Please help!! michelles not eating much today…

[tomswife29]

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my bunny is going for surgery tomorrow morning and we have been giving her critical care in hopes she will gain some weight. 2 days ago she hardly ate any pellets but she ate her hay and veggies. yesterday she didnt eat any veggies, but ate her hay. when i pour her the pellets, she runs to me and sniffs the bag as if she hasnt eaten in years, and she looks around like crazy, but doesnt eat them1 i dont understand why shes doing this. i softened the pellets and she ate a little but not much. i fed her a carrot today and she ate it fast, so i dont think its her teeth. im worried because she seemed to be doing so well as far as food was concerned, and her surgerys tom. morning….

[Sarita]

Have you tried syringe feeding her the critical care? You may need to do this.

I use the 1 oz. syringes – I usually back fill them from the large syringe and it takes awhile to hand feed but it may be necessary.

Also try some baby food – you may have to syringe feed this as well – get the carrot or squash kind (not any of the meat or pasta kind). Baby food is not ideal but it will get something in her system and it will help hydrate her as well.

[MarkBun]

Maybe she’s just being finiky/spoiled and wants only very tasty foods? I know that some rabbits will refuse regular food in hopes of getting the ‘good stuff’. But if she’s going into surgery soon, you do want to make sure she’s eating and drinking.

[tomswife29]

well i gave her the option of romain lettuce, cilantro ,basil ,mint, parsley, radish top, endive, escarole, carrot, dandilions, and dill. she is only eating the carrot (bits at a time). im feeding her the critical care which shes eating fine(when i had to give to my other rabbit, he hated it so much he just let it slop out of his mouth), so at least shes getting that. shes taking a few different medicines somaybe shes lost her appetite from then, because a couple days ago she was eating her veggies at least. ughh im so worried i feel nausous:-(

[jerseygirl]

Any update on Michelle’s surgery?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I can’t remember why she was doing surgery-was it for teeth or jaw abscess? That may be why she’s not doing pellets. Syringing critical care is a good idea (also if they are detesting it you can mix it with pedialyte, juice or watered down baby food to make it tastier)

Anyways-this was obviously yesterday-so hopefully everything is good now? How was the surgery?

[RabbitPam]

How is she doing today, now that the surgery is over? Did it go well?

{{{{{{{{{{{sending healing vibes to Michelle}}}}}}}}}}}

[jerseygirl]

For those still wondering, tomswife29 updated in other thread:  binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aff/2…fault.aspx

[tomswife29]

hi sorry yes she came out of the surgery well, thank god!! shes bouncing around and acting like her normal self, except that shes really hungry and not eating her pellets. she runs to me like shes looking for something, but i dont know what to give her, i tried everything. it seems all shell eat on her own is fruit(which i know is bad for her) and carrots(another bad one). ive seen her eat hay and romain lettuce and drink water on her own, and when i syringe feed her she doesnt get mad at me. im so confused. if it were teeth problems, how is she eating carrots???

[BinkyBunny]

Rucy would get spurs on her molars, and when they would get bad, she would eat, but it was uncomfortable, so she would eat slower or chew things that caused less discomfort. Depending on where the spurs were and how sharp they became and where they were pointed it may have made her choose some foods over others that were easier for her to eat.

I’m not saying that your bunny has these but bunnies can still eat when they have teeth problems (until they get VERY severe), but it can still cause eating slow-downs etc. Rucy though would get watery eyes and drool if things got bad before her normal tooth trim/checkup.

It’s great she’s allowing you to syringe feed her though so it seems her appetite is just fine post surgery. You may need to have her teeth checked if you haven’t already – (if you already did and I missed that – sorry!)

[tomswife29]

ya im beginning to see that she must have a tooth problem. i asked my vet to look at her teeth real quickly when i brought her in for the surgery but she said she just wanted to concentrate on the surgery and will look at her teeth later. i spent around $1700 on miichelles vet bills in a week, and im broke. i cant afford to take her in again for her teeth right now. im niot working right now, and im a student. im saving every cent i get to bring her in so hopefully within the next week or so. i just feel so bad for her, it seems like one problem after another just keeps piling up on her. what kinds of foods did your bunny eat when experiencing teeth problems?

[RabbitPam]

You can make a pellet slurry by crushing pellets in a food processor with some water. That can be syringe fed as well and usually they like it. Can flavor it too with some unsweetened apple juice or add a little canned unsweetened pumpkin.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

ya im beginning to see that she must have a tooth problem. i asked my vet to look at her teeth real quickly when i brought her in for the surgery but she said she just wanted to concentrate on the surgery and will look at her teeth later. i spent around $1700 on miichelles vet bills in a week, and im broke. i cant afford to take her in again for her teeth right now. im niot working right now, and im a student. im saving every cent i get to bring her in so hopefully within the next week or so. i just feel so bad for her, it seems like one problem after another just keeps piling up on her. what kinds of foods did your bunny eat when experiencing teeth problems?

That’s a big vet bill.

I think because you asked your vet to look and he/she didn’t -that you can call and see if he’ll look without charge -I think it’s perfectly reasonable to ask him to stick the little light in your buns mouth without charging you
If you aren’t comfortable asking that-keep feeding and trying different foods until you can get in. The force feeding is good.

I also find about a teaspoon of applesauce with some critical care sprinkled in it (I’m talking pure apple sauce-where the only ingredient is apple) they’ll eat just off a plate

I have an ill bun who’s being pretty picky. I am feeding alfalfa pellets by Little Martin (they are extruded and round pellets-all my buns love the brand, and the alfalafa ones are an extra incentive to eat), alfalfa hay, organic rolled oats, cilantro, romaine, red/green leaf lettuce, parsley, banana, carrot and apple. Do lots of wet greens -most bunnies love cilantro and parsley

If you do wait-watch for huddling/hunching, tooth grinding (indicating pain), drooling or a complete stop in eating.

[tomswife29]

thank you i will try the applesauce. shes eating pumpkin mixed with grounded pellets and banana baby food, im just not sure how much im supposed to be giving her and i know fruits are supposed to be given sparingly.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Just watch for uneaten cecals (they are the wee little wet and stinky poops that they usually eat-generally and in healthy buns you shouldn’t see -they smear if uneaten or you may find them in bunches like grapes)-if you aren’t getting cecals left all over then it should be ok
Ensure the applesauce isn’t sweatened-you can probably even make your own by putting apple in a blender and adding a touch of water

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