Rabbit hasn’t eaten in 3 days

[nexxy]

Hi my 2 year old rabbit hasn’t eaten his pellets and has only eaten a hand full of hay in the past few days. He has eaten some kale as well (his favourite treat) but a very small amount and just leaves the rest. I took him to the vet who checked him over and couldn’t feel anything wrong, so he gave me 5 days of antibiotics to put in his water and to come back if he still isn’t eating by then… Is this too long to wait? His poop isn’t normal and I don’t think he’s drank much water today, I’m so worried about him and will take him to the vet again in morning if the responses here think it necessary.
Could loneliness be a factor for not eating? Lately I have been busy and unable to visit him the past few weeks, my mum gives him his food hay etc but she’s scared of rabbits so can’t give him attention.

[nexxy]

To add : I took a closer look at his poop, they are very small and very hard. 2 were connected by a small bit of hair, could it be a hair blockage? I gave his stomach a massage as well which he wasn’t too fond of, I could feel and hear his stomach gargling quietly

[Deleted User]

Did they give him anything to help move his gut? Something like reglan? I think the big fear is GI stasis. If he stops eating or pooping altogether, he definitely needs to be seen by a vet. 

[Wick & Fable]

Yes, 5 days is too long, especially since it seems the vet didn’t advise force-feeding?

Loneliness is a potential factor, but this seems like too drastic of a behavior change to be triggered by a few weeks of absence, plus it’s only been the past three days you’ve observed this.

The first bit is your vet. Is your vet a rabbit-savvy vet? I’ve never heard of rabbit vets prescribing antibiotics which are put in the water source before, but I’m curious what exams the vet did on your rabbit. You didn’t mention if the vet advised feeding Critical Care, but if not, I highly recommend you doing so if your rabbit hasn’t eaten anything. He needs nutrition, so syringe feed critical care, even if you need to force it. If this was not suggested by your vet, it increases my suspicion that this vet may not be the best for rabbits.

I would also question your mother (nicely) if she definitely routinely refreshed the hay, water, and pellets in your absence, and did so in the correct quantities (limited pellets, unlimited hay and water). Also asking if soiled hay was discarded and not re-fed. Any day of slack could lead to a rabbit’s stomach’s gut biome getting off-kilter, leading to GI stasis, aka not eating and very serious.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[nexxy]

Sorry my replies need approved before they get posted since I’m new so might be a bit before it shows up. He just felt around and felt inside his mouth for any dental problems, he didn’t feel anything wrong and didn’t suggest anything except coming back if he isn’t feeling better after 5 days. I don’t know how rabbit savvy he is

[Wick & Fable]

I would suggest searching for another vet. You can get some better candidates by searching for exotic vets, as rabbits are considered exotic pets, in contrast to standard vets who are educated primarily for dogs and cats. They may see rabbits, but are much less informed about symptomology and diagnosing. This is critical for rabbits because they are silent sufferers by nature. While a cat or dog may more so indicate being sick, rabbits are prey animals, so by nature they will hide signs of weakness until it’s very severe. Also, feeling around and in the mouth is not a good assessment of dental issues in my opinion, unless you’re trying to find abnormally large, serious abcesses. An otoscope is a standard tool placed in the rabbits mouth to view the back teeth. While feeling the jaw may give indications of bumps as a result of tooth root problems per say, it really doesn’t inform you on whether there are molar spurs present which are hurting your rabbit. Upfront exotic vets will tell you the only true may to assess teeth is puttting the rabbit under anesthesia so the mouth can be explored, but the otoscope exam is quite standard to give a good idea without the anesthesia. I’m coming from the position of an owner whose rabbit gets molar spur trims every 5 weeks.

If you part your rabbit’s lips, are the front four teeth straight vertically and horizontally?

What antibiotics were given also?

