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My bunny has lost his appetite

L

Lucy&Ronnie

New Kit
Hi all, I am new to the site but just wanted to get some advice. I noticed last Tuesday when I got my bunny out of his cage in the morning that there was food and treats left in his cage which was very unusual, I watched him for the morning and noticed he was not eating so got him into the vets later that day. They sent me home with some 'Recovery Plus' for me to feed him every 2 hours and I had to take him back on the Wednesday where they kept him in for dental work.

On the Wednesday they called me to say they weren't going to do the dental work as they thought he was displaying symptoms of a parasite on the brain (?!) which may be causing him to lose his appetite. They sent me home with a wormer to treat the parasite and some more meds to get his gut restarted and make him hungry, and advised me to continue to syringe feed until he perks up.

By last Friday he had started to eat a little bit but I wasn't comfortable that it wasn't his usual load and so took him back - They booked him in for the dental work he should have had earlier that week for Monday and advised to continue syringe feeding but hope that he gets better on his own following the meds he was on.

He has now had the dental work this Monday and he is eating slightly more on his own than he was but I would say only a quarter of his usual appetite. Vets are saying that this is because the anaesthetic is still in his system and it will take a while for him to recover from that, but as he is OK in himself not to worry. It is now Thursday, surely he shouldn't still have an anaesthesia hangover??
 
What made the Vet say that EC ( parasite ) was the primary problem ? Apart from a reduced appetite does he have symptoms of EC such as a head tilt, hind leg weakness, loss of balance ?

Is he pooing a normal amount ?

Is he drinking ?

What medication is he on now ?
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry that your bunny is not eating properly. Firstly are you confident that your vet is rabbit savvy? I think your bunny might have a sore mouth after his dental and so would need some pain relief. A rabbit in pain will not eat. Did the vet explain what was found during the dental?

Did the vet say what the symptoms were that they observed to consider EC? This is some information about it https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/disease/e-cuniculi/ It is usual in cases of EC to prescribe an NSAID to help with the inflammation.

I think it's unlikely that your bunny is still recovering from the anaesthetic.
 
Hello everyone! Thank you for your responses, I am sorry it has taken so long for me to get back to you, I didn't know how to find my thread!
So an update, the vet tried to treat Ronnie for EC as when they had him in that Wednesday morning to observe before the dental work they never did that day they said he was displaying VERY SLIGHT signs of a head tilt and one SLIGHTLY floppy ear. The medication I was given to treat that was for a course of 28 days, there is only a week left of it and he still does that, to be honest I think it is just the way he holds himself.
Sorry I didn't mention that I was given a painkiller to administer to Ronnie after he actually did have the dental work done, so the sore mouth should have been combatted by that.
I took him back to the vets anyway when I still wasn't comfortable with his lack of appetite, they gave him an injection just to boost his guts and he has been back to normal ever since, it's been a couple of weeks so fingers crossed all is well! Thanks again everyone xx
 
Maybe, now it is very warm, your Bunny doesn't want as much food. You may already know this but he needs to be eating lots of Hay, a small amount of Nuggets and a little bit of veg such as Spring Greens (no Carrot except for a tiny bit now and then).
 
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