Rabbit is sick?!

[binkster298]

since 4:00pm EST, my rabbit has not been wanting to eat, play, or even get up.  After I clean his cage, he usually plays in his litterbox and runs around in it – there was none of that today.  He sat up on one of the bases leading to his ramps(he has a condo) and didn’t really move.  He did actually jump to his litterbox before we left to go to the store and he got down just fine from the base, he jumped across his cage like normal.  We had to go to a store after so I couldn’t monitor him more but I just ruled it off as that he was hot and lazy.  1:00pm was the last time we know of that he ate hay.  He hasn’t eaten since.  A few hours later, like 7:00pm, I checked on him again and saw that his hay was where it was last, untouched.  I tried to give him some pellets but he moved away from them.  I tried to give him his favorite thing in the world – alfalfa hay(we don’t normally use it since he is full grown) but he turned his head away from that.  I thought, well maybe he’s getting too hot, and gave him one of those frozen water bottles but he moved as far away as possible from it.  I also tried to offer him some greens but he was disinterested.  

I moved around his cage a lot and he was so unresponsive.  Usually when I’m near his cage he runs to me and says hi, but this time he didn’t even look at me, let alone come to see me.  I just looked and he has 10 poops in his litterbox that I can count, and I changed his litter about 1 or 2 pm.  His ears are still upright, but sometimes one is up and one is down but I was taught that when one ear is up and one is down it means he is relaxed.

Also, a day or two ago we put some cardboard in his cage and he shredded it.  He’s the type of rabbit that tends to want to eat everything.  Could he have ingested some of it?  And would it correspond to not moving or eating? 

He just jumped back up to the base of the ramp.  He sounds like he got up there fine and hopped over fine.

So, what should I do?  Should I call the vet for an emergency call now?  Should I let him out to play?  Should I leave him alone?  I’m just worried about him not eating.

Also, is it possible for it to be gas?  He isn’t hunched up but he wants to be laying down.

Thank you for reading and/or answering, this is our first sickness and I’m very worried 

[Roberta]

I do think it would be wise to get him to the vet. Keep monitoring poops and check his tummy to see if it feels bloated… You can gently massage his sides to help things along, movement will also help… Simethicone (baby gas drops) is often used to relieve gas in bunnies so if you have any on hand you could try that but I would recommend getting to the vets just in case it is a blockage.

[toujours_melissa]

Hi Binkster! Sorry to hear that your bunny isn’t feeling well He definitely sounds like he doesn’t feel too well! Since your rabbit is refusing food and has barely pooped, he may be headed towards a GI problem (slowed motility or even stasis). This could be related to gas, and some people like to try giving their bunny simethicone (gas-x) for a few hours before trying the emergency vet to see if they can get rid of gas and get their bunny feeling better, but you don’t want to wait more than 12-24 hours from when your rabbit stops eating to get medical attention. The vet can diagnose and give you things to help your rabbit feel better!

And re cardboard: It could be the cardboard, but my own small rabbit likes to chew on and shred cardboard and he’s always been okay, so I imagine that ingesting just a little wouldn’t hurt. If he ate a lot, though, it could potentially cause problems.

Good luck! Let us know how your rabbit is doing!

[LBJ10]

I agree with the others. Try giving him some gas medicine and doing tummy massages to see if that helps.

[toujours_melissa]

How is your rabbit doing? Any update?

[robyn and 'tipps']

Concerned for your bunny. Any news?

[Author]

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