Changes in bunny behavior.

[Devi]

I posted earlier on my bunny (1 yr old) lack of pooping and eating, as well as weight loss a short time after eating some the foam play floor squares. He got better for a time after I took him to the vet, the vet noted he had a full stomach and empty intestines and put him on critical care and meta to get things moving and iv fluids while he was there didn't think it was GI statis , he improved some. Now while is his pooping better (still not a large amount), he still isn't acting like himself. He hides more, still mostly inactive and doesn't come running at feeding time. His diet hasn't changed, large amount of hay at all times, 1/4 cup pellets, 2 tbs of fruit banana or apples. and at least four cups of fresh veg twice a day all of this he turns his nose up to. I even tried to coax him with crit care but he won't touch it, and I can feel his bones more and more.. the only thing he will go for right now is pineapple juice. Should I take him back to the vet?

 

[whiskylollipop]

Were x-rays taken? It sounds like he had a blockage. Critical care and IVs aren't enough to remove a blockage. Has it passed through, or is he still pooping very little? How much hay is he eating, is he finishing his pellets? Take away the fruits and halve his veg portion, you want him to be eating lots of hay and pellets to get more roughage for digestion.

 

[JBun]

If he has stopped eating again, then yes, you do need to get him back to the vet immediately. The vet should check your buns teeth to rule those out as the cause for the lack of eating. You may also need other diagnostics done such as xrays and a blood test to try and find out if there is a secondary medical issue causing this to reoccur.

 

[Devi]

They checked his teeth their fine, and they did take x-rays that's how they noticed his stomach had stuff in it but his intestines didn't but the x-rays didn't show any blockage but then if it's the foam it wouldn't show on x-ray.

He is eating some hay but not a lot, I been giving him enough hay to cover two of him usually he will eat all of it of it before I have to change it but lately it takes all day for him to finish his hay. But as for his pellets they always been the food of last resort for him, eating those at night after his veg run out but lately veg and pellets stay mostly untouched same with the fruit, but he eats the papaya digestive enzyme tablets along with his hay (slowly).

 

[JBun]

An impacted cecum is a possibility. It causes gut slowdown and will result in a rabbit eating less and less, until they stop eating. It can cause severe discomfort and can be fatal if not corrected. If this is the case, it will take a vet to confirm and you will likely need gut motility meds, pain meds, as well as a diet change cutting out high calorie/energy foods like pellets and sugary starchy treats, and feeding only a grass hay to restore good gut motility. This should be done under vet supervision and your rabbits eating of hay needs to be monitored to make sure enough hay is being consumed. Good hydration is equally important.
http://rabbit.org/disorders-of-the-cecum/

I can only make guesses based on limited information and not seeing your rabbit. There is obviously something wrong with your bun and it will take vet and further diagnostics to discover what the problem is. It could still be a dental issue as not all dental problems are on the surface and can be seen with a visual exam. Rabbits can also get elongated tooth roots and infected teeth, and it would take a head xray to discover if this is the problem.
http://www.lagomorphs.com/dentalchallenges.pdf

 

[Devi]

I will make a vet appointment. But he was on gut mobility meds for roughly two weeks and he improved while on them and looked to be pulling through starting to be his usual self again but he has started to decline once more after being off the gut meds for a nearly a month. Also what I did for this evening's feeding time I gave him just hay a small amount of pellets (he's under weight so I'm reluctant to fully cut his calories, when healthy he tops the scales at 5lbs right now he weights in at 3lbs.) no treats or veg.

 

[JBun]

I'm glad you will be getting him into the vet right away. If he really has dropped 2 lbs, that is a HUGE amount of weight loss and there is something very wrong that needs immediate vet attention.

The suggestions of diet change are only if your buns problems are due to a digestive issue that would be affected by certain foods. This is something you need to work out with your vet though. If his current health problems aren't due to digestive issues, and with his weight loss, he will need the extra calories pellets can give. If a dental issue or some other health problem ends up being the cause, then a change of diet isn't necessary. So determining a cause is very important.

Best of luck at the vets, and I hope your vet can get to the bottom of what is going on with your bun and that everything will be ok. Please let us know how things go.

 

[Devi]

Thanks Jenny, I will keep everyone updated as I can.

 

[Buddy-And-Tiddly]

Take the poor thing to the vet. It is probably a eating disorder. Tell me what happens! I how he feels better!:headflick:

 

[Devi]

I Said I would do a Update soon as I could. ok teeth has been completely ruled out, Blood work came back fine. He does seem to have a bit of a blockage but at this point it seems to be solving itself slowly so the vet wants to wait and see if it continues to move through his system on it's own cause she doesn't want to risk surgery unless absolutely necessary. And the rest of his behavior well it seems is not so much as him being sick as he is well lack of better term depressed and bored. So I changed up his toys and added a maze with periscope holes for him to play in and he has perked up since, so in my inexperience I missed the mark on the enrichment part of his needs, but I'm working on fixing it.