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Bunny stopped eating her pellets! - Still not better :o(

G

GiantJessica

Warren Scout
As a fairly new bunny-mummy I am a bit panicky at the slightest change. :shock:

This morning she had not eaten any of yesterday evening pellets and only some of the veg she was given this morning.

She is drinking and eating hay. The only other strange thing is yesterday she had some very soft poo's and there were lots of flies around as a result. Now I am paranoid and going to buy some fly nets.

What does everyone think? :? Her bottom looks ok nothing unusal.
 
Give it a couple more hours, then take her to the vet. Sounds like there could be something wrong with her teeth. Vera
 
Soft poos and reduced appetite indicate reduced gut motility.
Has she passed and normal 'currant poos'?
If not or if they are smaller/fewer than usual I think she needs to see a Vet today.
Its good that she is eating her hay and drinking but what you describe sounds like a Bun with reduced gut motility to me. I would encourage her to move about. Exercise will stimulate her guts. Also abdominal massage will help shift things along.
Reduced gut motility is usually a SECONDARY SYMPTOM rather than a PRIMARY condition.
So you need to look at her diet. Too many pellets and not enough hay= sluggish guts.
Lack of exercise=sluggish guts
Being overweight=sluggish guts
Pain anywhere in the body=sluggish guts
Poor fluid intake=sluggish guts
Dental probs=sluggish guts

I am sure your Vet will be able to offer you good advice :D

Janex
 
Thanks Jane for your reply. I've made an appointment for the vet this afternoon. I don't want to take any risks coz she is sooooo precious to me.
 
GiantJessica said:
Thanks Jane for your reply. I've made an appointment for the vet this afternoon. I don't want to take any risks coz she is sooooo precious to me.
Click to expand...

Great!! :D
I am sure she'll be just fine.
Please let us know how she gets on.
Janex
 
Vet trip was fine. Teeth checked, temperature, ears - general MOT. Vet could not see anything wrong but has given us various medication to try and get her gut moving.
We have got Maxolon Syrup, profibre for digestive function, bio-lapis.
We also got rear guard and nails clipped for good measure!!

I shall be watching her like a hawk for the next few days. Fingers crossed she will start eating normally again.
 
Well done at the Vets big brave Jessica Wabbit :D :D
Get your Mum to find some tasty dandelion leaves as they are a good natural laxative.
:D :D

Janex
 
24 hours on Jessica is showing no signs of improvement.
We are on the maxolon syrup, bio-lapin but she wont eat the fibre pellets.

Am I being impatient?

There has been lots of rumbling in the tummy, we have given her plenty of tummy rubs, lots of excercise and been giving her some liquid (with a little pinapple in) by syringe.

She is still lively, is there anything else we can do to get her to drink and eat like normally? Any predictions on how long this might take?
 
It can take a good 48 hours for gut motility to improve once treament has started.
What are her poos like now?
Is she still eating hay even though she has gone off her pellet feed?
I think you just need to persevere with the treatment. Tummy massage is important as is a good fluid intake.
If Jessica is still bright within herself then I feel confident she will show signs of improvement soon.
Try to tempt her with some dandelion leaves.
Sluggish guts are, well, SLUGGISH at showing improvement!!

Jane x
 
Jack's-Jane said:
It can take a good 48 hours for gut motility to improve once treament has started.
What are her poos like now?
Is she still eating hay even though she has gone off her pellet feed?
I think you just need to persevere with the treatment. Tummy massage is important as is a good fluid intake.
If Jessica is still bright within herself then I feel confident she will show signs of improvement soon.
Try to tempt her with some dandelion leaves.
Sluggish guts are, well, SLUGGISH at showing improvement!!

Jane x
Click to expand...

She is poo-ing a bit but not much - also they are somewhere between hard and soft. We have just been out to her hutch to say good night and nearly collapsed with the whiff! I think the bowels are on the move. :shock:
She is not eating much hay, but has eaten lots and lots of grass today as she has been in the garden. She has just about eaten every dandelion in the garden - I shall have to go in search of some tomorrow!
 
Jessica is still only drinking small amounts of water and being very selective with what she eats (bit of hay, grass, dandelions, cabbage), not eating very much. The maxolon course is now finished.

We went back to the vets last night. He wants to put her on a 10 day course of antibiotics before they carry out any further investigations. He is encouraged that she is eating/drinking something and is still perky in herself.

I not though! :( I am at a loss as to what is wrong.

PS: syringe feeding medicine to a giant is a bit of a nightmare :shock:
 
Sorry to hear that Jessica is still not 100% well.
Did your Vet say what the antibiotics are for :?
I am NOT a Vet but in my experience abx given as a 'shot in the dark' to a Bun with reduced gut motility can make matters worse. But as I say I am NOT the Vet, just expressing an opinion :)
If Jessica were mine I think I would want an explanation as to the purpose of abx with no actual diagnosis of infection :?
I am an awkward moo.....a Vets nightmare :oops: :roll:
I dont know if you have tried to get Jessica to eat a different brand of pellet feed? Obviously you could only offer a small amount of any new food but it might be word a try.
I think I would also be inclined to restrict her access to grass and try to get her to eat more hay. I have found that buns with significantly reduced GI motility can get very gassy if they eat too much grass.
Hope you soon see some improvement in Jessica

Janex
 
if she is not drinking enough water, you have to force feed the water by slowly insert 0.5 cc at a time to her.

I think it's too much soft green at this rate. Way too much.

Try this: Grab some seed head, rub the seeds off the seed head and mix it w/ baby food from heinz, just for the next few days, use baby food that is attractive like apple mix.

You want to put some fiber inside her along w/ keeping her diet up.
 
I rushed out today to buy science selective (she normally has Excel - which she loved until last Thursday when her hunger strike began :? )
Tried her on a little of this earlier and she loved it and was merrily tucking in.

I called the vet back up first thing this morning - I'm not very popular as I made the vet late home last night! Questioned him on the abx. He said it is for coccidiosis - not convinced myself but imagine if she has any infection this will clear it up (if we could actually successfully syringe the stuff :D )

Lets wait and see ...
 
Thanks for asking, she is feeling much better :D
On Wednesday she started drinking her normal amount, Thursday she started eating again and today she is pooping for Britiain :lol:
We are relieved it was scary.
 
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