Eating very little :( Update: molar spur

Yuki has not been eating much today. He ate his lettuce in the morning, and 2 carrots later on, but he won't touch his pellets which is very unusual. Now I gave him a couple of leaves of lettuce and he ate some of it, but left some behind which is also unusual. He looks to be having some discomfort, so I gave him a dose of Metacam to relieve any pain he probably has. I think it's his teeth because he's gotten picky, like he'll eat his vegetables and treats but not his pellets. I have an appointment tomorrow since that's when the rabbit expert vet is in. Do I have to give him Critical Care if he's eating vegetables?

I'm really worried. Usually even when he has teeth problems it doesn't happen this fast. He was eating a lot of his pellets last night. But since he's eating vegetables, his teeth are the only thing I can think of.

Hope someone on here with more experience can tell you if you should give critical care tonight. -sue

I don't know what is going on but I do truly feel your anxiety and concern for your rabbit baby. It is good that you are taking him tomorrow. It may very well be his teeth. As long as his poopie is coming out fine at least it is not something like gastrointestinal statsis. I hope that stays forever away from my bunny. I truly wish at times that our pets can speak to us plainly and tell us what is wrong. They are also very good at concealing when they are not well which is a natural reaction because they are food for predator animals out in the wild.

I wish I knew for sure what's wrong too. He is pooping, but some of them are pretty small. He ate the rest of his lettuce, though. I hope it's just his teeth which can easily be fixed with a trimming.

He doesn't seem gassy or bloated, and he's still alert with lots of energy. Maybe I should give a little bit of Critical Care this evening? I don't want him to be hungry during the night.

I am not an expert by any means, but I know how frustrating it is having a rabbit that is slowing down in eating habbits or not eating at all. On the back of the critical care bag it says "food which can be given to herbivores that are unwilling to eat their normal diet due to illness, surgery or poor nutritional status." If your rabbit is slowing down it's eating habbits, or not eating it's pellets, it couldn't hurt to syringe him a bit of critical care. My rabbit gets like yours does every now and then too, and when I notice him not eating his regular diet I always give him critical care. Sometimes with any luck it only stimulates him to go back to wanting to eat his pellets. Offer your bun as much fresh veg and hay he will eat and give him abit of critical care and he should come around again. Just be patient. The most important thing to do is to keep him eating. Also you may want to have him checked by a vet to make sure it is not anything else that is creating the problem. Best of luck to you and please keep us posted

Thanks. I hope the Critical Care stimulates his appetite. I'm only going to give him a tiny bit, though, because I don't want him to get bloated. Maybe I'll start off with 5ml for tonight, then give him more lettuce and carrots before bed.

If you are worried about him getting hungry over night, just load him up with greens and hay so he can nibble through the night. Oh and I forgot to mention that when my rabbit goes through this he suddenly stops eating his pellets too. One day he is eating them then the next day he wont eat anything but greens. So it sounds similar to my rabbit that way. I hope your little guy feels better soon.

He has unlimited hay which he rarely eats. I kind of have to break up the hay and hide it in his pellets so he gets some in him. But now he's not eating his pellets. I hope the lettuce and carrots will be enough to sustain him until his vet appointment tomorrow. I gave him some Critical Care half an hour ago so I hope that helps.

Does your bunny have dental problems too? How long does it take for him to get back to eating normally when this happens?

I just hate when my little guy gets sick. It's so stressing for both of us.

Yes my rabbit has dental issues. He just had dental surgery on the 5th which he is recovering from really well. Usually when I take him in to get his dental spurs taken care of, he slows in his eating. Usually he comes around after 2 or 3 days. Sometimes it really depends though. I am always sticking food under Nummy's nose to try to get him to take it, and sometimes he gets so fed up with me sticking food in his face that he will eat it :lol: Right now I am in the same boat. As a matter of fact Nummy isn't eating his pellets right now aswell. He is on the leafy greens and critical care diet for now till he willingly eats his pellets. My advice is to not give up with trying to tempt your rabbit with leafy greens and carrots maybe some banana (my bun loves banana). Nummy never eats his hay probably do to his bad teeth, I always give it to him too, he would rather use it to pee on :shock: Have the vet check him though, just to be on the safe side of things. I know how stressed you must be, Nummy has been not eating his pellets for 14 days now and I have been pulling my hair out over it all, but he is bright eyed and looking like a happy bunny to me these days. I just keep up with the feedings and he seems to eat a little more each day. If your rabbit is showing the early signs of stasis, you are lucky to be dealing with it now while it is no full blown. That is where I am at right now and it is not fun for him or me. Nummy is one of those dutch rabbits and I have been giving him about 10ml each feeding every 4-6 hours. He usually is a real pig on his pellets so I know this is a good amount for him. Check with your vet on the feeding amount right for you little guy, in the mean time 5ml won't hurt him.

My bunny also slows down his eating a bit after a dental, but not that much. I don't know why he would be having this problem now, especially in less than 2 months after his last dental. My guess is that he has a quick growing spur that's poking his cheek or tongue, or he has another loose tooth.

I stick food under Yuki's nose too! He gets annoyed too and sometimes finally eats. But unfortunately it hasn't really worked today, but I think he may have had a nibble of his pellets this evening.

I know what you mean about the Critical Care, I hate having to force feed! It's messy and my bunny hates it just as much as I do! I wish there were an easier way. He doesn't take it from a dish, so I have no choice but to force feed with that big syringe thing. I'm not sure how much to give my guy right now, so I'm staying on the safe side and giving him as little as possible, especially that he's eating vegetables.

