Help please! My bunny is not eating

[Lena]

Hello.

This is my first time posting here. I just wanted to know if anyone can help me figure out what to do with my rabbit. He’s 4 years old, he’s a small rabbit I named Felix.

He stopped eating and didn’t poop, so I called the vet and he gave me some pain medication and told me to syringe feed him some vegetables. He ordered an x-ray which didn’t show any issues. He then prescribed Sulfadim, which I gave my bunny for 10 days as told. By this point he’d started eating a little and pooping again.

He finished his treatment on Saturday and he was doing great, he was eating and pooping normally. Then on Sunday morning he didn’t want to eat again. I left him his food and waited for a bit, but he didn’t eat, so I syringe fed him again a couple of times during the day. I called the vet again, but he doesn’t know what could be wrong now. I left some food for him, which he ate during the night, he pooped a little and this morning he ate a little, but that’s it. He’s not eating again, he hasn’t pooped since mid-morning. It’s now 2.30 pm here.

He doesn’t seem to show any signs of pain. His eyes and nose are ok. His teeth are ok too. I’ve been massaging him, but I don’t his stomach any different than normal.

Here are a few things though: I live in Argentina, I could only find one vet who knows how to take care of rabbits, and while he did come home to see him, he can’t always and I live 2 hours away by bus from the vet. No one nearby sells hay or critical care. Felix is a very picky eater, the only veggies he eats are arugula, cucumber, celery, carrots and some endives and basil if he’s got no other option.

I have to call the vet again this evening, but if anyone knows what could be the problem, I would appreciate some help.

Thank you!

[Bam]

I would suspect his molars. You can’t see the molars without an otoscope, and even with an otoscope the bun might have to be sedated in order for the vet to get a good view of the back teeth.
Molar spurs are common in rabbits. They cause the bunny pain when eating. It’s not uncommon for molar Spurs to cause sores on the side of the tongue.
The result is the bunny becomes more and more picky and avoids tough food. That adds to the problem because bunny teeth must continuously be worn down by the bun chewing tough food like hay and grass.
To me your bun’s symptoms sound typical of molar spurs. Do you have access to a vet who can do a molar burr if needed?

Keep syringe-feeding him if he doesn’t eat like he should, because he must have food in his tummy and be prevented from losing weight – if he’s to be put under for a dental, you of course want him to be in as good physical shape as possible.

[tobyluv]

Since you don’t have Critical Care, you can combine his pellets with water and make a mash out of that, to syringe feed him. You can add a little bit of jarred baby food or plain canned pumpkin to the mixture to make it more tasty for him. Sometimes, you can offer the mixture in a small dish or on your finger, and they will eat it themselves so that you don’t have to syringe feed them.

Are there any horse farms in your area? Horse quality hay would be good for rabbits.

[Lena]

Thanks for your help.
My mother told me that while I was gone he’d tried to bite the wall and the vet suspected that was the problem since he didn’t notice any other problems. He started eating well again the next morning and I’m happy to report he’s now completely ok.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Glad to hear he is better

[Author]

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