Getting bunny to eat more

[bellebones]

Noticed yesterday that my rabbit was not really eating his food. He’s almost 7 and is given unlimited hay, pellets, and fresh greens daily. He also gets a treat every morning. Usually, he eats two bowls full of greens a day. Yesterday he didn’t touch them and only ate half of his treat.

I was able to get him to the vet this morning and she suspects that GI stasis might be starting to occur with him. He was given fluids (was slightly dehydrated), an injection and I brought him home with Reglan and was told to give him some pineapple juice once a day. He’s shedding like crazy right now and even with twice daily brushing, I have still found the string of pearls in his litter box. She suspects that he might have a build up of ingested fur, hence the pineapple juice. She’s also running a full blood panel on him to check for infection, kidney function, etc. His teeth were all fine and there are no visible sores. His lungs were clear and I haven’t heard any sneezing from him. Temperature was normal.

He’s home with me. I’ve given him the first dose of Reglan and he’s eaten about four cilantro leaves and a piece of spinach. He also ate one bite of an apple slice. He’s showing no interest in his hay, but did manage to find one piece of paper under the couch. He chewed up a small bit of the paper before I was able to get it away from him.

Is there a typical time span that it takes Reglan to work in? Are there other food approaches I can try to encourage him to eat? I’ve done hand feeding and he’s also gone to his bowl independently to eat a piece of cilantro. I have Critical Care and can force feed him as needed, but obviously would prefer if that wasn’t the approach i had to take. I’d much rather him be interested in his greens/hay.

He is hiding from me at the moment. I think he thinks I’m going to be giving him more syringe medication, which he hates. Otherwise, he is alert and has been active.

[tobyluv]

The pineapple juice probably won’t help with blockages of fur. That’s kind of old school thinking. And since pineapple or pineapple juice has natural sugar, you don’t want to be giving a lot of it to a rabbit. Maybe some new varieties or brands of hay would be more enticing to your rabbit. Hay is really the best thing to get his GI tract moving. Trying some different greens or herbs might be helpful too.

Before you resort to force feeding the Critical Care, you can mix some up and even add a little jarred baby food or canned (plain) pumpkin and see if your rabbit will eat it from a dish or off of your fingers.

Are you giving him any infant simethicone drops?  If he has gas, the drops are very helpful.  They have no side effects and are just expelled from the body, so there is no harm in giving them. 

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