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Bunny not eating! Help please?

J

Jayms_fallen_angel

Mama Doe
Ok, well with a little help from a more experianced bunny owner I have managed to get him to eat half a cabbage leaf today and half yesterday, which is nowhere near enough for a french lop!

He won't touch his carrot either in normal form or grated.
He won't touch his pellets and there are two types I've tryed him on.
He won't touch his hay.

I'm thinking of finding a jar from somewhere and filling it with hay to get him interested.
Filling my guinae pigs treat ball with mixed herbs and flowers for him.

But I don't know what else to do to interest him.

He's seen a vet. Only thing she can do for him is give me medicine for an infected tooth.
His teeth are a little long now but not enough to warrant going under to have them shortened.
He is drinking.
He CAN eat he just doesn't seem to be interested in food.
 
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Have you had him to the vet yet?
Maybe its worth getting his teeth checked.
Hope he starts eating properly soon:D
 
He needs to see a vet urgently for a check on his teeth (most likely cause of going off food) for some painkillers (they are usually in pain when like this) and some metaclopromide if the vet is SURE he doesn't have a blockage. Do you have a vet that knows bunnies?

Is he drinking? Can you syringe water and ground up pellets or don't you have a syringe etc?
 
Becca said:
Have you had him to the vet yet?
Maybe its worth getting his teeth checked.
Hope he starts eating properly soon:D
Click to expand...

I took him to the vets, she said that his back teeth were slightly overgrown and to keep an eye on his front teeth and to feed him his medicine for the infected one but there is nothing else wrong with him. I just need to persevere.
 
I haven't noticed any poo, gonna check his hutch when I get home. He IS drinking though.

I only have one syringe for his medicine so I can't syringe feed him his food. I just need him to want to eat because he CAN I've seen him eat cabbage. but that's all so far. So I think he's used to not eating because it hurt from his infection and because his front tooth was so hideously long he eventually couldn't. So it's just a case of making him want to again.
 
Is your vet good with rabbits though? If not get a second opinion. One vet at my surgery is great and another is not with the rabbit more of a doggie/cat vet. Have u started critical care etc?

I lost a bunny a weeks ago who was still eating a pellet here and there and drinking so please take no chances. If there is no poo bun needs to get back to the vet and probably be started of probiotics etc ......
 
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well it's a vetinary hospital so highest standard of vet and of equipment. There's nothing wrong with him that the vet can see and he just needs to be interested.
 
If he really won't eat any more than that I would syringe mushy pellets or recovery into him regularly, and also water if he's not drinking much. He really can't go for long not eating - it could get very serious.
Is he pooing and moving about?
 
Jayms_fallen_angel said:
well it's a vetinary hospital so highest standard of vet and of equipment. There's nothing wrong with him that the vet can see and he just needs to be interested.
Click to expand...

Whether a hospital or not I would ring and ask to speak to a vet that knows a fair bit about rabbits. That's what I did and I found Steph she is a fab vet for baby bunnies:D

Is he wormed?
 
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Do you know what your vet gave him meds wise? If he has an infected tooth & hasn`t had pain relief this will make him reluctant to eat. Also if he hasn`t eaten properly eaten or pooped his guts will be slowing down & he may well need a gut stimulant to keep things moving.

Personally i would contact your vet again as bunnies can go downhill fast once they stop eating.

let us know how you get on

Su.x
 
I have another appointment with the vet shortly.

Ummm some anibiotics and I think she said there was pain relief in there too. I was more concerned with calming the rabbit down after she told me the dosage. Poor thing, he was absolutly terrified of the vets and the assistant had her body on top of him to hold him down for the examination.

But I don't need to be told to see the vet! I know that and there are appointments booked in. What I am asking is for interesting ways to serve bunny food. Something that will keep his interest. The vet sorted his problem that was causing him not to eat it is now just a case of getting his interest back.

Like any living thing when a bunny has been unable to eat once the problem is sorted they still don't want to eat because they're used to not eating so he needs to be persuaded. He needs to think eating is fun again.
 
Jayms_fallen_angel said:
I have another appointment with the vet shortly.

Ummm some anibiotics and I think she said there was pain relief in there too. I was more concerned with calming the rabbit down after she told me the dosage. Poor thing, he was absolutly terrified of the vets and the assistant had her body on top of him to hold him down for the examination.

But I don't need to be told to see the vet! I know that and there are appointments booked in. What I am asking is for interesting ways to serve bunny food. Something that will keep his interest. The vet sorted his problem that was causing him not to eat it is now just a case of getting his interest back.

Like any living thing when a bunny has been unable to eat once the problem is sorted they still don't want to eat because they're used to not eating so he needs to be persuaded. He needs to think eating is fun again.
Click to expand...


We weren't telling u to take him to the vet just making sure that your vet understood bunnies and that he was being treated properly. Let us know how he gets on.
 
:shock: If that was aimed at me, i only said what i would personally do!:?

Herbs can be good as a tempting food though as they are nice & strong smelling. But sometimes i`ve found once a bunny has gone off their food for a while they may need syringe feeding with critical care or something similar, even soaked pellets, to keep their guts moving until they want to eat again.

Just trying to help,
Su.x
 
I took him to the vets, she said that his back teeth were slightly overgrown and to keep an eye on his front teeth and to feed him his medicine for the infected one but there is nothing else wrong with him. I just need to persevere.
Click to expand...

As I'm sure you know, with rabbits and other species with similar digestive systems, you cannot just persevere and wait it out.

You can't just wait for him to get interested in food, because all the while when he is disinterested and not eating, his gut is slowing down more and more and you are playing with fire and allowing perfect conditions for GI stasis to develop.

Have you been offered a motility drug by a veterinarian yet in your appts (such as metaclopromide/reglan or propulsid?)

If he's not eating, I would suggest forcefeeding/syringe feeding. There are a couple of different appropriate formulas out there, such as Oxbow's Critical Care. Mushing pellets and whatnot can work in a pinch, but if you are doing handfeeding for an unknown term, you need the extra fiber and levels that are available with a formula such as CC.

With a dog, cat, human, etc, it is a romantic notion to "bear it" and wait till they are hungry enough or interested enough in their food to eat. With a bun, chinchilla, etc, it is a very dangerous, but like i said, I am sure you know that.

Keep us updated! Sending lots of hunger vibes to bunny!
 
I have to agree with what's been said already. Rabbits don't go off their food for no reason (it has happened countless times with my lot, and it's a case of acting fast with medicines). The most important thing is getting some poo out the other end (more important than getting the food in, in my view). Hope things improve soon.
 
Take him to see Anita at Hunters Bar Vets on Ecclesall Road.

She is a fabulous rabbit savvy vet, very well qualified, and he will be in great hands with her. They are expensive compared to others in Sheffield but its definately worth while to know your seeing one of the best.
 
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