Depressed or sick?

[Emilyjo]

My two and a half year old male has been acting kind of depressed the last couple of days, he has just been kind of laying in the cage, and not running around as much when hes out, but he isn’t lethargic. He is eating, drinking and going to the bathroom fine. Nothing in his life has changed and our other rabbit is acting fine.

So my question is, at what point do i worry about him being sick and seek veterinary care? He hasn’t shown any other symptoms besides him being sad. What would cause him to be depressed if nothing has changed?

I guess I’m just a little concerned as he isn’t acting like his goofy self.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

It could be nothing or it could be illness-it’s really hard to tell. As you know him, and he’s acting off, you’ll really have to do your own ‘tummy test’-does it feel like he’s just sad or do you think something is medically up?
At this point if he’s eating you could wait a bit and see, but you may just have to get in to the vet to have an exam and see if anything is up.

[Bam]

Like K&K says, it’s difficult to tell with buns. They can get a bit of gas sometimes. You can give baby gasdrops (simethicone) for that, there’s no hard scientific evidence for its efficacy, but it’s bunny-safe and widely used and Medirabbit recommends it. It’s not absorbed by the body, it only acts in the intestines to break bigger gas-bubbles up into smaller.

Have you felt his tummy? If you do, do it very gently. And keep a close eye, if he stops wanting to eat, sth is wrong and action must be taken.

[Emilyjo]

I felt his tummy and didn’t feel anything abnormal. What exactly would I be looking for if it was gas?

[lillian]

Checking for gas is a little difficult if you arent used to the “normal” feeling of your buns belly. I have to check quick silvers daily, but even i sometimes can miss it. Best way to check is sit your bun flat (if you hold him upright like we stand, it can feel like gas when it isnt. At least with my bun, it does.), have one hand on or around him to hold him steady if hes a wiggler, and gently rub his belly with your other hand (i generally just use 2-3 fingers). You do not need to press hard. Just lightly rub and feel if its soft, or if it feels hard. If it feels hard, it is possible there is gas. This is how my vet taught us. Other signs of gas could be grinding teeth hard or shifting as if trying to get comfortable.

Is he fixed? Is the other bun and him allowed to play together?

I know one difficult change i made was working night shift. I had to let my buns out at weird times in the day. At first, they were both pretty sleepy, but they slowly grew accustomed to it and now will try to rip through metal if im more than a few minutes late on letting them out. Have you kept a steady time on them being out or is it different every day? I know buns can be pretty scheduled and it can effect their mood.

[Bam]

Emilyjo, as lillian says it’s hard to know if you’re not used to feeling your bun’s tum, but it’s good you’ve felt it now because now you can detect changes. Basically a “good” bunny tummy should feel like a good bread-dough, not to soft, not clumpy and not hard/ balloon-like.

I think you’d have noticed if his tum was very distended and hard. If you get a pain-reaction when you touch a bun’s belly, that’s also a sign of abdominal distress.

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