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Wick & Fable]

It would be worthwhile to try and give your rabbit simethicone, which is infant gas drops. This can alleviate minor gas if that’s bothering your rabbit. Gas is a big deal in rabbits, as it’s produced whenever their gut biome is struggling and severe cases can lead to a painful accumulation of gas bubbles trapped in the body, preventing proper digestion and thus pooping and peeing.

You should also try and buy critical care (apple and banana is the flavor most rabbits like; silver and green bag). It’s a powder you mix with water and feed to your rabbit via oral syringe, or put it on something. It provides nutrients for rabbits, typically used for post op care for major procedures or when rabbits are I’ll and cannot eat on their own. The nutrition is vital so the rabbit can be at its best to recover from whatever sickness or ailment it is suffering from.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[mschoonover11]

Definitely try a new vet. Even if you have to drive a long distance, it’s worth it. Not eating or drinking is terrible. And the small/hard poops sound bad too. Maybe do some research for rabbit savvy vets around the area you live in. Do you live near a House Rabbit Society? I found a rabbit savvy vet in my area through my HRS. They have the information on their website. Just google House Rabbit Societies near me and see what pops up. Before all this stuff happened to your bun, was he eating more pellets than hay? Have you always never spend time with him, or have you just been busy lately? Maybe not having the right diet, and lack of exercise and socializing could have cause this. I really hope it’s not GI Stasis If buns don’t see a vet right away, they have a high chance of death. You must do everything you can to save him. Again, find a rabbit savvy vet and spend time doing research. The vet doesn’t have to only be specialized in rabbits. As long as he/she is an exotic vet, than your fine. Just make sure the vet isn’t just a cat and dog vet. Make sure he/she is an exotic vet that specializes in all animals. Hope this helped I wish the best for your bunny and truly hope he doesn’t have GI Stasis.

[mschoonover11]

Oh, also something that really helps is oxbow Critical Care. I’ve heard stories of bunnies that stopped eating, and ate a little bit of critical care, and they had more appetite and pooped. You should try it and see if it helps. Also, all the information Wick gave was very helpful so follow that as well. Just make sure you do everything you can to save your bun!

[Bam]

You have got excellent advice already. I just wanted to add that if you can get access to baby gas drops (simethicone), that can often be of help to a bunny that has a gut problem. This is because tummy problems almost always causes gas to form and that can be painful for a bunny. I’m mentioning it because you heard that gurgling sound. baby gas drops can be given in doses of 0,5 to 1 ml depending on the concentration of active substance in the suspension. Concentration varies from 20 mg/ml to 100 mg/ml but any concentration is fine, it’s not a drug that can be inadvertently overdosed.

Simethicone is not absorbed by the body and can be given on suspicion of gas according to Medirabbit and Dana Krempels. Many of us here use it as a first aid measure for our buns.

Sometimes appetite returns with the help of gas drops. There could still be an underlying problem with teeth or something else, but if something like that is going on, the problems will return.

Any kind of stress can mess with the bun’s gut pH, and that in turn messes with the whole microbial balance in the bunny gut. A microbial imbalance causes gas to form. It doesn’t even have to be severe stress.

When a bun isn’t eating and the stools it passes becomes markedly smaller and fewer, the condition is called GI stasis. This is a great article by Dana Krempels about gut stasis in rabbits: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

It has helpful tips and info. Some of the contents of the article can be scary though.

ETA: Didn’t see until now that Wick had already suggested gas drops  I must’ve not updated the page when I wrote my reply. 

[nexxy]

Do you think he will be OK until morning? The vets in the area opens in about 10 hours time, I will phone around then and ask if they have any rabbit savvy vets on shift. My mum held his water bottle for him and he drank quite a bit of water, he moves around fine but doesn’t seem to want to stretch, is this more likely to be gas troubling him? I will get gas drops as soon as I can, as for the antibiotics I’m not sure what they are, the vet put some in a clear unmarked bottle. Thank you for all your responses!

