Very worried he’s stopped eating and sad

[whispercalm]

Well my husband and I decided to tak Buddy on a short ride in the car. We put him in his carrier, which he is familiar with as it sits out for him to play in.
We were gone 1/2 hour with him. The reason we took him out is we wanted to slowly get him used to being in car hoping to be able to take him with us for a night we would be out of town. We didn’t want to leave him with someone else. Our plan was to slowly introduce him to a car ride.

He seemed quite calm and curious at first, then we could tell he was stressing as his little nose was going so fast, so we knew it wasn’t going to work.
We got home about 4:30 and it’s now 10:30.
He will not eat or drink. Not even his favorite treats. He hasn’t used his litterbox. He seems depressed and just not right.
I am very worried. He’s hopping around a bit, coming upstairs like he likes to do in the evening, but not playing. Just laying on floor. His ears are up and perked.
He actually even turned around and away from me when I tried to give him a treat.

I am so worried that we’ve put him in shock and I might find him dead in the morning.
I feel terrible. We thought it was best to familiarize him with a car ride so he could go with us away for a night.

[vanessa]

Bunnies typically recover quite nicely from environmental happenings. I’ve taken my bunnies on many car rides. They never get use to it to the point where they are relaxed enough to eat/drink. They don’t really look stressed either – they just sit still. I can tell they are relaxing when they move around in their travel cages, but they never eat or drink in a moving vehicle. I’m not sure it’s necessary to familiarize them with it. If they did relax, then yes. But I don’t think they ever really relax. (There may be some exceptions). I don’t really think the extra car rides are worth it. I’d just take the bunny on the necessary car rides, and not do any extra rides. My 4 buns have had between 2 and 10 car rides each, of between 30min and 5 hours.
His feelings may be hurt, and bunnies react to their feelings in different ways. 3 of mine are quick to forgive me The 4th is not so quick. She tends to shun me for days. I’m not sure there is anything to do at the moment. Keep offering him treats and water, and see how he is in the morning. It doesn’t sound too bad.

[Bam]

He needs to eat, a bunny that hasn’t eaten and/or pooped in 12-24 hours is a veterinary emergency. If he keeps refusing food incl treats for that long, there’s something wrong and you should call your vet for advice. A bunny’s stomach must never get empty or it will stop working.

Bunnies don’t generally appreciate car-rides (there are exeptions though), but most bunnies will at some point have to go to the vet if only for a good health check, nail-clipping etc.

You will have to deal with this refusal to eat. That he’s “cross” with you is normal for bunnies, but not eating is much more serious and a real health-hazard.

[vanessa]

Agreed. I’m not sure of the 2 are related either. It’s definitely normal for bunnies to get mad about car rides. But refusing to eat over it is extreme. That would either be an extremely sensitive bunny, or something unrelated. How is he doing this morning?

[whispercalm]

I called the vet first thing this morning and we had a 7:30 appt.
She checked him over thoroughly and then gave him an injection of metoclopramide and sent home oral to take at home.
Also some critical care incase we need it.
He nibbled on a few tiny pieces of an apple-pear the vet offered him after the injection. Now that we are home, he has eaten a sprig of cilantro, 2 sunflower seed sprouts and about 2 bites of romaine. A nibble or two on his Timothy hay.
Not pooping much .
I spent most of the night up with him. He seems in better spirits now, just not eating a lot. At least he is nibbling.

[whispercalm]

Well I typed a post but I guess it got lost. We went to vet at 7:30 this morning and Buddy was given an injection of metoclopramide and oral for home. He at a few tiny pieces of Apple-pear the vet offered him. Since being home he has eaten a sprig of cilantro and 2 sunflower seed sprouts and couple nibbles romaine. Nibble a little bit on Timothy. He seems to be feeling better as he’s pretty mischievous and running about. Last night was rough. I was up most of night watching over him and praying.
He’s pooping, odd shapes, but at least he’s pooping and nibbling some.
I also have critical care for him to eat if needed.
Just checked his poops and there was a bit of mucous with a few of them. I’ll have to watch for that. Hope that’s it and won’t be any more.

[Bam]

I’m glad you took him to the vet. If there’s mucus and very loose stools, you should go back to the vet or call them for advice. It could be that bad bacteria has been able to start to grow. This article has some great info, but don’t be too scared by it, I’m just linking to it so you know what to look out for and what treatment should be given:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Generalities/Enteritis_en.htm

[vanessa]

I read that. Didn’t have a clue stress could cause that.

[whispercalm]

Seems like just the one time for some mucous. He’s been eating better, wish he’d eat more hay though.
Having a terrible time with his oral meds. I finally took a little bit of canned pumpkin and mixed them together. He stuck his nose up at that, so I took about 6 pieces of his pelleted food and stirred it in the pumpkin. He ate that.
Now to get the evening dose in him. Probably will just mix it with a little pumpkin and pellet again.

[tobyluv]

I have heard that sometimes mucous is produced by the stomach when a rabbit has an empty stomach from not eating. The mucous is produced to protect the stomach lining from stomach acid. That may be why you saw some mucous. I hope that Buddy will start eating well soon. Sometimes you can mix up Critical Care and offer it in a saucer and they will eat it on their own. That’s a lot less stressful than force feeding them. You can even mix in a little baby food, whatever flavor his favorite fruit or veggie might be.

[Avantika]

Ask the vet for some appetite stimulants for SOS.

[Bam]

Any updates?

[Author]

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