yet on medication, but I'l post as soon as I hear more.

UPDATE from Vets

I have just spoken to my mum and the vet which is great, he's lovely.

She's been digging in the hay in her carrier and investigating the vet etc, so she's still bright

He can feel poo pellets in her colon and everything else seems fine, including her teeth.

The only cause for concern is a slightly lower than normal temperature, she had a temp of 36.6 when it should be around 38-40.

The plan is to keep her in overnight to monitor her and syringe feed her, they've given her gut motility drugs and she'll be put on a heat pad, so hopefully she'll feel better by the morning. I have given consent to use IV and any pain relief as is necessary too.

She'll be kept in isolation away from the cats and dogs too, so it'll be nice and quiet for her. Whilst I was on the phone to the vet, my mum said she gave herself a thorough clean, so that makes me feel better as she's behaving normally etc.

I love her so incredibly much, I desperately hope she feels better by the morning

I hope that she will soon be 100% recovered and back home

Sounds like she is getting good care and there's some positives like her washing and digging etc Paws crossed she will be back home in her bunny sandwich as soon as possible xxx

Sounds like shes being well looked after Fingers crossed she'll be back to normal by morning :wave:

I feel your pain i am going through the same thing with mine at the mo but she is now in hospital so i am hoping she will be back to her beautiful self soon. However 2 whole days without her has felt like a life time. I will deffo be sending you positive vibes and hope everything is fine for you both as it is a horrible feeling big nose rubs to your little ones x

I am SO THRILLED to say my baby Chin is back home and happy

*breathes huge sigh of relief*

She's eating and pooping and has been since this morning, I'm so glad we took her to the vets when we did, as I think the gut motility drugs really did the trick!

Elmo and Illy came straight over and snuggled up to her once she arrived home, but she was off to rub her chin back over everything to claim it again straight away


Thank you SO much everyone for your help, advice and support, I can't express how much it meant to me yesterday and still means :wave:

Yay!!! Glad to hear it

Aw glad to hear he is getting better...my lil man is exactly the same and is staying in overnight x