• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Feeding Advice for Head Tilt Rabbit

trudi

Warren Scout
I have a four year old male rabbit called Roger who I took to the vet due to slight head tilt and unsteadiness.

He was prescribed Panacur (42 day course), Baytril, Stemitil and had a course of three steroid injections with Metacam to start a few days after.

He is eating some hay, veg and forage but won't touch his pellets, his faecal output is still quite good.
My concern is that over the last week his weight has dropped from 2.8kg to 2.5kg. I am topping his feed up by syringe feeding some Critical Care but he is getting very stressed with this. Is there anything else I can tempt him with that will keep his weight steady.

Many thanks xx
 
I don't know how bad his head tilt is but could he possibly eat the critical care out of a dish ? Many buns find syringe feeding stressful but will quite happily eat from a dish/bowl :?
 
You could try some porridge oats, while he is poorly. Soak them in very hot water first and mix up to a stodgy(ish) consistency and see if he will take them. He may eat off your finger if you offer it. Hope he is soon on the mend.
 
You could try some porridge oats, while he is poorly. Soak them in very hot water first and mix up to a stodgy(ish) consistency and see if he will take them. He may eat off your finger if you offer it. Hope he is soon on the mend.

This ^^^^

Mine go absolutely nuts for porridge but if yours doesn't try mixing in a bit of mashed banana at first to tempt him :wave:
 
Thank you for your replies.

His head tilt isn't too bad, he is just very unsteady when he reaches up or tries to groom. He can feed from a dish but won't touch Critical Care of mushy pellets.

Will try him on porridge tomorrow.
 
Back
Top