[Deleted User]

A vet should really be telling you what’s in what they’re giving you and putting the dosage and drug name on the bottle. If you live in the States, look on the House Rabbit Society website. They have a list of bunny savvy vets by state. Waiting till tomorrow is fine, but give baby gas drops in the meantime and monitor him. If he’s really not eating, give him a mash of pellets and water.

[mschoonover11]

Also try to get some Oxbow Critical Care on top of the gas drops. It helps!!

[headpeon]

I know you’re already worried, but I don’t feel that this thread is expressing the total urgency of possible GI stasis. You’re working with a three day window with GI stasis, and you didn’t post until you’d already reached that threshold. Usually if your bunny goes past 72 hours without eating and/or pooping, the chances of your bunny living are almost nil. I believe it’s now day 6. If bunny is still alive, you’ve got to get to either a reputable exotic vet, or go to your regular vet and have them prescribe you the following RIGHT NOW! 

Simethicone (Infant Gas Relief Drops) – helps eliminate gas, which can be painful, and slow down the GI tract

Probiotics (Bene-Bac Plus) – helps recolonize the gut with beneficial bacteria

Trimebutine (Anti spasmodic) – helps reduce painful spasms in the GI tract caused by improper bacterial levels and the presence of gas

Lactulose (for constipation) – softens stools, so they can move through the GI tract (If bunny gets diahrrea, stop using this) 

Buprenorphine (narcotic pain reliever) – many in this forum seem to recognize what GI stasis is, but I’ve yet to see anyone mention that it’s incredibly painful for the rabbit. Narcotics can cause GI issues and constipation all on their own, but GI stasis is too painful for regular NSAIDs like Metacam. If your bunny is in pain, he/she won’t eat, so using a narcotic is worth it. 

Oxbow Critical Care (for syringe feeding) – most bunnies like the apple/banana flavor best. Bunny won’t want to eat it, but you’ll have to force him. Mix Critical Care with water until slightly waterier than applesauce, and then feed it through a syringe. Make sure you don’t give bunny too much at a time, or go straight into the mouth from the front with the syringe. You want to go at an angle, from the side. If bunny aspirates the Critical Care, he/she could choke to death and/or end up with a respiratory infection. If bunny won’t eat it, try mixing the Critica Care with Naked’s Green Machine juice. The carbs aren’t good for bunny’s GI system, but since the system is already broken, it’s more important to get something into bunny than it is to worry about what that something is. (As bunny improves, use less juice and more water, until the mixture is just Critical Care and water.)

Go to whichever vet you have access to, and do it right now! 

[nexxy]

I had to go to the vet 2 more times since posting, first vet said his stomach felt sore and gave him a painkiller injection and I got some syringe food which wouldn’t come out of the syringe. Second said it seems like his stomach isn’t bothering him anymore and gave him a steroid injection to encourage eating and some better syringe food, his poop has been normal and hes eating more hay, though still ignores his pellets. He has also become aggressive and lunging/biting at me if given a chance, he has never showed aggression before this but I don’t know if it could be because I have taken him to a different house which has 3 dogs in it(they can’t get upstairs). I can’t get a hold of him to give him the syringe food(does that help him poop? the vet gave him some when I was there and there was a lot the next day, but unsure if there has been more since yesterday), but he is still a healthy weight and is happy to hop around. Should I still be worried because he isn’t touching his pellets?

[Bam]

They can be slow about going back to pellets, so as long as he eats other food, it’s fine. What was the syringed food? Fibreplex for rabbits? It’s a pro- and prebiotic paste that helps normalize the gut microbiota. If it’s the Fibreplex I agree it can be a bit difficult to get out of the syringe it comes in and into the bunny mouth. So what I’ve done is squirt out some of the paste, mix with a tiny amount of water and feed with a normal feeding syringe.

The aggression could be from him smelling the dogs, but physical pain is what you suspect first of all when a normally docile bun suddenly displays aggression (unless it’s a bun starting puberty).

[Author]

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