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Tilting head when eating 2-10: feeling better =)

I am sorry your vet was not kinder. Keeping Casper eating bunny safe food is the best way to prevent GI stasis, even if he is not eating much hay. There are many greens bunnies can have, yet some bunnies are fussy like my Raven, so be prepared to try new ones for dinner when Casper decides you should eat the ones you thought he would like.
Sending vibes Casper will want to eat more as his gut motility improves.
 
This is the first time I've heard about hay, because I've heard that hay is always the best choice for your rabbit's digestive system and teeth. But what the vet says is also very important.
You never mind if the vet gets bit at you. The important thing is that you and Casper get the right information and help. Don't mind the vet's bit.
I'm also really sorry about what I heard. :( I expected the vet to be more sensitive. I hope Casper surprises everyone and lives a long, healthy life. Xxxxx :(
Aw, thank you for saying that, KCG. I hope so, too...


I've has a similar attitude before I agree its harsh - i do understand the need to manage expectations but still... I would take some reassurance from being told he can manage without hay though. Hay has been a tiny part of Mouses diet for 2 years - ok her poops aren't great but she can obviously keep going on it. When I've looked in to Mouses diet the fibre is hugely variable is rabbit greens (wild & shop bought). It might be worth looking into what greens he will eat that will also meet his fibre needs as far as possible

Lots of get vibes for Casper :love:
Thank you. :love: It was reassuring to hear that he'll be okay without hay, yeah, and also to hear that Mouse has been okay with only eating a tiny bit. Can I ask, with Mousey not eating much hay, how do you make sure she always has something to eat? Do you just leave her a big pile of food so she can eat when she's hungry during the night, or...? I guess that's easier with a solo bunny where you don't have to worry about the other bunny eating all of it... Thank you for telling me what you found out about the fibre content in greens, too. I'll see if I can find some greens that are high in fibre that he'll eat.


I’m sorry the vet wasn’t more tactful:cry: sending lots of vibes and hugs xx

Will he eat fibafirst sticks or dried forage at all? You might be able to find something similar to readigrass in a horse feed place.
Thank you, Zoobec. :(

He will eat a bit of Fibafirst sticks, but he doesn't love them, so he leaves most of it. He really likes dried forage, though, so I've been able to give him a lot of that. I leave him quite a bit on his table before I go to bed, and in the morning it's all gone, though it's possible that Sophie ate it, too, even though she doesn't get up there as much as he does... Thank you for the tip about the horse feed place, too. :)


I am sorry your vet was not kinder. Keeping Casper eating bunny safe food is the best way to prevent GI stasis, even if he is not eating much hay. There are many greens bunnies can have, yet some bunnies are fussy like my Raven, so be prepared to try new ones for dinner when Casper decides you should eat the ones you thought he would like.
Sending vibes Casper will want to eat more as his gut motility improves.

Thank you, bunny momma. Casper likes pretty much all greens I give him, except for mint, so I think it should be pretty easy to find some stuff he likes. If it's not, though, I'll be prepared to eat them myself, yeah. :lol:
 
I am sorry your vet wasn´t nice:(
How weird to be told it is ok not to eat hay for a rabbit :shock:
I hope he can get by on greens, dried herbs, grass etc. Is there any chance you can get more grass for him? I understand you can´t grow so much yourself but I am thinking have your parents a garden where you can take grass everyday? Or do you live near the countryside so you can get some more grass for him?
Lots of vibes for sweet Casper.
 
Thank you, Shimmer. Those pages look really helpful!


Can you get agrobs ? https://www.agrobs.de/en/rodents/ They sell a lot of horse feeds, I’ve fed forage/chop based ones to the goats and rabbits previously and they went down very well. Agrobs also sent out a lot of samples directly too.
Ooh, I thought I had never heard of them, but when looking through their horse feed pages I saw that they make the Pre Alpin Aspero stuff that I have for Sophie and Casper! I thought it sounded really nice for them, but neither of them likes it much. :( Some of the other things they make look good, though, so I'll see if I can try those or get samples. Thank you for mentioning them. :)


I am sorry your vet wasn´t nice:(
How weird to be told it is ok not to eat hay for a rabbit :shock:
I hope he can get by on greens, dried herbs, grass etc. Is there any chance you can get more grass for him? I understand you can´t grow so much yourself but I am thinking have your parents a garden where you can take grass everyday? Or do you live near the countryside so you can get some more grass for him?
Lots of vibes for sweet Casper.
Thank you for caring and for the vibes, Walli. My parents do have a garden and my mum said yesterday that she'll grow some grass for Casper. :love: I do live near the countryside, too, but I can't think of any grassy places away from dogs and traffic, hm...


He doesn't actually want any grass today. :( He's very quiet and isn't eating much, despite the increased Metacam and the gut motility meds. He seems pretty unhappy. :(
 
With Mouse I just leave her a pile of forage (fresh & or dried) to keep her going at night. I appreciate its much easier for me as I can forage myself. i can't feed her as many pellets as I want as these tend to upset her tum. I'm not entirely sure I know what I'm doing "looking after" Mousey. nothing really goes right or is the ultimate solution to a problem - its just lots of little interventions that kind of help. I don't know if that makes sense.

