ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED..I am new to forum!

[TravisSaves]

 Hi everyone,

I have a wonderful 6 year old female bunny named Marshmallow (photo is below). She has had GI Stasis in the past and has had her teeth grinded down by her Vet twice.

For the past 5 days, she has been eating slower than usual. She still eats everything, but at a much slower pace. Furthermore, her poops have been a lot smaller and in a smaller quantity than usual (even though she is still eventually eating everything).

I must add that despite this, she is acting completely normal. She is still jumping out of her cage, jumping on the couches, and running around the apartment.

I have a Vet appointment tomorrow, Wednesday, at 12:30pm.

Anyone have any insight to this? I am lost only due to the fact that she is eating EVERYTHING- just slower than usual. AND she doesn’t appear to be in pain since she is still acting as energetic as ever!

Thanks in advance for your reply!

-Travis

 

[Sarita]

Welcome! She is beautiful. It is possible that it is dental problems again. I would ask the vet to look at her teeth.

My rabbit with molar spur problems acts the same way – I think it’s discomfort and hard to chew but he doesn’t act as if he’s in pain either.

Let us know what your vet says.

[hooty22]

Look at that lap! Holy cow she looks regal. Very pretty bun. Is she also drinking plenty of water? I’m not sure where you live, but in the colder climate areas, our homes are getting warmer because we are kicking on the heat. Just want to make sure she is staying hydrated bc that can lead to small poops too.

[TravisSaves]

Thanks for the comments!

I am lucky- she is quite the pretty little bunny! She is a sweetheart too
Thinking it could be her teeth again would make complete sense- I will definitely let everyone know what the Vet says tomorrow.
And my apartment is the lower level of a house- about half underground. So its never hot in here. It’s never freezing either, but it’s a constant cool temperature. And yes, she seems to be drinking her water normal.

Any other comments/insights are greatly welcome!

[bunnymama]

I agree on both counts – she is beautiful and maybe some sort of dental issue. Please keep us posted.

[MooBunnay]

She is too cute!!! I would have to also agree about the dental problems. If it was something like stasis, she probably would not be eating at all by the this point. I hope that the vet is able to take care of her situation. Does she eat a lot of hay? I think that could help keep her teeth ground down.

[BinkyBunny]

WELCOME!

My bunny Rucy (RIP) used to also have spurs and as they grew she would also slow down (as well as she would sometimes drool) and I knew she needed to go in before her regular scheduled trimming).

I agree with everyone – VERY beautiful gal – That dewlap gives her that regal look!

[jerseygirl]

Welcome here! That is such a sweet picture! I agree teeth are often the culprit and particularly in an older bunny that has had teeth trims before. She may find it uncomfortable eating after a while, has a break then comes back to it. Have you noticed a drop in her hay intake?  IF so, the less fibre may contibute to the smaller poops. It would also point to teeth problems.   If not teeth, maybe a feeling of fullness from ingesting hair? Has she been shedding much lately? 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome! Beutiful eyes on her-she looks like a princess!

Please keep us posted!! I agree-could be teeth or a shed

[TravisSaves]

Thank you to everyone for the replies and love. To answer some questions first: Yes, she does and has been eating her hay. And yes, she has been shedding like crazy! I never thought that maybe hair intake may be a contributing factor.

So, we went to the Vet yesterday. He said Marshmallow felt great (after feeling her abdomen etc), sounded great, and her teeth actually looked fine. I was a bit shocked to hear that the teeth looked fine. He noticed some discharge from her nose though (a common recurring problem of hers). For this, he prescribed 2 weeks of Baytril- this has worked for her in the past.

He also prescribed 5 days worth of Metacam- an anti inflammatory medication which he says should take away any possible discomfort she has. He thinks maybe she has the very very beginning of GI Stasis and I caught it before she stopped eating all together.

He also did blood work as a safety and he called me with the results this morning. He said everything looks great BUT her white blood cells look “a little out of wack”. He said it doesn’t concern him too much but does recommend that I drop off a fresh stool sample ASAP so they can test it and rule out anything serious (which I will be doing today if she uses the bathroom again before he is out of the office).

Basically, he said she may not be eating because a) she does have the runny nose/cold or b) she does have discomfort from the beginning of GI Stasis.

He thinks the stool sampling should come back normal, so fingers crossed for that! Oh, and I hope he is correct in saying her teeth look fine!

All in all, Marshmallow was GREAT last night! She was begging and begging for more and more food which she hadn’t done in 5 days! And this morning, she got very excited when I started pouring her breakfast- something she also hasn’t done in 5 days! She hasn’t eaten much of her breakfast though but I still take her excitement toward the food as a improvement. Oh, and her stool has actually had a more normal look already (not as thin and tiny as it was the past few days).

Again, any comments, replies, or opinions are welcome.

Thanks!

 

(Here is another one of my favorite Marshmallow pictures)

[Sarita]

It sounds to me like you have a very good vet who is covering all the bases. I’m glad Marshmallow is doing better too.

[TravisSaves]

Yay! The fecal exam went great. The Vet said that Marshmallow has “picture perfect poop”!

Hopefully the Metacam and Baytril will make her feel back to normal in no time!

[Jenna, Chubs & Comet]

Haha, yay for perfect poop! (only bunny owners can appreciate this sentiment!)

[MarkBun]

Sometimes when the seasons change, I notice my buns slow down for a few days with their eating habits. Not sure for the reason why but it only lasts a week at most.

[Monkeybun]

*adds marshmallow to the bunnynapping list*

Glad to hear she’s doing better

*snuggles for marshmallow!*

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