Is my bunny ill?

[bunnymom]

I have a bunny named Zodiac who is almost 4 years old. He has never been a “real” bunny- he has virtually no instincts and is pretty much just a chilled out snuggle bug. He has never had an interest in eating hay or cleaning himself, and has always had a lot of eye gunk. So he’s never really been the picture of health, but a lot has changed in his life in the past three months and I’m getting concerned…

Zodiac got neutered on October 26th. It is also around this time that I started messing with his diet, trying to get him to eat hay or vegetables. I started moderating his pellets so he would be forced to eat the hay, but he still didn’t eat it. He also didn’t eat most of the vegetables I tried to give him, though he does go crazy for endives! But he ended up losing some weight Now he is back to a pellet diet with an endive for dinner because I’m not really sure what else to do. But he is still having a little bit of diarrhoea everyday for some reason…

Since the neuter/diet change, he’s been eating and sleeping like crazy. He has also lost some coordination- he often just kinda slides around and falls down and struggles a bit to get up. When he sleeps, he either rests his hands in his food bowl or litter box so that he doesn’t fall over, or he spreads out on his side, which he never used to do. He seems to have little motivation or energy most of the time and is often just staring at the wall. He used to thump to come out of his cage every time he saw me and now he doesn’t even move when I come over. He has had two seizures this month. Both times they occurred when I picked him up. He’s also been getting urine burns on his legs recently. I’m just getting really worried, he’s becoming quite a mess is this just how he’s reacting to the neuter, or is there something else wrong with him? I just found out his sister has worms too

Thanks for reading!!

[sarahthegemini]

Sorry but he’s been like this since October? Have you seen a vet at all because that is most definitely not a reaction to being neutered (and even if it was, it most definitely is not okay to leave him like this and hope he recovers on his own…) 

-Not a great diet
-Weight loss
-Runny poops
-Lethargy
-Lack of coordination
-Falling and struggling to get up
-Seizures
-Urine scald

All of these are very serious symptoms.

[Deleted User]

Agree with Sarah. Also a pellet primary diet is not an appropriate diet for a bunny. The majority of their diet needs to be hay. You don’t give him more pellets to make up for it. He’ll eventually eat the hay when he realizes there’s no other option. Have you tried other hay varieties to see if he has a preference? His diet in general even before the neuter can contribute a lot to his health.

[DanaNM]

Not eating hay and having eye gunk indicates a likely dental problem. I just rescued a bunny from neglect that had this and a molar root was growing through his jaw and into his cheek.

That combined with the other symptoms indicates some very serious health issues. Please see a rabbit savvy vet ASAP.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Sr. Melangell]

I would take him to a vet, you have to be careful with rabbits, they are very delicate, if his sister has worms they will both have to be de wormed, you must talk to a vet ASAP, eye gunk can be serious in little creatures, worms are nasty.

[Sirius&Luna]

It’s quite clear that he’s ill, and needs to see a vet.

He’s having diarrhea because he doesn’t eat hay, but the seizures, urine scald, and lethargy could be caused by a number of different issues. He probably also has dental problems if he doesn’t eat hay.

[Author]

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