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change in behaviour but still seems ok?! confused bunny owner

hi there! been searching for answers for a few days so thought i'd post so sorry if there is already a thread out there like this!

I have had my bun since november and he has settled in really well, he was neutered around 6 weeks ago also.
He has been molting and seemed ok but about 2 days ago he didn't want to do his usual evening activities, he just kept laying down and lazing. he would sleep and then wake to eat, push his ball for treats to fall out and then go back to lazing and sleeping. he is cleaning himself TOO MUCH!

i'm worried he might be taking in lots of hair but his poops seem to be ok at the moment. this behaviours has carried on the last two days but all day rather than just the evenings. he will have bursts of normality, but excessive cleaning again and then flopping into different positions and just lazing. i'm worried he's sick and hiding it well but he's eating and drinking absolutely fine, luckily!

any help, i've been looking but i must be blind as i'm sure others have had this.

is it possibly because he is molting and it's the temp change? eek!

any help is welcome!
 
hi there! been searching for answers for a few days so thought i'd post so sorry if there is already a thread out there like this!

I have had my bun since november and he has settled in really well, he was neutered around 6 weeks ago also.
He has been molting and seemed ok but about 2 days ago he didn't want to do his usual evening activities, he just kept laying down and lazing. he would sleep and then wake to eat, push his ball for treats to fall out and then go back to lazing and sleeping. he is cleaning himself TOO MUCH!

i'm worried he might be taking in lots of hair but his poops seem to be ok at the moment. this behaviours has carried on the last two days but all day rather than just the evenings. he will have bursts of normality, but excessive cleaning again and then flopping into different positions and just lazing. i'm worried he's sick and hiding it well but he's eating and drinking absolutely fine, luckily!

any help, i've been looking but i must be blind as i'm sure others have had this.

is it possibly because he is molting and it's the temp change? eek!

any help is welcome!

Have you checked his coat for mites ?

His undercarriage for soiling ?

His ears for gunk and/or an offensive smell ?

Has there been any recent changes to his environment or his usual routine ?

Do you have any other Rabbits ?
 
hi there! been searching for answers for a few days so thought i'd post so sorry if there is already a thread out there like this!

I have had my bun since november and he has settled in really well, he was neutered around 6 weeks ago also.
He has been molting and seemed ok but about 2 days ago he didn't want to do his usual evening activities, he just kept laying down and lazing. he would sleep and then wake to eat, push his ball for treats to fall out and then go back to lazing and sleeping. he is cleaning himself TOO MUCH!

i'm worried he might be taking in lots of hair but his poops seem to be ok at the moment. this behaviours has carried on the last two days but all day rather than just the evenings. he will have bursts of normality, but excessive cleaning again and then flopping into different positions and just lazing. i'm worried he's sick and hiding it well but he's eating and drinking absolutely fine, luckily!

any help, i've been looking but i must be blind as i'm sure others have had this.

is it possibly because he is molting and it's the temp change? eek!

any help is welcome!


Hi there and welcome to the Forum :wave:

When a rabbit moults, it takes a lot of energy out of them. If there's nothing wrong with his coat at the moment (e.g. mites etc) then it could be he is using his energy for that.

Is he cleaning any particular part of himself, or just all over?

It could be his gut is slowing down, and this can happen at moulting time also - have you put the heating on differently to normal?

Here's some info if his eating does slow down at all:


http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv/basic
 
Have you checked his coat for mites ?

His undercarriage for soiling ?

His ears for gunk and/or an offensive smell ?

Has there been any recent changes to his environment or his usual routine ?

Do you have any other Rabbits ?


Hi, checked his undercarriage, nothing there, and no mites either.

no changes in routine or environment either

just picked him up and got quite a smell from him which hasn't happened yet! and no no other rabbits
 
hey! thanks!

i thought it might take a lot of energy for him, he's cleaning all over himself, not just one area. i'm worried he's taking too much in. I have a brush for him which i've been using each day since it started. our heating is on three times a day but only for an hour as we are a middle flat so don't need it much. i've tried to air it out today so it isn't too warm for him.

