Pancakes may be sick. Please help UPDATE

[New Bunny Mum]

Hi all,

Pancakes is off her food and I am concerned. I will try and summarise the situation. 

• The is still eating greens, carrots, herbs a little bit of hay, and treats. Basically anything tasty. 
• She won’t touch her pellets. This is really unusual for her. She is normally like a pellet eating monster. 
• She is still pooping, but the aren’t great poops. 
• She seems of in herself, still hopping about, not hunched in a corner or anything.
• She has been like this for a couple of days. 

Thins to bear in mind:

• Last week we introduced a new bunny into the house. He is in a pen in a different section of the house and we have been gradually introducing them through the bars.
• On the first day we had him home, he slipped out of his pen and they had a small fight. He nipped Pancakes and she pulled his fur, but the bonding seems to be a bit better now, and they have not had contact without the pen being in between. 

So what I’m trying to say is that could Pancakes being off her food be more down to the stress of the bond than her being sick? Obviously I am very worried about her. I have made a vets appointment on Monday is she is worse or no better, but  I would rather not have to take her, as th journey and being in her carrier will add even more stress. 

Your thoughts and advice are very much appreciated. 

[RabbitPam]

I would go slowly with the bonding right now. Maybe try a surrogate stuffed animal in each cage, then swap them so they get used to the other’s scent. If she had a fight already then yes, the stress may be effecting her.

But it also sounds like a small digestive issue so I am very glad you got an appointment and you should keep it. You want the vet to make sure she is healthy (with nothing contageous for the new bunny to catch) or is getting treated for a problem. If there is one, it will get worse, so let the vet treat or rule it out.

Also might try cleaning out her dishes and putting in fresh pellets. He may have taken a bite from her food and she is now repelled by his scent there.

[jerseygirl]

I agree. Hold off on the bonding for now. It could well be a bit of stress.
It seems to be pellets are the first thing they go off when tummy trouble, and the last thing they resume eating when the trouble has passed.

Did you check her over for bites when they accidently met?

(((vibes))) for your bungirl!

[Sarita]

Possible, but I do wonder as well if she has dental issues as well since she’s a lop and they are notorious for this. The bonding may just be a coincidence.

[Beka27]

Posted By Sarita on 06/16/2012 06:38 AM

Possible, but I do wonder as well if she has dental issues as well since she’s a lop and they are notorious for this. The bonding may just be a coincidence.

The fact that she’s still eating something and isn’t hunched up (almost a sure sign of tummy discomfort) also makes me think this is less of a GI illness and more of a teeth issue….  Spurs can seem to come on rather suddenly.  In the meantime, prior to your Monday vet appt, I would keep giving her all the veggies she wants and definitely put a hold to the bonding.

[New Bunny Mum]

So today I came home from a wedding and found all four bowls of pellets I put around the house to try and tempt her empty, along with a litter box of four different sorts of hays, a large bowl of greens and some carrot all GONE!

She also sat quite happily and ate a rather large hole in a wicker log basket in my living room (not overly impressed about this actually) and then sat and chewed it up in front of me.

Do you all think its probably safe to presume her teeth are ok?

Also, she was at the vet about 4 months ago for her spay and she had her teeth checked them and the vet said they were in excellent order, but I’m not sure how quickly teeth can become problematic?

Do you think I should still take her to the vet on Monday? I’m have taken the morning off work anyway, and she is insured so there is no problem about cost, I’m only worried that the stress of cramming her into her basket and taking her to the vet may cause her more harm.

What do you all think?

Thanks for the vibes by the way. x

[kinggoblin]

Teeth issues can come on quick, my lop never had a problem with his teeth and then all of a sudden his incisors started growing rapidly & I found out he has a maloclussion and now his teeth need trimming every 2 weeks.

[Sarita]

Well, the thing with teeth, it’s just never safe to assume – I’ve sometimes seen rabbits go on and off food with dental issues. And it certainly can “come on” pretty quickly.

I guess my best advice to you is to watch her behavior carefully and see if this continues to happen with the food and then decide if you think it’s not normal. You know your rabbit better than anyone.

[New Bunny Mum]

Thanks for all the help everyone.

She is better still today, seems to be eating pellets with no problems so I think I’m going to hold off taking her to the vets. She doesn’t travel well and as she is being bonded with Sam I’m keen to keep her as stress free as possible.

I will keep a really close eye on her eating habits and if anything changes I will make sure she gets to the vets.

Thanks for all the help

[Author]

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