Should I be worried?

[sarah bowden]

This morning I gave Isabella her usual greens/pellets and a fresh bowl of water. I also changed her litterbox before I left for work. When I came home and let her out I noticed that she ate all her greens and drank a good amount of water (didn’t touch her pellets) but hasn’t pooped or urinated all day.

Should I do something or just keep and eye on her…..is this a sign that she may be sick?!?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

It could be a sign…However as I have heard it, they usually stop eating and drinking when sick..Actually that should be your first sign..
Do keep an eye on her and ensure she is still eating/drinking and wait for pooping and peeing..Don’t sound any alarms yet…How long has it been since she pooped?

[BinkyBunny]

Edited to include: the word NOT. 

If a bunny has NOT  pooped in 24 hours, you should call your vet. Is she acting funny at all. Sitting hunched or does her stomach feel bloated? If you put your ear to her stomach, can you hear any gurgling? There should ALWAYS be a little gurgle. NO gurgle or very loud gurgling that you can hear when you don’t have your ear to the stomach, can all be signs of digestive upset.

[sarah bowden]

Well I’ve been keeping an eye on her. I have only had her for a week, normally she’s quite affectionate, although she spends most of her time in her pen. But today she doesn’t seem to want much attention. I just checked and from in the last 12 hours all thats in the litterbox is 2 little pellets and no urine still. I am a little worried. I got her from a woman who’s daughter left her behind when she moved away. The sad part is that she took poor Isabella’s boyfriend and left her behind. Could this be stress induced? She lost her mate and moved to a new home all in a matter of 2 weeks.
I gave her some greens a little bit ago ( i soaked them in water first, hoping to keep her hydrated) and she ate them all up. So I think I’ll just see whats going on in the morning if she is still not pooping I’m going to take her to the vet.
Thanks for all the advice!

[MooBunnay]

Hello Its great that she ate some veg. The not eating can DEFINITELY be stress induced – bonded pairs should really never be split up because its traumatizing for the buns, and they often get extremely depressed. I would also recommend that you get in touch with the person that took the other bunny with them, because they need to be keeping a close eye on that bunny as well because he is also for sure very depressed and they need to be looking for signs of illness with him as well. At the rescues I’ve worked at we never split up a pair unless both are getting new friends right away, so keep a close eye on your bun, and make sure to give her lots of affection

[Gravehearted]

Poor girl.  I’d agree with Moobunnay -the symptoms might stem from depression of being torn apart from her partner or stress related.  If veggies are the only thing she’s interested in, I’d offer her more. You might also try to gently massage her tummy, since this can help sluggish motility. She hasn’t eaten anything that could have her blocked – like a large piece of fabric, lots of carpet or anything has she? If the poops are pretty small and she’s not eating much, she may be heading towards stasis.

do you have a bunny savvy vet? I’m hoping the folks at the rescue shared some vets in your area.  Otherwise you can call them for a recommendation.  Since many vets don’t have a lot of experience with bunnies it’s very important to see one who knows about bunny care.   It looks like they have some vet recommendation on their website:  http://www.michiganrabbitrescue.org/vets.htm

 i’d also give her  lots of HAY since that’s one thing that can help turn around a stasis episode.  is she sitting funny or looking uncomfortable?

If she’s not doing better by the morning, I’d call the vet.  Bunnies on occassion do turn themselves around, but I personally don’t like to wait to get them in – since the longer their tummy is in stasis the longer it takes for them to recover.

sending you both lots of good wishes, and hope she’ll be feeling better. please keep us updated on how she is.

[MsBinky]

Depression would probably make her not want to eat. The fact that she is eating properly makes me think that it is most likely a stomach upset which could be caused by some stress or change in diet etc.

The most important thing right now is to ger her to eat hay. Do you have pineapple juice or pumpkin? That could be helpful in helping to get your bun to poop.

[BinkyBunny]

Oh, that is so sad. Jack was separated at Animal Care and Control from his mate and his mate was adopted. They don’t separate bonded pairs anymore unless they fight. I fostered Jack and he yearned for bunny companionshipand would hang out by his reflection, and then when he met Rucy he was on cloud 9. I know it can take time for a bunny to realize that their mate is not coming back and once they do, they can go into a depression. Give her extra attention and love to help her come around.

It is a good sign that she’s eating, but not pooping at this point is 24 hours? The thing is that rabbits can seem fine, and then within hours, they can go seriously downhill, so if she is still not pooping I reallly recommend vetcare.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

oooh binkybunny, that is soo heart breaking, thinking of poor bunny hainging out by his reflection *awww* That is so good they don’t seperate bonded pairs anymore…Terrible for any one to do!!
Sooo happy to hear about him meeting Rucy!!!

sbunny *cuddles for isabelle*

[Gravehearted]

hows Isabella doing today?

BB – how sad for Jack, poor guy must have been heartbroken.

[sarah bowden]

Well she seems to be doing better today. She pooped a fair amount and has still been eating lots of greens, but still no interested in the pellets. I feel so bad for her. It seems that my home has been a little crazy lately. I really had hoped that Isabella and Gus would bond. But she is not interested in making a new bunny friend right now. So I have kept Gus out of the room her pen is in and now it seems that he is a little depressed.
I have been planning to take Gus on a speed dating session at the shelter this weekend, but now I worry I could just add more stress to the situation. I was working from home for 5 days and got to spend a lot of time with them, which was good. But now they seem a little lonely, so it really suprizes me that Isabella still wants nothing to do with my Gus.
I hope that I am doing the right thing for them!
Thank you so much for the concern and kindness. I am hoping after some time things will work themselves out and I will have a happy bunny tribe.

[Scarlet_Rose]

My best to your whole clan.  It sounds like things are improving though. Adding another rabbit to the mix right now could cause additional stress for Isabella as it sounds like she hasn’t quite settled in yet.  In addition to being in new surroundings, she is also dealing with the trauma of being split.  Poor little doll.  Give her some extra love from me, Bonsai & Daffodil.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I second that! Even if you do the dumping, once newly single you need some time before looking for a new mate!! So, the bunnies likely need some time as well…
Here is an article on bunny pairs losing one (though in the article it is if one dies…) it might help you…
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-1/loss-support.html

And best of luck making your bunnies happy!!

[sarah bowden]

Wow!!

Things really turned around overnight. Isabella was doing great this morning. She had a full litterbox, empty food and water dishes, and had almost chewed trough an entire willow wreath!! I also left the gate open so Gus could go in and visit through the pen. So they both seemed a little more relaxed this morning. I guess she is comforted by having him around, even if she’s not ready to share a space with him.

So it’s all good news this morning!!

[Beka27]

excellent news!!!  isn’t it amazing how absolutely complex rabbits are?  i’m guessing your pair will be fine in no time.  good luck!

[Firsttimer]

Hi Binkybunny, you wrote that if you can hear the rabbit’s stomach gurgling without putting your ear to her then that is a sign of a stomach upset. My Pepper has been gurgling loudly all week and she is pooping everywhere and is particularly smelly. She is peeing normally and drinking and eating normally. Is this normal for a seven month old unspayed rabbit?

[Scarlet_Rose]

That’s great news sbunny!!! It sounds like Isabella is coming out of it.

[Author]

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