Male Flemish Giant acting weird

[ipelow]

Hey everyone,

Just in case some people haven’t seen any of my previous replies/threads (since I haven’t been very active), I’ll give a quick summary to start it off:  I had a Siamese Sable Netherland Dward who passed away from a GI tract blockage around a month ago.  In the middle of September, however, I purchassed a baby Flemish Giant — so I am not bunny-less.  He is all I have now, and I worry about him deeply if any tiny thing appears abnormal.

He usually goes through water very quickly.  I fill his water bottle at least once during the day and once before I go to bed.  The “situation” started when I woke up yesterday and he hadn’t drank ANY water all night.  I was concerned, but the alarm didn’t set off just yet because he does the majority of his drinking during the day (I just fill the water bottle before bed so it is fresh for the little bit that he does happen to drink while I’m asleep).  My sisters were both here, so we were in and out of the apartment all day, and he hadn’t drank anything everytime I checked on him.  I found maybe 3 or 4 tufts of hair scattered around his cage, so I did some searching on this forum.  After looking around here a little bit, I decided to hold off on his cilantro-bedtime-snack, and I put some water in a dish to see if he would drink out of it.  He drank maybe 1/4 of it before attempting to flip it over (his nickname is “Destructo” due to his love for flipping and chewing EVERYTHING he can).  I felt a little better and of course kept his bottle of water fresh just in case.  He still wouldn’t, and still hasn’t, drank from his water bottle.  Once before bed I coaxed him into some water from the dish, then I refilled it, and left it in his cage overnight.  I woke up this morning and his water bottle was untouched, but the dish was empty.  Oh, and aside from the drinking problem, I will have you know that he eats a little bit here and there, but not necessarily as much as usual.  But, he hasn’t completely stopped eating completely.

Aside from the drinking problem and minimized food intake, he stopped using his litterbox.  Now he digs a hole in it, and sits on the floor.  He used to always lay near the front of his cage by his door, waiting for me to come touch him or let him out.  Now he is sitting towards the back.  He is pooping on the floor and peeing here and there.  It is a mess, but with his food/water consumption issues, I’m not too mad because at least he isn’t blocked completely up down there.

I tried to give him some fresh water just now and he turned his nose up at it.

He is breaking my heart because my Netherland Dwarf stopped eating/drinking/using the litterbox, and then she died.  I can’t lose him.  He is my best friend

[Rabbit lover]

I would take him to the vet.

[LBJ10]

How old is he now? Could he be going through puberty? That might explain the loss of litter training. My rabbits don’t drink throughout the day. They usually go quite awhile before they decide to get a big long drink (after they have been running around playing). I think this is normal, especially if they are getting moisture from their veggies. Rabbits in the wild don’t drink a lot either.

[Sarita]

I agree with LBJ10. Sounds like puberty. My rabbits are the same as LBJ10’s as well when it comes to drinking water, they barely drink any water at all.

[ipelow]

He was born July 17th… soooo 4.5 months old? Sounds like puberty age. I just got back from the gym and he drank some water fom the dish, and he just did a 180 degree hop to look at me because he had his face in his feeder. I gave him a little cilantro right before I left around an hour ago and he ate it right up.

He is acting fairly normal other than the sitting at the far end of the cage part. As in he is jumping in and out of his litterbox like a crazy bunny, which is typical of him. So he isn’t laying still like he gave up and feels crappy. I just want him to start drinking 2-3 bottles of water per day again.

I’m going to clean his cage so I am sure he is still pooping/peeing (even if it IS on the floor). Also, I saw him eating a little bit of hay, which is good because last night he was just picking it all up and piling it near the hole he was digging in his litterbox.

[Sarita]

2 to 3 bottles? How many ounces are your bottles?

[ipelow]

14 ounces. What can I say, he is a big bunny, hah. He loved his food and he loved his water.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I use waterers for my girls, they were emptying their crocks faster than I could refill them, and I don’t like water bottles (nor do they, to be honest).
Every once in a while I get a bad hay batch that they refuse to eat, that could be the cause of the eating less?

Lady has been heck to litter train, she’s like, 80% for pee right now and 25% for poop. I’m REALLY hoping shes just territorial pooping/hormonal, although I read Flemish don’t get hormonal until closer to 9 months. She’s a mess.

[ipelow]

Posted By Sam and Lady’s Human on 11/28/2011 12:38 PM
I use waterers for my girls, they were emptying their crocks faster than I could refill them, and I don’t like water bottles (nor do they, to be honest).
Every once in a while I get a bad hay batch that they refuse to eat, that could be the cause of the eating less?

Lady has been heck to litter train, she’s like, 80% for pee right now and 25% for poop. I’m REALLY hoping shes just territorial pooping/hormonal, although I read Flemish don’t get hormonal until closer to 9 months. She’s a mess.

 

Well, he grew up on water bottles and has never had a problem with them.  That is convenient for me due to his “I must flip everything over!” attitude.  His hay should be fine — he is actually munching on some as I type this.

His litterbox habits were fine until yesterday.  His pellet dispenser and bottle are right next to his litterbox because he loves to have it go in one end and shoot out the other.  I just finished cleaning his cage in order to monitor the amount of droppings [that will end up on the floor].  I put him in his carrier when I clean his cage because he loves to be all up in my business when I do it, and for the first time ever, he decided to tinkle in it.  When I was done, I went on the balcony [speaking of bad habits] to smoke, and he came with me because he enjoys being out there to run around.  Boy, he ran and jumped and kicked the whole time.  Seemed to really enjoy himself today.

Since he is so energetic and happy, I do agree with those who suggested puberty.  It makes perfect sense.  I thank everyone who took the time to reply — you helped me feel a lot better.

[jerseygirl]

Have you checked the water bottle is working alright? It’s good you offered a bowl. That’s not a bad habit to get into or putting up 2 bottles incase one fails.

When habits change like this it always a good idea to get them checked out. Do you have a rabbit vet?

ETA: Good to hear he’s returning to his happy self.  : )

[Author]

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