Rabbit was off food and is now only producing small poos

Hi,

I am new here so please be gentle! Also, this might be long, but I wanted to get everything down

We have two neutered males, 18 months old who live outside all year. They have 24hr access to a large run and hutch and then have access to the garden during day light to forage (read destroy) as they like. They have pellets in the morning and veggies at night when we put them away. There is fresh hay available at all times.

On Wednesday last week (15th Jan) Blossom (French lop x) had a few pellets from his bowl and then went to hide at the back of the hutch. This is complete out of character for him. He will normally try and throw the bowls at us, get impatient and then eat all the pellets and then start on his 'brothers'. He was out foraging during the day although a bit more subdued and only had a small amount of veggies at night.

Thursday morning was similar, so my husband took him to the vet Thursday pm. The vet said he looked fine and there was nothing obviously wrong. Teeth are fine, mouth is fine, belly felt good. He was given a pain killer (not sure which one) and he was sent home with a liquid feed to be made up.

We kept Blossom inside overnight so we could keep an eye on him. He ate probably about half a pack of the feed over 12 hours (a quarter of what he should be eating per day) and drank a little bit out of a bowl, but no hay.

He went outside on the Friday and has been out since as I was worried about him overheating inside.

Since then, he has been foraging, eating some pellets, and eating some veggies (not as much as normal) but he has been more sleepy during the day. He seems to be moving fine around the garden.

He is weeing and pooing, but his poos are very little and misshapen.

I also don't think that he is drinking a lot, although they have both always drunk less than it is suggested they should and I think this is because of the amount they forage so get quite a lot of liquid this way.

I have been trying add dried mixed herbs to the hay to encourage him to eat more, but I don't think he is having a lot.

My question is - are the misshapen poos ok? It is a sign that he is still recovering, or do we need to intervene? should i give him a syringe feed, or water by syringe. Should i find more fresh grass for him to eat so he is getting the fibre and the water?


Any help appreciated.

Hi there and welcome to the forum

It sounds like your bun has had a gut slowdown, which can lead to gut stasis. It's good that he's passing some poos and eating a bit for himself. It's not unusual for them to be smaller and misshapen initially following a gut slowdown but they should usually improve within a few days once the gut is working normally again.

Did the vet give you any gut stimulants to administer as well as the pain meds? The usual practice is to give a rabbit going into stasis pain meds and gut stimulants (usually a combination of emeprid/metaclop and zantac or cisapride). These would normally be given over the course of a few days at home. In my experience, vets will also give you a bottle of the pain medication metacam to go alongside the gut meds. Incidentally, a lot of vets will give rabbits an injection of vetergesic as the pain med when you take them in. Vetergesic is an opiate which could explain why he was so sleepy.

In addition to that, you may also need to syringe feed for a few days until he's eating normally for himself again. It's also a good idea to try and keep tempting him with his favourite foods.

If he's still not "right" I would advise getting him seen by the vet again, and to ask for metacam and the gut meds to administer yourself at home.

Recovery from a gut slowdown/ stasis can vary. Sometimes they recover very quickly (within a few hours) and sometimes they need supportive care for a few days until they're back to normal.

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Thanks for this, we weren't given any gut stimulants. He was very sleepy that first night when we got him back - found his quite corner where the floor is warmer due to the radiator pipes and stayed put.

I will give him some more syringe feed tonight and try and get him interested in more water as well.

Smallgingerone said:

Thanks for this, we weren't given any gut stimulants. He was very sleepy that first night when we got him back - found his quite corner where the floor is warmer due to the radiator pipes and stayed put.

I will give him some more syringe feed tonight and try and get him interested in more water as well.

Click to expand...

good luck. I hope he improves soon.

Smallgingerone said:

Thanks for this, we weren't given any gut stimulants. He was very sleepy that first night when we got him back - found his quite corner where the floor is warmer due to the radiator pipes and stayed put.

I will give him some more syringe feed tonight and try and get him interested in more water as well.

Click to expand...

If the pain killer he was given was Buprenorphine (AKA Vetergesic/Buprecare) then that would account for his 'sleepiness'. Buprenorphine is an opiate and can cause marked sedation.

Did the Vet check Blossom's ears ? Ear pain can cause inappetance and consequent gut slowdown / gut stasis. It is not possible to obtain a view of 100% of a Rabbit's oral cavity whilst the Rabbit is awake. So Dental problems might be an issue



http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/Rabbit_dentistry.pdf

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm

How is blossom now ?

Ok, so I tried him with a some cucumber which he normally loves which he ate some of. I thought it might be a good way of getting water in to him, which went slightly better than the syringe feed!

He took about 10ml of the syringe feed (with quite a lot of fighting) before putting up an even bigger fight so I have left it for now. I didnt want to stress him too much. Kind of figure that if he puts up that much of a fight he must have something in him.

He still seems subdued, but I think I saw a slightly bigger poo come out while he was inside being syringe fed so maybe he has started to take more on. I will check the litter trays in the morning.

It is reassuring when they start getting feisty!

I really hope he's feeling better by the morning.

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I hope he is feeling better soon. I would take him to the vets again if this continues. It’s important that the vet is a rabbit savvy exotics vet. Sending lots of vibes xx

Quick update - I tried more syringe feed last night, and he fought all the way and nothing went in. This morning I gave him about 2ml before he went to hide in a cupboard, but he didn't seem bothered about his pellets.

He is outside at the minute and runs away from my husband every time he sees the syringe (he's not daft!). I have been feeling his tummy every time I pick him up - feels slightly squishy, not hard or lumpy and he is not reacting in pain at all.

I will check on output later when i get home from work.

Jack's-Jane said:

If the pain killer he was given was Buprenorphine (AKA Vetergesic/Buprecare) then that would account for his 'sleepiness'. Buprenorphine is an opiate and can cause marked sedation.

Did the Vet check Blossom's ears ? Ear pain can cause inappetance and consequent gut slowdown / gut stasis. It is not possible to obtain a view of 100% of a Rabbit's oral cavity whilst the Rabbit is awake. So Dental problems might be an issue

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/Rabbit_dentistry.pdf

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm

How is blossom now ?

Click to expand...

These all happened to me.
Bunnies hide their pain, plus may be painful to eat foods requiring grinding motion.
Good luck.