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Mystery loss of appetite and possible conjunctivitis?

Rabitat

New Kit
Hello, my rabbit is a 3-4 year old Rex that was dumped on a pet shop doorstep, I have never seen him unhealthy but he is currently not so good. He is not currently staying with me but he is an indoor rabbit and always has been since we got him.

I was told he has loss of appetite and isn't drinking, aswell as having white discharge from his eyes. He was seen by a vet who said he was underweight for his frame and prescribed eye drops for the discharge query conjunctivitis.

Now it is the final day of his eye drops and I am told he is not improving, I saw him Sunday, he responded well to me, but would only eat a small part of a carrot, will not touch his food much and can't seem to drink from a bottle unless it's squeezed. I have him a bowl which he seemed to be able to drink from much easier and advised his current keeper to see how he went.

He hasn't deteriorated further but the eye problem is persisting as well as low appetite, when he was out of his cage he seemed happy enough exploring however.

I am just wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this, has an eye problem caused this sort of behaviour, or is this unusual?

I will speak to my wife about the issue later, but the vet who saw him was not very helpful in diagnosing the problem and I am unsure if they can help at all.

Thanks for any help, I will get him seen when I am able.
 
Hello

It is essential that your Rabbit is taken back to a Vet ASAP. When a Rabbit stops eating, for whatever reason, their GI tract closes down and they become very, very poorly. Please see this link

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

It may be that the primary cause of your Rabbits illness is Dental related. Eye problems can occur as a direct result of Dental problems. Just treating the eye infection will not resolve the primary cause if it is his teeth. Neither will he be able to eat if he has untreated Dental problems. Rabbits with a sore mouth often stop using a sipper bottle but will drink from a bowl.

Obviously I cant say for certain that your Rabbit's lack of appetite and eye infection are due to Dental problems, but this certainly needs to be established promptly. Even if he does not have Dental problems the fact that he is still hardly eating means that a Vet should be consulted this evening. Certainly no later than by tomorrow morning. The longer he is unable to eat the more serious the situation becomes and the poorer the prognosis.

Here is some information about Dental problems in Rabbits

http://www.manorvets.co.uk/ckfinder/userfiles/files/dental dz(1).pdf

Please do not delay getting your Rabbit back to a Vet. Good luck.
 
Hello, my rabbit is a 3-4 year old Rex that was dumped on a pet shop doorstep, I have never seen him unhealthy but he is currently not so good. He is not currently staying with me but he is an indoor rabbit and always has been since we got him.

I was told he has loss of appetite and isn't drinking, aswell as having white discharge from his eyes. He was seen by a vet who said he was underweight for his frame and prescribed eye drops for the discharge query conjunctivitis.

Now it is the final day of his eye drops and I am told he is not improving, I saw him Sunday, he responded well to me, but would only eat a small part of a carrot, will not touch his food much and can't seem to drink from a bottle unless it's squeezed. I have him a bowl which he seemed to be able to drink from much easier and advised his current keeper to see how he went.

He hasn't deteriorated further but the eye problem is persisting as well as low appetite, when he was out of his cage he seemed happy enough exploring however.

I am just wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this, has an eye problem caused this sort of behaviour, or is this unusual?

I will speak to my wife about the issue later, but the vet who saw him was not very helpful in diagnosing the problem and I am unsure if they can help at all.

Thanks for any help, I will get him seen when I am able.

Hi there and welcome to the Forum :wave:

It's quite possible that he has conjunctivitis - it can occur as a result of an injury (piece of hay in the eye) and also from being 'run down'. It sounds like he spends some time in a cage but enjoys being out? He could be depressed and may pick up when he's allowed to run around.

However, it may be best to advise the owner of the rabbit to seek veterinary advice, as a rabbit has to keep eating in order to keep the guts moving. Without this, he will quickly deteriorate and most likely die.

The vet should be asked to check the state of the teeth, both front and back, although a vet can only get about 60% look at the back teeth as a rabbit's mouth is very small.

I should make sure the vet is really competent with rabbits and go ahead with medications to get his appetite back.

Good luck xx
 
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