Bun acting differently

[MordecaiBunny]

Hi, so, our bun Mordecai (Mordy) is about 6 months old, neutered, a little lapin nain as they call them here in France, from what we can make out he’s a dwarf of some sort, possibly polish.

Anyway, we were away for the last 5 days and had a friend come over to bunny sit, we got back last night and he was happy to see us, binkying around and taking treats from us and accepting pets and ear scratches.  Today however, he’s acting odd for him, he’s laying around a lot, he’s not tucking into his greens as he usually does, and this morning he really wasn’t bothered about being let out of his cage (he goes there overnight but has the run of most of the house throughout the day) he’s still accepting pets, but almost a little too easily, he’s usually friendly enough but doesn’t like being picked up, and usually it takes a while for him to like being petted.  

He keeps licking his lips, and almost looking like he’s grinding his teeth, I also haven’t seen him groom today at all.  He’s still eating, but a lot less than usual and he’s drinking fine, from what i can tell he’s peeing and pooping fine too.

I’m thinking to give him today to see how he acts, see how he is in the morning,and then see if i can get him to the vet if he hasn’t perked up.

from the signs and symptoms I’m thinking maybe teeth issues, but am not sure due to his young age, another possibility is that he’s cold,the tips of his ears are freezing, and when petting him earlier he seemed to shiver.

Sorry for the ramblings, does anyone have any advice on what it could be, or how buns act when they are cold?

Thanks

[Bam]

If he’s still eating a bit and moving around, I think it’s ok to wait until tomorrow, but if he stops eating altogether, it’s more serious. As for him being cold, that is an observandum. Unwell bunnies get cold, their metabolism slows down and this is dangerous unless you warm the bun up. If he will let you sit him in your lap and put a light fleece blankie loosely around him, that’s a very good way to warm a bunny up, there’s virtually no risk of over-heating. But you can use a hot-water bottle or a snuggle safe too, just make sure he can move away from it if he wants too, bunnies can over-heat.

Bunnies can grind their teeth as a pain-response. My first suspicion would be sth tummy-related, f ex gas. All GI sissues can of course be related to the teeth, and dwarf rabbits are prone to dental issues since their noses are so short. A vet can look at his back teeth with an otoscope, gross molar issues can be seen without sedating the bunny. But first things first.

A bunny that has gas and/or a problem with decreased intestinal motility can often benefit from a very light tummy massage, like in this instructive video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnuxGLa2reg If you sit him in your lap you can massage him as he’s sitting there, a bunny with gas pain often appreciates a tummy rub. But don’t do a massage if his tummy feels hard and ballooned up, call a vet instead.

I hope he perks up soon.

[Author]

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