I think his gut is slowing yes as there's less poops today in comparison to yesterday
 
Hi, checked his undercarriage, nothing there, and no mites either.

no changes in routine or environment either

just picked him up and got quite a smell from him which hasn't happened yet! and no no other rabbits



hey! thanks!

i thought it might take a lot of energy for him, he's cleaning all over himself, not just one area. i'm worried he's taking too much in. I have a brush for him which i've been using each day since it started. our heating is on three times a day but only for an hour as we are a middle flat so don't need it much. i've tried to air it out today so it isn't too warm for him.

I think his gut is slowing yes as there's less poops today in comparison to yesterday

(sorry posted this twice as confused at how to respond! )
 
hey! thanks!

i thought it might take a lot of energy for him, he's cleaning all over himself, not just one area. i'm worried he's taking too much in. I have a brush for him which i've been using each day since it started. our heating is on three times a day but only for an hour as we are a middle flat so don't need it much. i've tried to air it out today so it isn't too warm for him.

I think his gut is slowing yes as there's less poops today in comparison to yesterday

(sorry posted this twice as confused at how to respond! )


You're welcome :)

Yes keep an eye out for gut slowdown, and make sure he's eating as much hay as possible, as that will help to move everything along the gut.
 
It might not be this but I took on a rabbit which over-cleaned himself and it turned out to be fleas. They leave black specs on the skin so you would have to part the fur to have a look.
 
It might not be this but I took on a rabbit which over-cleaned himself and it turned out to be fleas. They leave black specs on the skin so you would have to part the fur to have a look.

he's an albino so i'd have noticed :( I have just checked and it's definitely not. thank you though!
 
As others have suggested, moulting could definitely be the cause. Try help your bun out as much as you can, when my rabbits are going through a heavy moult i start by gently pulling at the fur to get rid of any loose bits, you can use a wet hand/brush or rubber glove to provide a bit of friction too to help get rid of loose fur. You could also try a 'furminator' type brush but be careful not to over do it!

Once the moulting has settled, if your bunny still seems a bit quiet then I'd take him to the vets, even if he's eating fine. My rabbits live in our front room and I noticed that one of them wasn't acting his normal self, a lot more quiet than usual. He was eating, drinking, pooing, weeing etc. absolutely fine so no immediate cause for concern, but I knew something was wrong so we took him to the vets and it turned out he had a dental spur. It was very small, the vet couldn't see it when she first looked in his mouth, it was only when they took an X-ray that it showed up so they put him under GA and sorted the tooth out. If we had left it longer to see the vet his spur would have just grown to the point where he didn't want to eat, so I'm glad we got it sorted sooner rather than later :)
 
As others have suggested, moulting could definitely be the cause. Try help your bun out as much as you can, when my rabbits are going through a heavy moult i start by gently pulling at the fur to get rid of any loose bits, you can use a wet hand/brush or rubber glove to provide a bit of friction too to help get rid of loose fur. You could also try a 'furminator' type brush but be careful not to over do it!

Once the moulting has settled, if your bunny still seems a bit quiet then I'd take him to the vets, even if he's eating fine. My rabbits live in our front room and I noticed that one of them wasn't acting his normal self, a lot more quiet than usual. He was eating, drinking, pooing, weeing etc. absolutely fine so no immediate cause for concern, but I knew something was wrong so we took him to the vets and it turned out he had a dental spur. It was very small, the vet couldn't see it when she first looked in his mouth, it was only when they took an X-ray that it showed up so they put him under GA and sorted the tooth out. If we had left it longer to see the vet his spur would have just grown to the point where he didn't want to eat, so I'm glad we got it sorted sooner rather than later :)

Yes, I have known of Rabbits who start to overgroom due to some sort of discomfort unrelated to a ectoparasitic infestation.
 
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As others have suggested, moulting could definitely be the cause. Try help your bun out as much as you can, when my rabbits are going through a heavy moult i start by gently pulling at the fur to get rid of any loose bits, you can use a wet hand/brush or rubber glove to provide a bit of friction too to help get rid of loose fur. You could also try a 'furminator' type brush but be careful not to over do it!

