Bunny isn’t drinking water

[GodHelpTheGirls]

We’ve visited my vet twice in the past 2 weeks, after I noticed my rabbit wasn’t drinking any water. My vet said she couldn’t find anything wrong with her, other than the fact that her stomach was empty. She gave us some meds to give her: A pain medication, metoclopromide, and bene-bac. It’s been over a week since she’s first started taking the medicine, and it hasn’t been making a difference. She still hasn’t drank over a cup of water in the last week, and she hesitates to eat everything. Although, she has been acting the exact same. If anything, she’s acting happier? I’m just not sure what’s wrong at this point, and i’m fairly worried.

Sorry for the long post, just concerned. 

[Bam]

If a rabbit doesnt eat much, it doesn’t drink much either, as a rule.

Did the vet check her inner teeth (molars)? Rabbit teeth grow continuously and unless the teeth are worn down right by chewing hay, sharp spurs can develop on their teeth, and these spur can cause pain when the rabbit eats. You can’t see the molars yourself due to the anatomy of the rabbit’s mouth, so a vet needs to check them with an otoscope. Even small spurs can cause a bun to go off its food. Molar spurs can be trimmed away under full anesthesia, and then the bun goes back to eating like normal again after a couple of days.

Your bun might seem happier now diue to the pain medication. It’s in any case a good sign and makes it even more likely that this is a molar iassue and not something really bad. Do you support feed with Critical Care? You should do that to ensure that your bun doesn’t go with an empty tummy.

[GodHelpTheGirls]

The vet did attempt to check her Molars, but wasn’t able to see everything. She said she’d have to put her under to completely check, which she didn’t want to do (not only because of the cost but also the stress it would cause on the bunny). She told me to wait it out and see if the medicine helps.

I do not use critical care. I’ve heard of it and considered getting some, especially with the circumstances.

[Bam]

You can soak normal pellets in water and syringe-feed the mush if you don’t have Critical Care. He mustn’t go with an empty tummy.

It’s reasonable that your vet wanted to see if the meds worked before putting your bun under for a dental exam. It is admittedly hard to see bunny molars when the bunny is awake – really big spurs that pierce the tongue or cheek can be seen with an otoscope on an awake bun, but very often spurs are a lot more subtle than that. I’m glad your vet is aware of bunny molar issues – not all vets are.

I had a bun that refused all food except fresh willow for 3 weeks before his vet decided it could perhaps be his teeth. He had very small spurs and she wasn’t sure they were the problem. But just a few days after the burr, my bun started eating just like normal again. During the three weeks when he didn’t eat I syringe- fed him CC and pellet mush 3 times per day. He didn’t like it while it was going on, but he forgave me after.

[GodHelpTheGirls]

Ok thank you for the advice! I’ll try that with her pellets, and talk to the vet if she keeps on not eating.

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