My Bunny Stressed and Won’t Eat?

[schoolofbuns]

Hello, I’m pretty sure my Beatrix is super stressed and possibly in pain. It may be because yesterday and today, there have been children’s events at the daycare next door (we share a wall). There were popping balloons and some screaming kids. The events ended at least six hours ago.

Beatrix’s ears are really cold. She is still drinking some water, but won’t eat. When she moves around, it’s slow and seems cautious. She doesn’t hunch, but loafs and sprawls, which confuses me (maybe she’s not in physical pain, but really stressed?). She also pees and poops where she is, soiling herself, instead of going to the litter box. She seems to want to hide herself in these boxes I set up for her. And she alternates between wanting to cuddle and wanting to be by herself (she is part of a bonded trio).

This has happened once before a few weeks ago. That time, the air conditioner was broken, so I assumed the heat stressed her out. Physical symptoms were exactly the same–cold ears, not eating, soiling herself. It was night time then and I couldn’t get through to any emergency vet or clinic. I moved her to a different room with A/C and, after a few hours, she went back to normal by herself.

This time, I’m also having trouble getting through to a vet because it’s a weekend and night time. Please note I live on a subtropical island; rabbits are not popular here and most vets only treat cats and dogs. Also, if she’s really stressed, wouldn’t a carrier ride to the hospital make it worse? I was hoping that Beatrix will go back to normal by herself like she did last time, but it’s been a long time…

If it is just anxiety from stressful situations, how long does it usually take for rabbits to calm down?

[GlennTheLionhead]

Hey.

How is your bunny doing now and how long has it been since she last ate? Sometimes streas can make them stop eating for a short while. Not eating for 6-12 hours is an emergency in rabbits and you should seek vet attention.

Sometimes rabbits ears can be a little cold when their body is not, but these rabbits are typically still very alert. A rabbit experiencing a drop in body temp due to shock or statsis will typically not want to move at all, or will be very lethargic and should be brought back to normal body temp with your help. You can place her on a hot water bottle (warped in a towel so she doesn’t scald) or by sharing yoir body heat i.e holding her against you for an hour or more. Usually when a rabbit is at a normal temp again tbey will begin to move around and be alert again on their own. Once they are back at a normal temperature you can continue with other ways of treating her back to normal health.

Will she eat anything at all? A tasty  treat, extra greens, fresh untreated grass from the garden? If she is flopping on the floor and not eating it could be gas, brought on by the stress. Does it seem like shes pressing her tummy on the floor? Also is she still popping?

[Bam]

I agree with what Gleen says. If you have simethicone baby gas drops, you can give 1 ml of that per hour. It wont replace proper vet care if sth is really wrong, but it can be very effective against gas.

As Glenn says, keeping the bun warm is extremely important.

Try to make you bun move around, that helps the intestines move so gas can get out.

Here’s a video on how to give a light massage to help a rabbit with gas pain:

https://youtu.be/LbyC6CWbm5M

[schoolofbuns]

I haven’t seen her eat for the whole day (maybe 12 hours?), but she still poops a little. I’m not sure, but I think I saw her eating her cecotropes while grooming. I’ve been trying to give her space because she has been hiding and actually moves away if i pet her too much. She doesn’t seem to want me or her bonded partners to bother her.

She actually doesn’t feel that cold. It’s just her ears that are colder. She does move around and still grooms herself, but much less than usual. She’s also slower than usual, but doesn’t seem lethargic. Half the time she is loafing, half she is sprawling and pressing her tummy against the floor. So maybe it’s gas?

None of the vets here that see rabbits are open on Sunday…

[LBJ10]

It does sound a bit like gas. If it were me, I would try the simethicone and some belly rubs… even if she doesn’t like it.

[schoolofbuns]

Thank you all! When I checked on Beatrix this morning, she was starting to eat and flop again! At first, she didn’t want treats, but she ate hay. Since she was eating, I held off taking her to the vet, since she hates carrier rides. A couple hours later now and she is eating treats and acting completely normal again. So strange; last time, she also “got better by herself.” I guess she’s just an anxious rabbit and needs time to calm down after a fright…

The video was very helpful. I’m going to try to have the baby gas drops and critical care stuff on hand for possible future emergencies. Hopefully, they’ll be available on this island, or I’ll have to order them from overseas.

[Bam]

Yay! 😃

It does sound like it was a bout of gas. Rabbits can get gassy due to stress/a fright, some are of course more prone than others. Many buns get gassy at the onset of a molt. Once the gas passes, the rabbit goes right back to normal again.

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