Not eating

[Sandy]

Hello, my rabbit pizza is over a year old and I’ve had her since a baby. I feed every morning and every night and she eat just fine last night and there is fresh poop in the litter box but she doesn’t want to eat her breakfast, she wouldn’t even take a treat. I did notice too that she did not drink any water over night. What should I do?

[DarthVadar]

When rabbits are in pain, they won’t eat. Check her over for injuries, etc., and if you don’t find any, contact a vet (if one is available). In the meantime, try to find a food she will eat. As long as its rabbit safe, it doesn’t matter if its “healthy” or not; she just needs to eat.

[Sandy]

I have looked her over and also at her teeth in case they are too long. She does not want me to touch her mouth, which I guess is normal anyway. I read where you can force feed them mixed veggy baby food, is this ol if she will not eat anything else?

[Sandy]

This should say, is this ok if she won’t eat. I’ve now tried banana, apple and carrot. No go.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Get her to a vet. It’s likely she is the middle of Stasis and requires motility drugs. Don’t wait. A bunny not eating is a bunny emergency.

[Bam]

I agree you should contact a vet about this. The sooner you can get her to a vet, the better her chances. GI stasis means the intestines stop moving. That means food can’t be pushed through. The rabbit won’t eat even a yummy treat and it will also not poop. It is an emergency if it has been going on for more than 6-12 hours.

The cause of GI stasis can vary. The most important thing is to get the bun back to eating and pooping asap. Then you start looking into what might have caused the stasis in the first place.

Here is a good article on GI stasis in rabbits:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

[Sandy]

Hello all, thanks so much for all your comments and suggestions. When I came back in the room after a few hours she was eating. She ate all her greens and the carrot, banana and apple slice. I have her out now whuch is exercise time and she is acting normal. Hopefully the emergency us over but I will keep a close eye on her a few days

[Bam]

Yay! Thanks for the update!

I would recommend you get some simethicone baby gas drops for your bunny first-aid cabinet. The first thing I and many others do when a bun is refusing food is to give 0.5-1 ml simethicone baby gas drops. It as a rule works in 20-30 minutes and it’s often surprisingly effective. It’s not absorbed by the body, it just acts locally in the gut, then it gets pooped out. There is more info about it in the article I linked to.

[mamkzf]

I agree with bam! Occasionally my bunny will not want to eat right away, and I immediately think the worst. But every time, it’s just been gas or a tummy ache. I always give him simethicone immediately when I notice this, and so far we’ve never had a bout of stasis. Sometimes a new veggie or treat just doesn’t agree with them and takes some time to work through. But if you ever notice a prolonged lack of appetite/poop definitely get her to a vet immediately! Always better safe than sorry. 

Glad your bunny is doing better!

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