Bunny not eating, no blockage or gas

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 4sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 10 months ago by LBJ10.

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- 04/19/2020 at 1:43 AM
  Changmi
  Participant
  5 posts
  My rabbit is usually very playful and energetic. She’s also greedy for food and will push her sister out of the way sometimes to get to it.
  
  Today, however, she hasn’t eaten, and she’s just been hiding in the corner. She isn’t hunched up but she’s also just sitting still and not lounging/playing as normal.
  
  I took her to the vet and they said she has no blockage or bloating from gas. They took her blood, but the blood results won’t get back until Tuesday.
  
  I’m not sure what to do in the meantime or what the problem could be. The vet seemed to think she was just being lazy or scared her for a bit, so they said I shouldn’t need to force feed her and she should be fine soon. But she’s NEVER acted like this, and now she hasn’t eaten or drunk water for 8 hours.
  
  Does anyone have any experience with this? What should I do? Because of COVID there are no other vets open, and my vet won’t open again until Monday. Emergency vets in my area don’t treat rabbits, so they aren’t an option either. My rabbit won’t even eat her favorite treats and I don’t know how to help her or what could be wrong.
- 04/19/2020 at 10:42 AM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17228 posts
  The absence of large gas bubbles on an x-ray do not necessarily rule out gastric distress. It has been awhile since you posted this. How is she doing now? Is she still hunched? What about pressing her belly to the floor (looks like a push-up)?
  
  If you think she has gas, you can try getting things moving by massaging her stomach. You can also try baby gas drops (simethicone). There is a debate about its effectiveness, but it does seem to help some bunnies.
- 05/02/2020 at 6:51 PM
  Changmi
  Participant
  5 posts
  Update to anyone who reads this later with the same problem: After x-rays, bloodwork, urine testing, and fecal testing, there was nothing wrong. However, my bunny did have to be taken to an emergency vet after the first one because she was still in shock, and she got hypothermia. She was also refusing to eat, and I ended up having to force feed her critical care for a few days following the visit to the emergency vet.
  
  Since all the tests came back negative, both vets seemed to think my bunny just picked up on my stress lately (because of COVID and everything going on) and basically had a panic attack from stress.
- 05/02/2020 at 7:47 PM
  Bella The Bunny
  Participant
  15 posts
  Oh my goodness, I didn’t know they could pick up on stress.
- 05/02/2020 at 7:55 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17228 posts
  Thanks for the update. I hope your bunny is doing better now. 🙂
  
  Stress can certainly cause some bunnies to have GI upset. I’m glad there was nothing seriously wrong. If something like this happens again, it will probably be worth looking into further. If you know what triggers your bunny, then you can try to prevent stressful situations. Different bunnies have different things that soothe or calm them, so you might have to do some experimenting (if this becomes an ongoing problem).
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