Anyone any experiance of anorexia in rabbits

If you have....

What was the cause and how did you combat it?

Many Thanks

Bump

Anorexia just means loss of appetite so lots of things can cause it.
Pain from anywhere in their body, Stress from being bullied by other rabbits, fear, chronic disease eg Pasteurella, Kidney disease.

Its NOT as in 'Anorexia Nervosa' which means 'nervous loss of appetite' and applies to a psychological condition in hoomans.

(Although its a complete misnoma as us Anorexics dont necessarily loose our appetite.....)

....almost put a rolling-eye emoticon in there but I dont want a slap!! :lol: :lol:

Combating it means finding the cause of pain and treating accordingly
Gut Motility stimulants
Addressing any bullying by other Buns
Checking for Dental problems.....


Janex

Thanks Jane, I don't mind the rolling eyes really :lol: . I am clutching a straws with Holly me thinks, Bryns rang again and still nothing

I have a bunny that is very, very skinny. She is 7 1/2 years old and has been like it for at least a year to 18 months. I have had full blood tests done twice - including thyroid as well as scans, but nothing has showed up as being abnormal.

She is eating and behaving totally normal. I have put her and her partner (which is 8, but normal weight) on Bunny Basics for young rabbits and will switch to A & P Grower and Breeder to help her with the weight.

I have put it all down to age now as we can't find any other cause.

Vera

My bun Lily (now at the bridge ) went anorexic after an episode of gut stasis. She just refused to eat anything (she would nibble a little bit of an alfalfa stick), just when i was beginning to despair, my husband built a new much bigger run area for them so that her and her boyfriend Charlie (also now at the bridge ) were able to be free range all the time. Over the next few weeks her appetite perked up and she got back to almost normal again. Lily was quite elderly (about 6) when this happened. Not sure this will help you tho, sorry... Good luck with Holly, sending you lots of healing vibes for her.

Hi there,

If we're classing an anorexic bunny as one that stops eating all the time, I've had experience of this with Alice.

Alice is 7, so fairly old and has only one tooth. Over the past 18 months since she had her eye removed we've had no end of problems keeping her eating. It seems that every 4 or 5 weeks almost on a cycle, she will stop eating. I try to coax her for a day with the Science Recovery liquid feed, she's great at taking that. I give her Infacol to help with wind and lots of tummy rubs. If there's no joy after this I take her to the vets and they check her over, declare there is nothing visibly wrong, give her Metaclopromide and instruct me to liquid feed her and keep encouraging her. Usually by that evening she's almost back to normal until the next month. Trouble is, when she does start eating again it's like she's making up for lost time and I worry that this yo-yo eating isn't good for her.

Anyway, to cut a long story short (sorry)!! Last time we ended up at the vets I asked if it could be lack of fibre in her diet that causes her gut to slow down to a point where she stops eating. Yes was the reply, so since them I have bought some Profibre for Rabbits made by protexin and I'm also mixing Allen & Page pellets in with her Junior Excel. Alice can just about eat pellets still, I think she sucks them. I also blend veggies with some Excel, A&P pellets and Pro-fibre.

Touchwood, this seems to be doing the trick. There's been no stuffing her face, just nice steady eating. We're at the 4 1/2 week point now, so fingers crossed she carries on eating well.

I'll add as well, Alice is like a different bun. I'm sure the lack of fibre caused her to be lethargic, she's like a baby bun now and leaps round the garden!! :lol:

Tooth problems such as molar spurs and jaw abscesses are common causes that I've seen. I've also seen it due to diet problems such as being fed a low-fiber seed mix, no hay, and more treats. The bun's intestines were all out of whack.