stopped eating pellets and drinking water

[graycapitolium]

Hi everyone – sorry, this is kind of a saga…

Back in November, Minerva started with a runny nose and sneezing.  Her vet diagnosed a URI and put her on baytril.  As she was finishing the baytril (and doing much better) she went to an HRS volunteer’s house to be bonded with another female rabbit, Tippy.

The bonding was unsuccessful and when she came home, she had apparently lost interest in Orchard grass hay and began to eat only Timothy.  Then she slowed down eating her pellets so that I would give her 1/4 c and that would last two days instead of one, then three days, then I just stopped giving them to her because she was not eating them at all.

Suspecting that she had tooth issues, we took her to her vet at the end of December and he wanted to sedate her and do xrays and do a more thorough exam and then if needed anesthetize her and file her teeth.  We made an appointment for Jan 13.  Everything apparently went fine and she had her lower teeth filed.  She came home that afternoon.  Once she had stopped being groggy, I noticed that she was not drinking her water anymore and still was not eating pellets, one of the reasons we got her teeth done.  I tried apple juice in her water and giving her a bottle in addition to her bowl (she took a few sips from the bottle, bit only once).  She was eating Timothy hay and all of her greens just fine.  She was still urinating but her poops were very small for her.

I took her to another rabbit savvy vet last Thursday as her normal vet was not available.  She suggested that maybe she was not eating the pellets or drinking because her jaw was sore from being held open for the filing and that would need more of an up/down motion than a size to side motion which was used for hay and veggies (?).  She prescribed sub-q fluids twice a day, meloxicam 1x/day, and daily simethicone.  Which we have done, but we have seen no change in drinking, eating of pellets, or size of poops.  I called again today and was told to stop the sub-q and pain meds but to supplement with Critical Care as she does not seem to be getting enough fiber since her poops have not gotten bigger.

I am very frustrated and do not know what to do at this point. If she is getting enough moisture via her greens, that’s fine, I guess, but the change in behavior is upsetting since she seems to have decided almost overnight that she doesn’t like pellets anymore and she keeps eliminating foods from her diet, including all but the sweetest treats and the pinch of oats I give her.

Has anyone had anything like this happen before?  Did you get a diagnosis?  Were you able to resolve the lack of drinking and boost poop size?  Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks, Sarah

[Sarita]

My rabbits drink very little – I think that’s normal for indoor rabbits – they regulate their drinking. They do seem to drink more when they have the dental problems as I think it soothes their mouth.

I’ve always found as well that pellets are the last food that rabbits eat after they recover from anything.

I think if she is eating her greens and hay she should be fine as that should be the majority of her diet anyway. Probably the sweets and oats aren’t helping but I know no matter what I like to give treats to my rabbits.

[Author]

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