Stormy not himself

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m worried about my little guy.  He normally always eats all his meals, both veg and pellets right away. The last few days, he eats his vegetables and then is not interested in the pellets, just eats a couple and then goes back in his cage. I leave them in his cage and he eventually eats them later but he’s also hardly touching his hay. The strange this is, he still begs for treats at every opportunity!! That’s Stormy for ya, I guess. And he’s still really excited to get his bowl at meal times. I know the pellets are not bad because it’s the same bag I’ve been using for a month and it’s stored in the fridge in a tupperware and the other two buns have no problems with them.

Also the last 2 or 3 nights, during his out time, he just sits around, not his usual hyper, binkying, exploring self. And he just lets me pick him up when it’s time to go home, which is very unusual, usually he puts up a big stink and runs away. His poos are still normal though.

It’s so stressful and hard to see my little spunky guy act like this.  Ever have a bun be off and you have no idea why?

[Sarita]

Have you had his teeth checked?

[Barbie]

(((Vibes for Stormy and LPT!!!)))  I’m sorry to hear about him. being “off”

[luvmybunny]

Hope Stormy feels better! Sending good vibes too!

[katie, max & penny]

yeah this makes me wonder about his teeth. pellets and hay are difficult to chew if he has a sore tooth or something.

[RabbitPam]

They do get more mellow as they get older, but with the avoidance of tough food I would agree that he may have tooth trouble.
I think a trip to the vet is in order.

[bunnytowne]

OH my.  YEs since he is off his food could be teeth.    

I can say they sometimes have off days but not to that extent with the food.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Awww I could be wrong but is it Stormy who is prone to stasis? I’d give tummy rubs just in case. {{{Stormy}}}

Did you do anything to get the ‘bunny butt’? Maybe he’s mad at you?

[LittlePuffyTail]

I was thinking teeth too, as he is about 5 years old. I will try to take a peek in his mouth tonight. Maybe I should try wetting his pellets. After the weekend I will make an appointment if he’s still off, although I hate that my rabbit vet is still not open yet, but my other vet could probably help as well.

What is commonly the problem with their teeth, needing filing or what? I’ve never dealt with teeth problems before.

[Sarita]

You won’t be able to tell if he has molar spurs just by looking. The vet will need to use an otoscope and honestly sometimes they need to anesthetize them to really look into their mouth to see molar spurs. Many times as rabbits get older they may need their molars filed on occasion. It’s not always a matter of malocclusion.

[RabbitPam]

Yes, Spockie always had excellent teeth until he was about 7, and then one grew into a misalignment and needed filing and watching. Like all of us, they can get a bit worse with age.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Stormy is still feeling quite poorly today. This is really hard. I will make an appointment with the vet on Monday to have his teeth checked but I’m starting to wonder if that’s what it is. I soaked some of his pellets but he still was really not interested in them but got excited for the pineapple I went and bought him and even licked all my fingers quite thoroughly! If his teeth are bothering him do you think that would also make him less active? He just seems so mopy. Also, his poos are getting smaller, maybe because he is eating less fiber. There was also a few soft ones this morning.

Is it possible for a bun to have a very low grade statis or the onset of a statis for like a week? I’ve never dealt with anything like this before. When my buns get sick it’s perfectly healthy to very sick to recovering and then back to normal. Never off like this for so long. Do you think I should try giving him a dose of simethicone in case his tummy is upset? It can’t hurt right, even if it’s just his teeth? Should I feed him extra greens?

[Sarita]

Dental problems will bring on stasis and will cause them to change their diet which may cause the poops to be small. Your best bet is to have the vet check him thoroughly otherwise you are just second guessing. Stasis results from underlying causes like gas, dental, uti, stress, etc…there is always a reason for it however small it may seem to be.

[Binkles]

Posted By LittlePuffyTail on 09/12/2009 09:13 AM

Is it possible for a bun to have a very low grade statis or the onset of a statis for like a week? I’ve never dealt with anything like this before. When my buns get sick it’s perfectly healthy to very sick to recovering and then back to normal. Never off like this for so long. Do you think I should try giving him a dose of simethicone in case his tummy is upset? It can’t hurt right, even if it’s just his teeth? Should I feed him extra greens?

Entirely. This happened with Binkles a few times. Little-Bit is a little harder to diagnose since she’s always happy and normal-seeming regardless of how she feels. Most of the time I go sheerly off of what I find in the litterbox, and there have been quite a few instances in which I’m sure I’ve prevented a serious case of stasis when I’ve seen a slight change in poop size. I am the paranoid mom who cleans out the litterbox daily, but it pays.

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Aw, I hope he’s ok! At least he’s still eating! Let us know how the vet trip goes!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Stormy is doing a little better, still not totally himself yet though. I didn’t end up taking him to the vet. I e-mailed my rabbit vet who is still not in her clinic till the end of the month. She thinks that if his teeth were bothering him, he wouldn’t eat the hard veggies that he is. She said give him a diet of no pellets and at least 3 types of veggies and 1-2 tbsp of high fibre fruit. He is a bit more active during Binky time and a bit more interested in his hay. The poos vary in size but are still plentiful. I think he’s starting to come around.

[BinkyBunny]

oh…I sure hope things continue to progress. Rucy had teeth problems and yet, even when the spurs were growing back, she would munch a bit on greens and pellets. I could tell she would just do it less or choose softer pieces of hay.

If there are minor issues that just cause discomfort it could cause a slow down in the hay intake which may cause digestive issues. Do you notice a decline in hay consumption too?

However, he may just have had a strange bout of gi problems and is coming out of it. I sure hope so!! Keep us updated.

[Sarita]

Different rabbits react differently to dental problems – Skunklionshow’s rabbit never really stopped eating any one particular thing.

Hopefully he’s getting better.

[LittlePuffyTail]

If he doesn’t continue to improve or get back to normal soon I will bring him in to my other vet and have her take a look at his teeth. I’m leaning more towards GI problems though because his activity level has been reduced as well.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Stormy is definitely starting to feel better! There were zooms last night!!!! He’s got almost his old appetite back and he tried to kill me when I picked him up to go home…yup, that sounds like my little guy!!!

[BinkyBunny]

Yeah!! That’s great to hear. It’s so funny when we are happy they are back to their normal “grumpy” reactions to some things.

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