He had stasis in October because of a loose tooth and a bacteria infection that lasted about 3 weeks! I hope this isn't going to be like that. I can't deal with 3 weeks of extreme stress and sleepless nights again, especially on top of having to give him depocillin injections every 3 days which is awful. :|

There is a bit of an easier way to feed him actually Nummy hates it when I feed him out of the 10ml syringe. (The vet said to give Nummy 10ml per serving). I came up with a way we can both tolerate the force feedings. You know the 1.0ml syringes that the vet gives for meds? Well I have about 10 of them, my vet always hands them out with any new meds. Anyway, I suck up the food in all 10 of them and while Nummy is sitting/laying down and feeling relaxed, I feed one to him at a time. He seems to not mind the smaller syringe, and it is not messy at all. Make sure the hole in the syringe is large enough to suck the food into, I use a knife or sissors to carve the hole abit if needed. Then voila! No more fighting I don't even have to hold him down or wrap him up any more he just takes it now. If your bun does fight you trying this method, you will still have to hold him. It is much cleaner though and seems like the bunny isn't getting so much at once. Sometimes covering the eyes helps too. I sometimes place my hand over Nummy's eyes then pop him a quick syringe. He seems fine with that too. If you have a few of those syringes at home you could give it a try, or ask the vet for some when your there.

That's actually a really good idea, and I could imagine a lot less messy! I'm going to see if I can get some of those smaller syringes today. I also cover his eyes since that seems to make him more docile. He doesn't fight me a whole lot when I feed him, but it is hard to control him and that big syringe at the same time!

He's in full blown stasis now. He ate a bit of lettuce last night, and 1 carrot, but that's it. He hasn't really touched his water either. I'm going to syringe feed him this morning, and hopefully the vet will find the problem today so he'll start eating again. I just hate going through this stress.

Good luck at the vets today, I hope that all it is is a bit of stasis. Don't worry though if it is stasis.. You have caught it early and it is easy enough to treat. It is a pain in the bum to try to force feed them and I really would rather not. But it works pretty good if you stay consistant and feed every few hours. Definetly ask your vet for the small syringes, it makes a world of difference! I just fed Nummy with them this morning and it took all of a 3-5 min while I made a instant coffee I hate pinning him too so it makes it so I don't have to hold him at all unless he fights me on the small syringe. It definetly sounds like stasis to me from my experience. And my rabbits stasis was usually a result of his lovely teeth. :evil: Let us know what the vet says, if it is stasis I will be glad to help you through it. I watch Nummy go through it a few times a year. Sometimes it seems to last forever. Good luck!

I think it's because of his teeth too. He keeps moving his mouth a lot and making noises, not just grinding noises but clicking kinds too. I just have a feeling that the pain is originating from his mouth, and he does have severe dental problems. I hope it's just a spur that can easily be trimmed and he'll go back to normal afterwards.

This is pretty much like the last time. He had stasis in late October, so hopefully it's something like that, and hopefully it'll pass much quicker this time! Last time it took about a month for him to start eating normal again! I gave him pain medication this morning, but it looks like it hasn't kicked in yet. He's all hunched up and doesn't want to move that much. Luckily I'll be leaving for the vet appointment in just over half an hour. The clinic that I take him to is about an hour away. I'll let you know what was causing his stasis when I get back. I'll definitely ask about the syringes while I'm there. It sounds a heck of a lot easier!

Just got back from the vet. Turns out the pain came from a long spur right in the back that had somehow curved and was digging into his lower jaw. I don't know how it could have gotten so long, he just had a dental surgery under 6 weeks ago. I guess they missed it when they were burring his teeth. He was in terrible pain from this, and there's a sore where the tooth was digging into his jaw. The doctor trimmed the spur and all his teeth today. I can tell he's relieved that the tooth is no longer poking into his jaw, but he's still in pain from the sore and won't eat on his own so I have to keep force feeding. I got the small 1ml syringes, as well as a smaller 20ml syringe.

The vet said that a bunch of his lower teeth are loose. We're hoping they don't get worse otherwise she would have to perform a major tooth extraction. I have to give him depocillin every second day now for 2 weeks to help the infection caused by the sore. I hope he starts feeling better soon. I'll be giving him Metacam later on, so hopefully it'll help.

Aww poor thing! Your bun sounds like he has all the same problems as my bun. The vet always says Nummy's teeth are loose and rotten looking. He has had a few removed and even had one growing through his sinuses which caused him to have a very runny nose and sneezing fits that would last a few minuets. It's good he is on pain meds. Keep your rabbit eating especially while on antibiotics since they can mess with the gut flora. Your bun will come around but it may take a few days or so. Just keep up the feeding and offer greens and lotsa love Good luck with the small syringes. Remember to carve the hole bigger if the food won't suck in. Let me know how it goes. and sending lotsa vibes to you and your bun.

Thanks! I hope the pain goes away soon. I hate seeing him this way.

Through the sinuses?! Ouch! I thought Yuki also had that problem in October because he kept doing this sniffling thing, but it turned out to be a bacteria infection that cleared up with depocillin. But the last x-ray showed the tooth roots growing dangerously close to his eye. He has way more problems on the left side than the right.

I'm going to feed him 20ml for the night since he hasn't eaten anything today. I hope it'll last him through the night, and that he'll start eating on his own. I'm going to use the bigger syringe tonight, then change to the 1ml one when I can lower his dose to 10ml.

How is you little guy today?