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Hello,
This is my bunny Schmoo, he is a Lionhead but I’m not sure from what breeds (he has a faint brown stripe on his back, tail and circles around his eyes). He has never been much of an eater and his droppings have always been smaller then that of my Holland Lop female. He is 7 months old now and my first bunny. His diet consists of Meadow Hay (for some reason I can’t find Timothy here and a dry food mix Beaphar XtraVital (14% Fiber, 15% Protein, 3% Fat and 0.94% Calcium) and the occasional fruit treat. He has about 5h of play time each day.]
Ten days ago he was neutered but unfortunately the best “exotic” animal vet in my area isn’t that experienced with rabbits so there where problems with the recovery which where mostly the result of the collar. He didn’t eat for almost two days after the surgery save a few small bits of hey on the second day and I had to syringe him water for the most part. His droppings where the size of rice and he was a bit dehydrated but didn’t go into GI stasis. The collar was meant for cats and small dogs so I had to shorten it considerably so he could eat and drink, the stitches external with no glue so he had to wear it and he did for 3 days till he took it off early in the morning (pulled one stitch out but there where no problems, the collar was on and off for 3 more days). On the third day I took a risk and fed him two leafs of Lettuce to get his appetite up and he liked it very much. After the first 48h he was never really depressed (expect the collar) and had some play time each day.
Now he is “almost” back to normal but I’m worried he still isn’t eating and drinking as much as he should. Before the surgery he had almost 4 Pounds. He is drinking about 100-150ml of water each day, eating about 0.8 Oz of food each day + some hey and I give him a leaf or two of red or normal Lettuce. I think this is on the minimum limit for a bunny of his size and I would like him to consume more. During his play time he is very active (running around, shredding cardboard, being silly, Binky’s) but he is in his cage he sits and sleeps in a relaxed position most of the time and looks cute.
After the surgery he seems to be very picky about the pellets and is almost the polar opposite of my Lop (they are not bonded yet but do live in cages next to each other and I have to moderate her so she eats her cecotropes (she is 3 months old). So how can i improve his food and water consumption?
Thank you!
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His food consumption seem to be improving and I’m seeing him eat more and (well what goes in…
). His water intake is more or less unchanged so ill buy another bowl for water in addition to his bottle and see if that does the trick. There is one in the room but I notice that when his play time is over and he goes in his cage for dinner after he goes to his bottle starts drinking (one or two licks) and does a flop (maybe too much hard work for now). RabbitPam,
I instructed my vet do check all his teeth and trim his nails when he was still under after the surgery. She said that his teeth are in very good shape but it might be the gums as you said. Indeed he is and if I tell him that he will start grooming himself. When I lay down on the floor with him occasionally he groom, pause and look at me almost like he is asking for a compliment, resume and again
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Posted By RabbitPam on 03/28/2010 04:59 AM
(perhaps with more pix to show us as well, hint hint.)While I hate taking photos indoors, bad light means either blurred or yellow pictures some do turn alright after some photo shop restoration and I don’t want to use flash on them.
A picture of him when he was 3 months old.
Another one on the box.
Drinking water yesterday.
Licking the water off his mustache.
Now this is my Holland Lop named Pika because she was very small when I got her and had a white spot on her tail. Pika translates to Spot in English but I think the word changes its “gender” in translation. The spot on her tail is disappearing as she is growing.
She is very exploratory.
Drinking water. Huge ears act as eye protection so I can use flash
And here she is making a mess with some pine wood.
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Its the same wood I used to build his hide box. Should be untreated but it is from a type of store you mentioned. It has no paint or preserving chemicals asked the salesman and he said its untreated, its sold under “Eco wood” (but what I don’t get is how chopping down a tree is ecologically friendly
). The Binding material is that white wood glue but its used in such miniature amounts that I cant spot any residue.
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