Rabbit Depression? =:-(

leannev · Jan 20, 2016

I wonder if anyone has experienced similar issues.

Back last month, one of my bunnies, Trigger, was attacked by a fox that had crept into our garden when we were having dinner. We thought she had been killed, but turned out she was playing dead. We rushed her to vet and sadly her heart stopped after a sedative to calm her.

Her mate, Manny was not himself the next few days, which we expected. We only let him run around supervised, and also started letting him come inside the house so he can get more used to us (they were joined at the hip)

Now six weeks later, all of a sudden he is just sitting in the corner of his hutch, not eating his hay/pellets and hardly using his litter tray. He has been acting like this for a week now, and quite worried we took him to our vets who said he had lost 1KG but could only give him a thorough check if he was sedated, because of him being so jumpy. Which he can only do once he has had food/water. He gave us a syringe of medicine and a load of Critical Care (not nice to syringe feed a 5 KG bunny)

I am very concerned about his welfare, with no pooing and barely eating.

Please can anyone tell me if they have experienced anything like this? I have heard they can get seasonal depression, but lack of appetite and massive change in toilet habits?

Your help and advice is greatly appreciated - thank you xx

Shimmer · Jan 20, 2016

I would suggest going back to the vet. 6 weeks is a decent time to get used to living on his own - although there will obviously be things he misses - so I would suspect there is something else going on if he is suddenly not eating. My instinct would be to offer a warm spot (eg snugglesafe heatpad) - both for comfort in place of his partner, and if he is poorly he may be struggling to keep warm. Also pain relief - sometimes if there is nothing obvious, a short course of pain relief (eg metacam) can improve things - at least it gives a chance for you to find out what else is going on, and if he feels more comfortable, he may eat and be more willing to be examined.

I've got a similar situation here. Vimto lost his partner a month ago and is getting very picky with his food. He has other issues (dental a few days before Angel died; struggling with grooming and just getting comfortable with 3 legs now he is on his own). I am going out for forage daily (dandelions and bramble leaves) to get him to eat more fibre as he just doesn't do hay. He needs another partner, but he needs to be fit enough to deal with the bonding first. Bit of a vicious circle.

tonibun · Jan 20, 2016

I am sorry you lost one of your rabbits. I expect your bunny is missing the company of his friend, especially with the colder weather now, he also might be frightened that the fox might return. Do you think his teeth might be troubling him - does he eat a good portion of hay every day? As for actual deprression, I have had a couple of rabbits come in looking "down" but it isn't normal. Rabbits tend to be lively and bright. Maybe he has some health problem coming on. Have you thought about getting him another friend. This might be what would cheer him up. The rabbits are asll super hungry now the cold weather is here, so he should have a normal appetite. Hope you get the problem sorted out.

MightyMax · Jan 20, 2016

leannev said:
I wonder if anyone has experienced similar issues.

Back last month, one of my bunnies, Trigger, was attacked by a fox that had crept into our garden when we were having dinner. We thought she had been killed, but turned out she was playing dead. We rushed her to vet and sadly her heart stopped after a sedative to calm her.

Her mate, Manny was not himself the next few days, which we expected. We only let him run around supervised, and also started letting him come inside the house so he can get more used to us (they were joined at the hip)

Now six weeks later, all of a sudden he is just sitting in the corner of his hutch, not eating his hay/pellets and hardly using his litter tray. He has been acting like this for a week now, and quite worried we took him to our vets who said he had lost 1KG but could only give him a thorough check if he was sedated, because of him being so jumpy. Which he can only do once he has had food/water. He gave us a syringe of medicine and a load of Critical Care (not nice to syringe feed a 5 KG bunny)

I am very concerned about his welfare, with no pooing and barely eating.

Please can anyone tell me if they have experienced anything like this? I have heard they can get seasonal depression, but lack of appetite and massive change in toilet habits?

Your help and advice is greatly appreciated - thank you xx

I'm so sorry for your loss

Yes, rabbits can certainly get depressed, and it can go on for quite a while. However, during that time their immune system gets significantly lowered, particularly in cold weather, and other problems and issues creep in.

It would be wise, as soon as your vet thinks there is enough weight on him, to have a full exam at the vet. It's a shame he has to have sedation for a check up, as I can understand you would be reluctant for this with what happened to Trigger.

I do hope you are able to get things sorted soon. If nothing springs to the vets mind (eg dental, stasis ... then perhaps consider a blood profile?)

Jack's-Jane · Jan 20, 2016

leannev said:
I wonder if anyone has experienced similar issues.

Back last month, one of my bunnies, Trigger, was attacked by a fox that had crept into our garden when we were having dinner. We thought she had been killed, but turned out she was playing dead. We rushed her to vet and sadly her heart stopped after a sedative to calm her.

Her mate, Manny was not himself the next few days, which we expected. We only let him run around supervised, and also started letting him come inside the house so he can get more used to us (they were joined at the hip)

Now six weeks later, all of a sudden he is just sitting in the corner of his hutch, not eating his hay/pellets and hardly using his litter tray. He has been acting like this for a week now, and quite worried we took him to our vets who said he had lost 1KG but could only give him a thorough check if he was sedated, because of him being so jumpy. Which he can only do once he has had food/water. He gave us a syringe of medicine and a load of Critical Care (not nice to syringe feed a 5 KG bunny)

I am very concerned about his welfare, with no pooing and barely eating.

Please can anyone tell me if they have experienced anything like this? I have heard they can get seasonal depression, but lack of appetite and massive change in toilet habits?

Your help and advice is greatly appreciated - thank you xx

I am sorry for your loss of Trigger.

With Manny, you say he is not pooing. Do you mean there is no output at all ?

I understand that the Vet was unable to carry out a very comprehensive examination, but did/he she rule out gastro-intestinal stasis ? When a Rabbit stops eating, for whatever reason, their GI tract motility slows right down and gut stasis occurs. This can become very serious.

http://www.vettimes.co.uk/article/managing-gi-stasis-in-rabbits/

I am wondering if what you meant about the Vet not being able to examine Manny unless Manny is sedated, that you are actually referring to an oral/dental examination as opposed to a basic examination of Manny's body condition, abdomen, gut/heart and lung sounds etc ?

The other thing that needs to be considered is the return of Mr Fox. Once a Fox knows Rabbits are present they WILL keep returning, whether you actually see the Fox or not. So the presence of a predator may have triggered a fear response in Manny (understandably) and fear/stress can induce GI tract slow down/gut stasis.

Could you have Manny indoors to live as a House Rabbit. As he is currently unwell in some way, has lost a significant amount of weight and has been bereaved he really is unlikely to do too well on his own as an outdoor Rabbit. Especially as it is also so cold at the moment.

Are you confident that your Vet is 'Rabbit Savvy' ?

MiniC · Jan 21, 2016

I agree with everything above, these guys know what they're talking about! I'm also really sorry to hear of your loss.

Once your vet has given a full exam and hopefully ruled out any digestive problems, make sure you have some of his favourite food to hand, some good hay and some new toys. He may not be interested, but he will hopefully start to nibble if it's special. Bringing him inside to spend more time with you (and make sure you give him as much time as you can) would hopefully make him feel less lonely. A new friend will also cheer him up no end! But this advice is an afterthought to making sure his health is in order just now. This is what we had to do to bring our bun round...

Hope everrything goes well!

Rabbit Depression? =:-(

leannev

New Kit

Shimmer

Warren Veteran

tonibun

Wise Old Thumper

MightyMax

Banned

Jack's-Jane

Wise Old Thumper

MiniC

Wise Old Thumper

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