Help with bunny not eating

I would really appreciate any tips or help anyone can give me. Sorry this quite a long post but I thought I should explain the background. My bunny Hamish started going off his food about two and a half weeks ago. I took him to my vet who is really good and they took him in for four/five days and gave him supportive care, ie syringe feeding and medicine to help his gut and pain killers and Zantac - they suspected dental problems (he is a Netherland Dwarf). He was put under anaesthetic and the vet did see problems with his teeth and he did some dental work. Nothing showed up in his lungs or gut under xray.

We got him back home and carried on with the medicines and syringe feeding. He started eating a little bit of hay but his weight started to drop so we took him back to the vet who took him in for another few days. They gave him an anabolic steroid and said it would take a few days or a week to take effect.

When he came home again he started eating a little bit more - some pellets and more hay, and even some carrot. We are still syringe feeding because he's still not eating enough on his own. We are also giving him the medicines. It seems like sometimes we need to remind him to eat! We have tried lots of different foods but none of them seem to tempt him. Is this just a case of being patient or is there something we could try? You wouldn't know that he's not right - he's binkying, running about the place, trying to strip and eat the wallpaper and he looks bright. He is much loved so any advice would be so very much appreciated. Many thanks.

is his mouth in any pain? does he seem to prefer softer foods to others? as you know its best to keep them eating to keep ther guts moving as you have seen already with him having to be admitted, have you tried different hays, burgess do different flavours with herbs or mixes

Thanks for replying. He doesn't seem to be in any pain at all. I think his dental work has fixed those problems as he was grinding his teeth and now he's not. He is eating a bit of hay and dandelion forage (by excel) I've tried basil and mint and parsley but he hasn't eaten them. Could see if he goes for dill. I'll look for a different hay tomorrow. I have a feeling I just need to be patient, just seems his not eating properly is going on for ages! Thanks again for your help.

mini lop1 said:

is his mouth in any pain? does he seem to prefer softer foods to others? as you know its best to keep them eating to keep ther guts moving as you have seen already with him having to be admitted, have you tried different hays, burgess do different flavours with herbs or mixes

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