I'm really sorry Casper is off today & looks sad. I hope he is feeling better & eating more soon
 
Understanding dietary fibre for Rabbits, there are different types of fibre :

https://www.theveterinarynurse.com/review/article/the-importance-of-fibre-in-rabbit-health
Thank you for sharing that, IM. It was interesting to read. So, it's important that rabbits get both soluble and insoluble fibre? I see hay has a lot of both, but most greens have very little, compared to hay. I can't find any vegetable that has more than 1% soluble fibre or more than 3% insoluble fibre, while most hays have over 7% soluble fibre and over 25% insoluble. I'm not really sure how bunnies can get enough fibre just out of vegetables like the vet said. :?


With Mouse I just leave her a pile of forage (fresh & or dried) to keep her going at night. I appreciate its much easier for me as I can forage myself. i can't feed her as many pellets as I want as these tend to upset her tum. I'm not entirely sure I know what I'm doing "looking after" Mousey. nothing really goes right or is the ultimate solution to a problem - its just lots of little interventions that kind of help. I don't know if that makes sense.

I'm really sorry Casper is off today & looks sad. I hope he is feeling better & eating more soon
Ah, I see. That sounds like a good thing to keep her going through the night, lots of forage. I try to do the same with Casper, but I can't be sure Sophie doesn't eat it all. ;) When Tom stopped eating most things because of his dental problems, I had a big dish of his favourite foods on my coffee table, as he'd jump up there but not Sophie. I don't have a place like that with Casper, though, except for the balcony, but I can't leave the balcony door open all day and night... I think what you said about your care for Mousey makes sense, yes. I think you're doing a really good job with her, though. Even though things aren't ideal, she always looks so comfy in your photos, and it always sounds like you're doing the best you can for her.

And thank you. He had a good, long nap and then ate some dried forage and a tiny sunflower, and had a cuddle with Sophie, and he's getting some fresh air on the balcony now, looking a bit happier. :love:
 
Thank you for sharing that, IM. It was interesting to read. So, it's important that rabbits get both soluble and insoluble fibre? I see hay has a lot of both, but most greens have very little, compared to hay. I can't find any vegetable that has more than 1% soluble fibre or more than 3% insoluble fibre, while most hays have over 7% soluble fibre and over 25% insoluble. I'm not really sure how bunnies can get enough fibre just out of vegetables like the vet said. :?



Ah, I see. That sounds like a good thing to keep her going through the night, lots of forage. I try to do the same with Casper, but I can't be sure Sophie doesn't eat it all. ;) When Tom stopped eating most things because of his dental problems, I had a big dish of his favourite foods on my coffee table, as he'd jump up there but not Sophie. I don't have a place like that with Casper, though, except for the balcony, but I can't leave the balcony door open all day and night... I think what you said about your care for Mousey makes sense, yes. I think you're doing a really good job with her, though. Even though things aren't ideal, she always looks so comfy in your photos, and it always sounds like you're doing the best you can for her.

And thank you. He had a good, long nap and then ate some dried forage and a tiny sunflower, and had a cuddle with Sophie, and he's getting some fresh air on the balcony now, looking a bit happier. :love:

That's really kind of you to say - she doesn't seem to want to give up yet so we'll carry on muddling through til she's had enough (I hope I can tell when that time comes)

That article on fibre makes good sense of why Mouses poops are never that brilliant. Rudey didn't eat hay & his poops were rubbish too.

You could do with a wooden box with casper sized holes so only he could get in there for extra forage / fresh rations. Joeys first wife was a non food orientated dental bun & I can still remember the stress of trying to address both their dietary needs.

Good to hear Casper is looking brighter now & enjoying Sophie cuddles :love:
 
That's really kind of you to say - she doesn't seem to want to give up yet so we'll carry on muddling through til she's had enough (I hope I can tell when that time comes)

That article on fibre makes good sense of why Mouses poops are never that brilliant. Rudey didn't eat hay & his poops were rubbish too.

You could do with a wooden box with casper sized holes so only he could get in there for extra forage / fresh rations. Joeys first wife was a non food orientated dental bun & I can still remember the stress of trying to address both their dietary needs.

Good to hear Casper is looking brighter now & enjoying Sophie cuddles :love:
I hope she'll let you know when the time is there, and I also hope she'll be happy and comfortable for a long time yet.

A wooden box with Casper-sized holes is a great idea! I bet that would work. I'll look into that. And, yes, it's difficult when both bunnies have different dietary needs.

Thank you. :love:


I hope he will continue to feel better, topping up the vibes xx
Thank you, Zoobec. :love:
 
While we want to give our bunny friends ideal diets, that is not always possible, so we do our best. Sending vibes.
 
Casper isn't doing very well today. :( He's had a few pellets, and a tiny bit of greens/grass, but mostly he doesn't want to eat anything I'm offering him. His poops are smaller than normal, too, and still misshapen, despite being on both Cisapride and Emeprid. I've given him a dish of syringe feed, but he's not interested. I'll ask if my parents can buy him some baby food; maybe he'd like that...
 
Im sorry he's not had much today. Do you have some fruit you can blend?

We often use banana or apple baby food which is essentially just blended or mashed with water

Or a nugget mush, nuggets soaked in warm water and then mushed up. We did that then mixed it with 50% syringe feed and Rodney seemed to enjoy that. They seem to like the smell of warm nuggets.

How is Casper for syringe feeding? It sounds like you might need to support him with that on his bad days.



Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
 
Some whole fruits could work I think. when J&B are poorly I give them little chunks of pear which they love & seems like a little energy boost. you could maybe add tiny bits of chopped up pear or mushed banana to moistened nuggets. If mine are proving difficult to tempt i "season it " too - dried herbs, sprinkle of fenugreek. You'll have to get your dad to raid his spice cupboards & fruit bowl. Poor boyo:( - I really hope its just an off day
 
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