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Rabbit not eating. Update: Unfortunate news :(

antikewl

New Kit
Hi there

I haven't posted in this forum for a good few years so I'd better say hello again! :)

A couple of nights ago Keiko, our female mini lop, didn't eat her pellets as usual but ate fine about an hour later. And then ate her veg too without problems.

The following day she ate fine.

Tonight, she ate a couple of pellets then refused the rest and has been sitting around looking a bit sorry for herself. I gave her a bowl of water about half an hour ago which she drank quite a bit of, but still refuses to eat any more pellets.

I tried offering her some greens, which were refused, but she was quite happy to eat some basil.

Her brother, Mochi, is eating just fine.

Has anyone else encountered unusual feeding like this? If she continues I'll take her to the vet in the morning.

Oh, one other thing that may be upsetting her is that we have a 4 month old baby who has just started to emit a wonderfully high shrill. It sounds very much like a rabbit distress scream. As Mochi is deaf (or certainly hard of hearing) he's unlikely to be affected by loud noises but Keiko would definitely hear it.

All the best

Trevor.
 
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will she eat pellets if you mush some up in a splash of boiling water (soak 5 mins to cool)? - this would suggest it's her teeth, although it could well be the baby making her nervy - it's good she's drinking plenty anyway as that will help if it's her tummy :)
 
It could be a number of things but teeth are the normal first port of call.

I would take her to the vets ASAP and certainly if she has stopped pooping take her to the emergency vets as gut stassis may have set in. Hope she pics up soon.
 
As far as I can tell, yes she is pooping and peeing. I'll have to keep a closer eye as she shares a litter tray with her brother. There are no signs of diarrhoea or anything unusual.

They both had a check up a couple of weeks ago and their teeth were fine then but it's possible.

Funny she should eat basil and not greens though.
 
sometimes even if they are poorly they can just manage a favourite morsel I guess its easier to chew than greens too if it is her teeth.
 
well sometimes they just have the tiniest spur on a back tooth, and it's easy for the vet to miss - basil most likely tastes more tempting than greens so that might be why she took it? How does your vet examine the back teeth exactly?
 
Thanks for everyone's replies! I just saw her pee, but not quite sure if she pooped or not. Still eating basil, but nothing else.

The vet didn't use any special implements, just opened the mouth at the front to see the incisors, then pulled the cheeks to see the molars. Hard to explain, but kind of the way I've always seen rabbits teeth checked!
 
I am far from being a bunny expert but a vet would normally use an instrument (an otoscope) to look closely at the back teeth. I think this would give a magnified view of the molars. I would think that any small but troublesome spurs would not be picked up with the naked eye.

Maybe a second opinion would be a good idea.
 
I am far from being a bunny expert but a vet would normally use an instrument (an otoscope) to look closely at the back teeth. I think this would give a magnified view of the molars. I would think that any small but troublesome spurs would not be picked up with the naked eye.

Maybe a second opinion would be a good idea.


yes that's right - they use an otiscope with a light on - impossible to see spurs on the inside edge of the back teeth, which would cut into the tongue, just by lifting the cheeks up, so I reckon that's her problem :?
 
Thanks again for everyone's support.

I can't remember if they use a otoscope on the teeth or not. I have a feeling they do now you mention it. I have an appointment this morning so will find out then.

Wish her luck!

t.
 
A quick update. Keiko has been to the vet who saw some very small spurs on her front molars and said there may be more right at the back but wasn't able to say for certain (yes, she did use an otiscope). She also said that her stomach at the front seemed rather full.

Keiko is going under anaesthetic today to have the spurs removed, and will be liquid fed as she hasn't been eating properly. I believe she's also getting baytril and something else i can't remember the name of to try to clear her stomach.
 
Unfortunate news

Keiko's operation to remove the spurs was fine, but the vet wasn't sure that they were large enough to cause a problem so asked me if I'd consent an x-ray of her stomach while she was under as it felt somewhat "doughy". I agreed.

She recovered fine from the anaesthetic but her x-ray revealed a large amount of undigested food. After recovery her health rapidly deteriorated again and she sadly passed away from gut stasis about an hour ago.

I'm now wondering how Mochi, her brother, is going to react to her being missing. He's ok right now but because he didn't actually see her pass away I'm a bit worried he won't understand what's happened to her. :(
 
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