Once the moulting has settled, if your bunny still seems a bit quiet then I'd take him to the vets, even if he's eating fine. My rabbits live in our front room and I noticed that one of them wasn't acting his normal self, a lot more quiet than usual. He was eating, drinking, pooing, weeing etc. absolutely fine so no immediate cause for concern, but I knew something was wrong so we took him to the vets and it turned out he had a dental spur. It was very small, the vet couldn't see it when she first looked in his mouth, it was only when they took an X-ray that it showed up so they put him under GA and sorted the tooth out. If we had left it longer to see the vet his spur would have just grown to the point where he didn't want to eat, so I'm glad we got it sorted sooner rather than later :)

ah thank you. after being so worried last night, i let him sleep for a bit then when i let him roam he was so energetic. i had picked him up earlier that evening and let out a gas so i think that was part of the problem as after that he was bombing it around the house, binkying everywhere. he didn't seem to excited this morning to greet me, he's just had his breakfast and is very energetic again so i'll see how he goes again today!
 
ah thank you. after being so worried last night, i let him sleep for a bit then when i let him roam he was so energetic. i had picked him up earlier that evening and let out a gas so i think that was part of the problem as after that he was bombing it around the house, binkying everywhere. he didn't seem to excited this morning to greet me, he's just had his breakfast and is very energetic again so i'll see how he goes again today!


He sounds like he's doing well, and you are looking after him perfectly :)
 
He sounds like he's doing well, and you are looking after him perfectly :)

Hey! thanks :)

he was better this morning like i said but then before i went out he was sneezing, or coughing? i couldn't work out what it was as he's never done it before! when i got back he greeted me but has been quiet, again eaten ok and poops in cage from when i've been gone are all normal! i'm so worried about him
 
Hey! thanks :)

he was better this morning like i said but then before i went out he was sneezing, or coughing? i couldn't work out what it was as he's never done it before! when i got back he greeted me but has been quiet, again eaten ok and poops in cage from when i've been gone are all normal! i'm so worried about him

Did you see what was he doing immediately before he started sneezing? How long has he been doing it for? Bunnies sometimes sneeze if they get dust/hay/water/fur up their nose but if it's ongoing or there's discharge from the eyes/nose it's worth a vet trip. I'm glad he's still eating and pooping fine :) Apart from the quietness have you seen any other unusual behaviour like teeth grinding or him sitting more hunched up than normal? For now whilst he's not quite himself I'd probably avoid rich/gassy foods like fruit, vegetables and treats and just stick to a small amount of pellets and lots of hay. It sounds like you're doing a great job keeping an eye on him, I'm sure he'll be fine just keep doing what you're doing :)
 
Did you see what was he doing immediately before he started sneezing? How long has he been doing it for? Bunnies sometimes sneeze if they get dust/hay/water/fur up their nose but if it's ongoing or there's discharge from the eyes/nose it's worth a vet trip. I'm glad he's still eating and pooping fine :) Apart from the quietness have you seen any other unusual behaviour like teeth grinding or him sitting more hunched up than normal? For now whilst he's not quite himself I'd probably avoid rich/gassy foods like fruit, vegetables and treats and just stick to a small amount of pellets and lots of hay. It sounds like you're doing a great job keeping an eye on him, I'm sure he'll be fine just keep doing what you're doing :)

Hello! thanks for your response. The past 24 hours have been a turn around, he was ok in the morning yesterday, then in the afternoon he had his sleep as usual and then in the evening he was very energetic again. I've been grooming him lightly about 3 times a day to help him as he's CONSTANTLY doing it because of the molting so I thought I'd help. I think that's made a difference in his energy levels as he was a lot better last night and very loving towards me where he has been quite cold the past few days and just wanted to rest. I'm hoping to continue this and see a change, he's been bouncing around all morning after his breakfast (a small amount of green, hay and a few pellets) so he's seeming a lot happier!
 
How are things going? :wave:



Hey! things are going well, he started getting his energy back and I have been brushing him to help him with the molting. I took him on a trip to my parents which is two hours away and he got there and wasn't even phased by the journey so he's back to his usual cheeky self! his poops were a little small but they're normal again now, I think he had taken in some hair so they were all compacted and knotting in his poops! all is normal now, than you very much for your help!
 
Hey! things are going well, he started getting his energy back and I have been brushing him to help him with the molting. I took him on a trip to my parents which is two hours away and he got there and wasn't even phased by the journey so he's back to his usual cheeky self! his poops were a little small but they're normal again now, I think he had taken in some hair so they were all compacted and knotting in his poops! all is normal now, than you very much for your help!


You're welcome :)

And thanks for such a lovely update :love:
 
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