Please help, I'm getting really worried about Twinkle [emoji92]

Hi,

As some of you may know Ghibli recently died, leaving Twinkle [emoji92] a single rabbit.

At first she was OK. In fact she actually seemed happy that she was the centre of attention. Then she suddenly stopped eating. For while I thought I was going to loose her too, but with medication and lots of attention she pulled through.

Since then I've been getting up at 6 or some days even 5am to make sure she's OK! Most days she's really happy, like absurdly happy. She flops over and let's me stroke her when she's laying on her back.

I've decided to try and bond her with a new rabbit as soon as she's ready, but I've not had the chance to do anything about it yet. Also she still seems a bit fragile and has only just got back to eating properly again.

A few days ago my wife brought home a hamster that a friend no longer wanted. When we brought her into the living room, and I started to interact with the hamster, Twinkle [emoji92] threw the biggest temper fit I've ever seen.

She started growling at me, hid in one of her tubes, and wouldn't stop stamping until the the hamster was taken out of the living room and we both went to bed.

The hamster's now in the bedroom, but last night I couldn't sleep, so I got up and fed the hamster.

This morning Twinkle [emoji92]is refusing to eat! She's just sitting on her mat, and while she's letting me stroke her, if I try to give her a treat or offer he ant food she growls at me. She's cleaning herself and she's active, so I'm not sure if this is emotional or not?

I don't have enough money to take her to the vet, but I've still got all the medication that she gave me from the first time she stopped eating.

If she's not just punishing me, at what point should I start medicating her? Should I start medicating her? I've got Zantac and Metacam, and syringe feeding mixture!

Am I massively overreacting?

Please help! I'm really worried about her. Normally even when she's annoyed at me she'll nibble on some hay or gras or something, but today she's literally eaten nothing at all!


Barry

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Has she poo'd her normal amount ?

I'm sorry to hear this Don't worry about asking for help. It is very understandable that you will be nervous about Twinkle at the moment.

So, was the last time you saw her eat some time yesterday? Are there fresh droppings in her litter tray, or elsewhere?

She certainly seems to have been affected by the hamster doesn't she. Not for now obviously and not until she is entirely better, but my instinct would tell me that she would become less bothered by the hamster and more confident in herself if she were bonded. But then this would also have its problems, if she is a sensitive rabbit, if the bonding wasn't straightforward.

Stress can be a factor in her not eating. It sounds like she is really stressed out from the hamster. I agree that checking for fresh poo is most important right now. That will help to determine if she is in Stasis or not. I would try to wash all the hamster smell off your hands before handling her and give her a fuss if she seems to like it also offer some herbs or her favorite treats, anything to tempt her to eat.

Sorry, there's a better reply later on down!

Omi said:

I'm sorry to hear this Don't worry about asking for help. It is very understandable that you will be nervous about Twinkle at the moment.

So, was the last time you saw her eat some time yesterday? Are there fresh droppings in her litter tray, or elsewhere?

She certainly seems to have been affected by the hamster doesn't she. Not for now obviously and not until she is entirely better, but my instinct would tell me that she would become less bothered by the hamster and more confident in herself if she were bonded. But then this would also have its problems, if she is a sensitive rabbit, if the bonding wasn't straightforward.

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She's really really sensitive! She's been rejected from two other homes, so including the shelter she's had five homes prior to this one. She's really highly strung and I don't think she's even started processing Ghibli's death yet. I don't want to bond her unless I can he there when she's introduced to the other rabbit. Purely by accident we met the woman who looked after her and bonded her last time she was at Whythall, and apparently they had to exercise her separately to the other rabbits because she became so aggressive. I think she has a really deep seated fear of abandonment, so I really don't want to just give her over to someone else to "match" her with another rabbit. She's now eating again, as you can see from the photo, but she still won't let me stroke her or give her any affection [emoji17] I'm worried she's becoming too dependant on me [which is the whole reason I bonded Ghibli, who was also originally a single rabbit, with Twinkle [emoji92]]

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Jack's-Jane said:

Has she poo'd her normal amount ?

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She did last night, her lit tray was normal this morning, just her behaviour that was off. After I had to go out she started eating, but she still won't let me give her any affection, and she's retreating to he solitary place where people aren't allowed to interact unless necessary. The roof of her hutch. I took away the stool she used to sit under because it was becoming unhealthy. She still has somewhere physically hidden that she can hide if she really needs to get away from everything, but she was starting to use the stool as a "I'm really really annoyed and I'm totally sulking and using this to punish you" thing.

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bunnytoes said:

Stress can be a factor in her not eating. It sounds like she is really stressed out from the hamster. I agree that checking for fresh poo is most impotent. That will help to determine if she is in Stasis or not. I would try to wash all the hamster smell off your hands before handling her and give her a fuss if she seems to like it also offer some herbs or her favorite treats, anything to tempt her to eat.

Click to expand...

She's started eating, Thank God, after I had to go out, but she won't let me near her. I'm getting a bit worried that she's getting too attached to me, and that she needs a new companion rabbit, but I need to he there. I don't want to just let someone decide for her! She's been shuttled around through several homes and she generally doesn't get on with other rabbits. It was a bit of a miracle that she bonded with Ghibli in the first place.

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Thank you everyone for your help! I panicked when's he wouldn't eat because she's only just got over stasis after Ghibli died. I think it's emotional rather than physical, but I've seen depression turn into something more serious, and I'm still worried. I don't think she's really processed Ghibli's death, and that's partly on me for sheltering her, but it scares me what's going to happen when it finally hits her.

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I'm pleased that she's started eating again

How easy was it to bond her with Ghibli? Did you do it?

In my view there's no problem with an inside rabbit living without a bonded partner if there is usually someone around to interact with the rabbit. It becomes much more of an issue for me if the rabbit lives outside alone. I think you should go with your gut feelings as far as Twinkle is concerned. It would appear there are definitely pros and cons. It could make her more self-confident and therefore less bothered by things like the introduction of a hamster into the house. However, a difficult bond would in itself be very stressful for her.

ghibli said:

She's started eating, Thank God, after I had to go out, but she won't let me near her. I'm getting a bit worried that she's getting too attached to me, and that she needs a new companion rabbit, but I need to he there. I don't want to just let someone decide for her! She's been shuttled around through several homes and she generally doesn't get on with other rabbits. It was a bit of a miracle that she bonded with Ghibli in the first place.

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I am glad to hear that she started to eat again. She really is a cutie. I also like her set up. It looks my a fun place for a bunny.

bunnytoes said:

I am glad to hear that she started to eat again. She really is a cutie. I also like her set up. It looks my a fun place for a bunny.

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Thank you [emoji5] Twinkle [emoji92]'s more of a climber, the little tunnels where all for Ghibli. They were supposed to get expanded, but I never got round to doing it. Still feel bad about that one! Twinkle [emoji92]' s really more of an explorer rabbit [emoji195] so I think I'm going to expand her place with more little corners to discover [emoji5] that and plenty of hay to roll around in!

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