Dippy's not eating as much

[Luv-bunniz]

Does your vet sell Critical Care? At the moment I would take away pellets, clean the cage and put newspaper only on the bottom and shredded newspaper in the bed and put a small amount of hay and grass (say, a handful) and leave him. Go back a few hours later and see if he has eaten any or anything has changed.

 

[W5Skittles]

i forgot to mention to that your mum can pay in bits at the vets my vets give you 4 weeks to pay off bills (longer if the bill is huge) so just say Dippy needed a dental and thats £50 (could be more could be less depending on your vet) your mum could pay off the bill weekly say £15 a week

as for the mushy pellets good idea if he doesnt eat the muchy pellets from the bowl buy a seringe and seringe feed him... it does get messy though

but please try get him to a vet mushy pellets etc. can only be a tempory thing he cant live on them.

 

[Luv-bunniz]

Becca wrote:

I'll make the pellet mixture, How much water should I put in? Should they be soggy and sqishy?

Yep, make the mix roughly 75% pellets and 25% water or a little more until it is like a smoothie.

 

[Becca]

He's still eating now


Shall I still make the mixture?

 

[W5Skittles]

are his poos still normal sized? are they getting smaller?

its great hes eating hun

his poos are something to keep watch on as if hes eating less his poos will be smaller then usual.

 

[W5Skittles]

Becca wrote:

He's still eating now


Shall I still make the mixture?

if hes eating i wouldnt bother.

 

[TinysMom]

This is probably a stupid question - but is the food by any chance from a new bag of food? Just a thought....I'm assuming if the other buns are eating though - it should be fine.

A couple of things I'd do though ..

First of all - you need to be calm when you go to see him. He can pick up on your emotions and get stressed over that. I know this may be scary for you...but be calm around him - put on an act if need be and be cheerful.

Secondly - I'd dump the food and measure a preset amount into his bowl - that way you can remeasure it again in 3-4 hours and know exactly how much he's eaten....because what if it really is that your mom overfed him?

Keeping you & Dippy in my thoughts and prayers.....

 

[Becca]

Okay, Benjamin is in at the moment when I take him out I will change Dippy's food and mesaure how much I put in and how much is left.

It is new food, its adult food instead of junior, I introduced it a while ago and gradually got rid of the junior. But the others are eating it.... and he's been fine up till now.

 

[irishbunny]

If he's eating a bit then he isn't in immediate danger, but if he stops eating fully then he needs to see a vet, rabbits go downhill fast and can't not eat in 24 hours, their systems shut down and they die.

 

[PepnFluff]

Are you feeding him pellets or mushy pellets? sooner rather than later is better for vets sooner usually means a cheaper visit. If he has spurs as Flashy said he may have to go back a couple of times a year as Fluff does.

 

[Flashy]

PepnFluff wrote:

Are you feeding him pellets or mushy pellets? sooner rather than later is better for vets sooner usually means a cheaper visit. If he has spurs as Flashy said he may have to go back a couple of times a year as Fluff does.

Also, to add to that, the longer they have spurs in their mouth, the worse for their teeth and it pushes their teeth out of line, thus causing more problems and probably a more chronic condition.

Can you use your neuter money?

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Most likely he just wasn't that hungry, meaning your mum may have fed him a lot.

I have a pregnant doe right now that will just sit in her corner and wait until we leave to eat. Sometimes if she's super hungry she'll eat while we're in there, and she'll nibble her hay, but she mostly eats while we're gone. And we've increased her food from very little (she was immensely underweight when we bought her) and now she gets a full dish of food 2x daily. Sometimes she clears it all out, sometimes half is there the next day, but pellets are always available to her, not just since she needed to gain weight, but also because she's pregnant.

How is Dippy doing now though? Has he still been eating? Try giving him some parsley, carrots, or other wet veg. It doesn't sound like GI Stasis, but just incase

Emily

 

[Luv-bunniz]

BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote:

And we've increased her food from very little (she was immensely underweight when we bought her) and now she gets a full dish of food 2x daily. Sometimes she clears it all out, sometimes half is there the next day, but pellets are always available to her, not just since she needed to gain weight, but also because she's pregnant.

Sorry this is off topic but, I didnt think this was advised since it could cause the kits to grow too big? :?

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Luv-bunniz wrote:

BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote:

And we've increased her food from very little (she was immensely underweight when we bought her) and now she gets a full dish of food 2x daily. Sometimes she clears it all out, sometimes half is there the next day, but pellets are always available to her, not just since she needed to gain weight, but also because she's pregnant.

Sorry this is off topic but, I didnt think this was advised since it could cause the kits to grow too big? :?

Hmm not to sure what you mean. You're supposed to let a doe have all the food she wants while she's pregnant and nursing. Sage cleans up about half the dish morning and night and that's it.

She was extremely underweight when we got her though, so that's why she got a lot of food and all.

Emily

 

[TinysMom]

BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote:

Luv-bunniz wrote:

BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote:

And we've increased her food from very little (she was immensely underweight when we bought her) and now she gets a full dish of food 2x daily. Sometimes she clears it all out, sometimes half is there the next day, but pellets are always available to her, not just since she needed to gain weight, but also because she's pregnant.

Sorry this is off topic but, I didnt think this was advised since it could cause the kits to grow too big? :?

Hmm not to sure what you mean. You're supposed to let a doe have all the food she wants while she's pregnant and nursing. Sage cleans up about half the dish morning and night and that's it.

She was extremely underweight when we got her though, so that's why she got a lot of food and all.

Emily

I have never given a doe all they want while pregnant - never heard of it being recommended. Perhaps that is the confusion...

I know once they give birth - you increase their food slowly till they're freefeeding after a few days....but I've never heard of increasing their feed during a pregnancy.

 

[Flashy]

Becca, how is Dippy doing?

 

[Raspberry82]

I was going to add that check-ups are relatively inexpensive.. here they are only $30-$40.. with spurs I'm guessing the vet will just need to inspect the mouth area. Then you'd know for sure if it is the teeth and it won't cost much. Fixing it would be more though :?..

Some vets also offer "vet credit cards" with no interest or payment plans.. your mom might appreciate knowing that is an option and be more ok with taking him .

 

[Becca]

As you know our bunnies live outside Dippy lives outside and Fluffball and Benjamin live in the shed outside.

But the problem is it is freezing here at the moment. And even with coats, hats, scarves and gloves it is not a pleasant experience being outside.

I don't want the bunnies to fall through the cracks and be untame. But it can't be good for them to be brought inside in the warm to have a cuddle then outside again in the cold.

What can I do??

 

[Flashy]

No, it's definitely not good to go inside into a warm houseand outside like that. It makes them more vulnerable to the cold. However, if you have somewhere that is cooler in your house (maybe a conservatory?) then that may be ok.

They won't become untame that quick, and will still want to know you, especially if you always take them treats. Are they all (especially Dippy), protected well from the weather?

 

[Becca]

Yeah Dippy has started sheltering at the back of his cage, but I always put loads of straw in but he always flattens it.

The conservatory is cold but not freezing when the suns on it.

This is why I want them to be house rabbits

And you know that new hay I was talking about on chat yesterday Dippy hasn't eaten a any of that. And he didn't eat all his pellets so I put a teaspoon and a bit of oats in his bowl.