Mr Chief not eating

[twistedtiggerz69]

We first noticed a problem Saturday morning when Mischief turned his nose up at his breakfast greens. We kept trying to get him to eat and left banana, pellets and various greens next to him as he lay on their fresh hay.

It was a stressful day where he turned away from all his food until eventually he started to nibble on hay. Then he gradually started to eat the other foods. Later on he munched on some dried herbs and was much more alert by our bed time. He also passed some almost normal size poops so we were so happy

We had cancelled our day out with my daughter and grandchildren on the Saturday as Mr Chief was poorly and agreed we would perhaps go out today instead if Mischief was still fine in the morning.

This morning he guzzled down his veggies and we also gave them some pellets as we were going out for the day and he ate the lot quite happily. He had them at 10.30am.

This evening we came home and gave them their evening veggies and again he turned his nose up at them. He has since nibbled on a few strands of hay and ate a pellet and 2 pieces of curly kale but otherwise no joy. He has also been grumpy and growled and pounced at Phil a few times but fine with me as his main handler I guess. He has also seemed depressed and lying his head down on the floor most of the time and seems uninterested in all things except attention from Lillabelle.

He has passed around 10 poops late this evening and a few of them where bind together with fur. He is heavy moulting at moment and we suspect this is the cause of his GI stasis. He also pooped some cecals just now which he has eaten and nibbled a few strands of hay [emoji4]

We gave him 1 mls of Loxicom earlier and 20 mls of camomile tea. We were thinking of giving him some more but wanted to check first? We have not force fed him so far but wondered if safe to do so if he has passed a few poops tonight

Any feedback and good luck wishes would really help us right now. I actually feel sick with the worry. Trust it to happen on a bank holiday weekend. Just our luck as double costs today with vets! [emoji852]

Thanks everyone x


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[InspectorMorse]

Sounds as though he has reduced gut motility and is struggling to pass poo with a lot of ingested fur. He is likely to need to be examined by a Vet and then given appropriate prokinetics once any signs of an obstruction have been ruled out. He will need fluid therapy too- given IV or SQ.

I have recently had a Rabbit with the same problem and he required ongoing treatment (prokinetics, Analgesia, fluid therapy,blood glucose monitoring, abdominal examinations) 24/7 for 4 days.

At first gut slow down can cause intermittent symptoms. If not promptly treated it is likely to progress to full gut stasis, this is especially likely when the Rabbit is in moult. So the sooner he is examined by a Vet the better to avoid the situation getting worse.

Sending vibes for him x

 

[bunny momma]

Jane gave you good advice.
I would wait until more than a few poo, I would be cautious with syringe feeding, though when a vet was not available, I may give pain meds, which you did, , fluids, and syringe a small quantity of watery syringe feed; then wait to see if he improves or passes more poo.
Eating stimulates gut movement, so it is important to keep him eating.
Sending vibes.

 

[Preitler]

Also, keep him moving. The first thing i do when I notice something is off like that are belly massages, I put the rabbit on my knee/leg, facing me, and rock the whole rabbit. i can see if that eases the pain. Or I make them hop for a minute now and then, motion helps to keep things moving.

Pluck and brush out all the lose fur to address the root of the problem.

 

[Zoobec]

Sending lots of vibes, I hope he is feeling better soon. I had to remove all cardboard from my bunnies when one of them started eating it and it caused a gut slowdown.

 

[Pets mum]

Sorry to hear about Mr Chief, really hope he feels better soon xx

 

[Graciee]

Sending lots of vibes, I hope he is feeling better soon. I had to remove all cardboard from my bunnies when one of them started eating it and it caused a gut slowdown.

Yep same cardboard is banned here for the same reason.

Sending so many vibes xxx

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[twistedtiggerz69]

Hi Jane and every bun else who posted [emoji112]

In the early hours Mischief started to nibble on hay, then he nibbled on veggies, then he ate a few dried herbs and then...you get the picture?[emoji23] He also did about 10 slightly smaller than average poops. We decided to put the enclosure up to keep them inside so he was near to all his food bowls and hay and grabbed a few hours shut eye.

I awoke to find it was the afternoon and my OH had gotten up early and fed them veggies and a few pellets each. (He said I needed sleep so he had left me in bed bless him) Usually Mr Chief does not have pellets but we give him a few as a treat by hand. Mrs Chief has a bowlful as she is pretty slender now and hardly has any tummy at all whereas Mr Chief is somewhat ahem rounded still [emoji23]

I feel I can joke now as he has guzzled everything up aswell as eaten lots of hay and produced loads of poops. He did some 13 poops just now and they were pretty much full size and slightly moist but otherwise good.

We will ring the vets tomorrow as they were closed when I woke as a bank holiday and only open in morning. However my OH and I are both feeling that if he continues to eat and poop well he is best left at home as he really hates the vet and it is quite an ordeal for him as get a taxi there and back plus have to wait ages outside the vets until we are seen. Mischief stops eating and drinking after the vets so he needs force feeding and fluids orally for a day or 2 afterwards. Of course we would take him to the vets if he stopped eating again.

He just jumped up to hassle me for his veggies so I know he is doing well. My OH was just cleaning out the litter trays and he frantically started eating hay as he does every time. We think he is worried that we are taking his food away lol. Jokes aside we are so relieved he is eating fine and will continue giving him fluids orally for a couple of days.

I hope that you agree with us Jane thatif he is eating and pooping we are best to leave him home. We have made a note not to give them cardboard anymore. We don't usually but we left them a cardboard box to play in yesterday so it could have helped cause the problems. Thank you so much everybun and Mr and Mrs Chief sends you wriggle noses and shaking cotton tails xxx






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[bunny momma]

I am glad he improved. Bless your husband for letting you rest and feeding/ cleaning the litter box. A clean box makes it easier to check He appreciates the amount of work and level of stress generated byan ill bunny.

 

[twistedtiggerz69]

I am glad he improved. Bless your husband for letting you rest and feeding/ cleaning the litter box. A clean box makes it easier to check He appreciates the amount of work and level of stress generated byan ill bunny.

Yes he is a goodun and loves our buns [emoji4] Mischief continues to eat and poop well. We will have to start adhering to his diet again take him off the pellets though. He will be getting podgy. My OH says Mischiefis pretending to be sick so we give him more munchy food [emoji23]

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[InspectorMorse]

Glad that he seems to be doing OK now. Hopefully he will continue to do so

 

[twistedtiggerz69]

Thank you. I spoke to the vets who said to bring him to them if it happens again. We need to get them to vets for their 6 monthly check and jabs soon anyway.

Mr Chief continues to eat well. In facthe is back to his usual self pestering us for food. They both do! They know exactly when their veggies are due and herb time to the minute. It's amazing how they can tell the time [emoji23]


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