Ok, this may take quite a bit of explaining, but please stay with me if you can because I really do need some advice.
Marbles and Misfit have lived separately for 2 years. I got them as babies but they started fighting before they were old enough to be spayed. I got them both done asap but never managed to re-bond them. They both live outside in separate hutch/run combos. Marbles is a very needy rabbit. She craves attention and will sit being stroked for as long as I will stroke her. I bring her inside with me as often as I can (I know that this is bad for respiratory systems but because Marbles is the way she is I made the decision that the benefits for her outweigh the risks - I know not everyone will agree with this but please refrain from commenting on that if you can).
About 8 months ago I was forced to move back with my parents after a relationship breakdown. When I moved, Marbles went completely off her hay. I took her to the vets who said he thought it might be teeth, put her under GA and filed them. At the time he said that although she had some small spurs, they weren't bad at all and that he wasn't sure if that was entirely the issue. It took her a couple of weeks but she gradually got back to eating her hay, so I assumed it might be a combination of teeth and the stress of moving (Marbles gets very anxious). A couple of weeks ago, the same thing started happening. So took her back to vet and same scenario, some small spurs but he didn't think bad enough to put her off her hay entirely. It has been 3 days since her dental and she's still barely touching her hay, but she is eating her pellets and veg/forage. She is going back to the vets tomorrow.
Today I got home from work, went out to see her, and she hadn't touched her hay all day. I sat with her for a while, stroking her, and she starting nibbling on some old bits of hay on the floor. Odd I thought, so I got a handful of fresh stuff and put it in front of her. As I was stroking her, she was chomping away on this hay like there's no tomorrow. I came back inside and she stopped eating her hay and was sitting in the corner. I went out again and again, when I was with her, she would eat her hay. This has suddenly got me thinking, could Marbles be depressed? Could depression/loneliness cause a rabbit to just stop eating hay and nothing else? OR, on the other hand, how long does it take for a rabbit to recover from a dental? Should they be back to usual appetite straight away or could it take a while?
I am faced now with some very difficult decisions. I think I know, deep down, that Marbles needs company. I am hoping to buy my first home at some point next year and was thinking of having Marbles as a house rabbit (this isn't an option while I'm living with my parents). But now I am not sure if she can wait that long - it could be another 6 months or so before I am able to buy. Otherwise, I could get a third rabbit and bond Marbles with another, but this would mean making changes to their housing and I'd also want to get a friend for Misfit as I'd feel guilty leaving her alone. I don't know how realistic it would be to have to support 4 rabbits whilst also being solely responsible for a mortgage for the first time. The only other option I can think is to put one, or both, of them up for adoption. But the thought of this would break my heart and I really don't want that.
Please can someone help me? Firstly, could the hay problem purely just be because of her teeth or could it be a sign of depression? I have so much guilt about Marbles and I wish I could give her more but I just don't know if I can. I am so upset. Please help me.
THank you for reading and sorry this is so long.
Marbles and Misfit have lived separately for 2 years. I got them as babies but they started fighting before they were old enough to be spayed. I got them both done asap but never managed to re-bond them. They both live outside in separate hutch/run combos. Marbles is a very needy rabbit. She craves attention and will sit being stroked for as long as I will stroke her. I bring her inside with me as often as I can (I know that this is bad for respiratory systems but because Marbles is the way she is I made the decision that the benefits for her outweigh the risks - I know not everyone will agree with this but please refrain from commenting on that if you can).
About 8 months ago I was forced to move back with my parents after a relationship breakdown. When I moved, Marbles went completely off her hay. I took her to the vets who said he thought it might be teeth, put her under GA and filed them. At the time he said that although she had some small spurs, they weren't bad at all and that he wasn't sure if that was entirely the issue. It took her a couple of weeks but she gradually got back to eating her hay, so I assumed it might be a combination of teeth and the stress of moving (Marbles gets very anxious). A couple of weeks ago, the same thing started happening. So took her back to vet and same scenario, some small spurs but he didn't think bad enough to put her off her hay entirely. It has been 3 days since her dental and she's still barely touching her hay, but she is eating her pellets and veg/forage. She is going back to the vets tomorrow.
Today I got home from work, went out to see her, and she hadn't touched her hay all day. I sat with her for a while, stroking her, and she starting nibbling on some old bits of hay on the floor. Odd I thought, so I got a handful of fresh stuff and put it in front of her. As I was stroking her, she was chomping away on this hay like there's no tomorrow. I came back inside and she stopped eating her hay and was sitting in the corner. I went out again and again, when I was with her, she would eat her hay. This has suddenly got me thinking, could Marbles be depressed? Could depression/loneliness cause a rabbit to just stop eating hay and nothing else? OR, on the other hand, how long does it take for a rabbit to recover from a dental? Should they be back to usual appetite straight away or could it take a while?
I am faced now with some very difficult decisions. I think I know, deep down, that Marbles needs company. I am hoping to buy my first home at some point next year and was thinking of having Marbles as a house rabbit (this isn't an option while I'm living with my parents). But now I am not sure if she can wait that long - it could be another 6 months or so before I am able to buy. Otherwise, I could get a third rabbit and bond Marbles with another, but this would mean making changes to their housing and I'd also want to get a friend for Misfit as I'd feel guilty leaving her alone. I don't know how realistic it would be to have to support 4 rabbits whilst also being solely responsible for a mortgage for the first time. The only other option I can think is to put one, or both, of them up for adoption. But the thought of this would break my heart and I really don't want that.
Please can someone help me? Firstly, could the hay problem purely just be because of her teeth or could it be a sign of depression? I have so much guilt about Marbles and I wish I could give her more but I just don't know if I can. I am so upset. Please help me.
THank you for reading and sorry this is so long.
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