New bunny hasn’t peed yet?

[Candle]

So I just got a new rabbit around 7pm, last night. It’s 10:50AM and I’ve only found like 5 poop pellets and no pee so far. Do I need to be concerned or is she just scared? 

She was just an outside hutch rabbit before so I’m sure this whole change is very overwhelming. I haven’t seen her drink yet But again, we didn’t get home until around 9 and went to bed at 10:30ish so it’s hard to tell. 

She’s nibbling on her hay a bit, I gave her some kale and she ate some of that, green lettuce and she ate a tiny bit but I don’t know why she isn’t eating more. She’s a FAT bunny. do you think she was fed just pellets?

Any suggestions or ideas? I don’t want to upset her stomach with new veggies but I kind of want to snap it back into working right? I covered the lettuce in water so any of that that she eats will have at least some water but yeah.. What do I do for now?

[Bam]

Thank you for taking in this rabbit.

I’d offer her some pellets. If a bunny hasn’t eaten in that period of time, anything she eats, even treats, will be better than nothing. If she won’t eat, I’d be inclined to syringe-feed her some pellet slurry. As you know they must have food in their tums all the time. The fact that she’s chubby is another risk, if an over-weight bun goes on a crash diet, she starts releasing to much of her body fat into her bloodstream and it kind of clogs the liver up, so the liver cells can’t function properly. This is called hepatotoxicity and it’s why you should never put a pudgy bun on a crash diet, always taper down the amount of food and make weight loss slow but steady.

High fiber vegs like dandelion and parsley and cilantro are less likely to cause tummy upset than “meatier” vegs like kale and cabbages or even lettuces. Hay is of course the best thing. Is she used to getting hay? Ideally you should start by giving her the food she’s used to getting and then slowly make adjustments towards a healthier diet once she’s settled in.

[Candle]

Thanks! I got in touch with the original owner. She was fed hay, grass, pellets, carrots and apples so I gave her access to pellets, as well as the hay and got some bits of carrot too. She enjoyed the carrot and is slowly working on the pellets and hay. Thankfully she peed now Which made me really happy. she still hasn’t really pooped but since she’s eating I’m less concerned now. I DID see her lick herself and grab a pellet of poop from her butt just to munch on which was kind of gross. But yeah, not a lot. However she’s been sitting in her litterbox for about 20 minutes now not doing much so I’m leaving her alone and hoping she’ll go.

[Candle]

SHE POOPED, SHE POOPED, SHE POOPED

[Q8bunny]

I know I’m late to all this, but I love your last post.
No one except a fellow bunny parent will ever understand how obsessed we are with poops and how happy it makes us to see a bun producing quality raisins.

[Bam]

Totally second Q8, sorry I didn’t see this sooner. POOOOOOP!!!!! My Yohio had a bit of tummy trouble yesterday and when he finally made 4 perfect round beautiful poops I must admit I did a little happy-dance =)

[Candle]

She does seem to have pretty strange poops though. Even when I saw her in her cage where I got her from they seem really small and dark. Kind of moist. Definitely nothing like my other rabbit. I’m assuming it has to do with a different/not proper diet and it will change in time. hopefully

[Bam]

It’s very likely due to a diet with too little fiber. Encourage hay-eating, fresh grass is great, cut back gradually on carrot and apple. Carrots are often not well-tolerated by buns and have a lot of sugar so should only be given as a treat – but for now, of course, while she’s adjusting, you don’t have to take all carrot away since she seems to be enjoying it so much and you want her to feel that her new home is a great place =)

A bunny tummy needs some time to adjust to a healthier diet, the gut microbiota has to adjust to more fiber, that doesn’t happen overnight.

[MiNinoJack]

Posted By Candle on 7/06/2016 6:43 PM

I DID see her lick herself and grab a pellet of poop from her butt just to munch on which was kind of gross. 

This is completely normal and she needs to do this for proper digestion and nutrient extraction. Look up cecotropes. There is a lot of info on here and in the bunny info world. My bun does this usually while sleeping and I think its kind of cute, but I’m immune to bunny poop at this point. No longer gross to me!

Glad to hear she pooped! 

[Candle]

Haha good to know. I’ve honestly Never caught my other rabbit doing anything like that. I’ve never seen him poop like that, I’ve never seen him munch on poop. I heard rabbits ate their own poop but didn’t believe it because he doesn’t seem to lol. Unless it’s while I’m asleep I guess.

[Q8bunny]

Rabbits do all kinds of gnarly things while their hoomans sleep.

[Author]

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