i think my bunns might be sick!

[CaityMac]

hey i my boy bunny bunns has been acting really weird lately
like he is never really sitting up he is usually laying and
he has been not eating much. i.e like today i got him and my two other bunnies treats and i gave them there greens and hay and he never touched
any of except his yogurt covered raisins
if you need to know he shares a cage with my girl bunny ruby.

please help!!!!leaseplease:?

 

[TinysMom]

I would try to get him to drink for sure....and see if he can sit up on his own at all....

how long has this been going on?

Peg

 

[CaityMac]

he can sit up on his own but he would rather be left alone and be laying down
this has been going on for about 1 to 2 weeks
but naturally i thought that he was just calming down because
it used to be that ruby let bunns walk all over her and now the
tables have turned so i thought maybe ruby had put him in his place

 

[TinysMom]

Can you tell if he's eating anything at all? Drinking?

 

[CaityMac]

well he at least is eating some pellets but no grrens or hay
and drinking im not so sure

 

[Pipp]

How old is he?

How are his poops? That's the most important thing to keep an eye on re: monitoring bunny health.

Have you changed his diet at all? Given him any new foods lately? Changed pellets?

If he's an adult, it sounds like it could be a dental problem. They tend to stop eating some things but they keep eating others. If he's a baby, it's still possible, just not as likely.

Give him a good going over and make sure he has no lumps or injuries anywhere.

Overall, how much has he been eating over the last week?



sas :clover:

 

[2homeBunnies]

Hi everyone,

This is CaityMac's Mom and I will see if I can give you any more information that might be of help.

Bunns is a neutered male about a year old. He seems to be drinking and will eat his treats but does not seem to be interested in his foods, greens or hay as he usuallly is; normally he is quite the little piggy when it comes to food and can get a bit aggressive/ acts like he hasn't been fed in weeks when he is being fed. But lately he has not been acting like that and has been much calmer than his usual self. Ruby, his cage mate seems fine and is actually acting more like he normally does and he is acting more like Ruby normally does - very quiet and somewhat passive. He just does not seem as interested in eating as he normally is. We have not really changed his diet, he gets plenty of greens, hay and fresh water every day. I am keeping an eye on him to see if he will need a visit to see to his vet but at this point, he is not really acting sick, just not like his usual self.

Thanks so much for the help you guys always give my daughter. She loves her bunnies very much and takes such good care of them. If they sneeze, she worries about them. Every bunners should have a bunny mom liker her. She loves this forum as well.

 

[2homeBunnies]

Update:

While giving the bunnies their morning hay, pellets, greens and fresh water for my daughter since she spent the night at a friend's house, I noticed that Bunns wanted and tried to eat, but Ruby won't let him. She is a bit older than him, is not fixed (yet) and has already had one litter in her past life with her previous family. She keeps chasing Bunns around the cage, trying to mount and bite him. She seems to be a bit more aggressive than normal. Could this be the reason for his quieter demeanor? Or could his quieter demeaner be due to the fact that he is growing up (over a year old now) and is just settling down? I know that with age dogs will settle down but do bunnies do the same?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[polly]

I think that it could be a bit of him settling down and a bit of bullying.

If it was me i would try feeding Bunns in a separate place from Ruby, she is maybe being a bit possessive over the food and not letting him get a look in. At least that way you can see if he is wanting to eat but she won't let him!!

 

[2homeBunnies]

Thank you polly. That is such a simple solution (to feed him separately) and yet that never dawned on me. duh! We will give that a try and see how it goes since he did try to eat this morning and got chased away. Again thanks!

polly wrote:

I think that it could be a bit of him settling down and a bit of bullying.

If it was me i would try feeding Bunns in a separate place from Ruby, she is maybe being a bit possessive over the food and not letting him get a look in. At least that way you can see if he is wanting to eat but she won't let him!!

 

[polly]

Its no problem, i hope that works for you

 

[Pipp]

Watch him eat, and if you see him picking up food and dropping it, rushing to the bowl and nibbling and then losing interest, or nibble at the hay and veggies first before moving to the pellets, those are signs of a dental issue like molar spurs and they'll need to be filed down by a vet.

Also watch for a slightly wet muzzle, unusal mouth movements, etc. I think if Bunns is a short-faced lop like a Holland or Fuzzy,molar spurs are more common, although Mini'sget them too. Sometimes a vet can tell with a visual exam, but often it takes a head x-ray.

If it is harrassment, getting Ruby spayed is probably the best ticket (seeing as that should be done for her future health as well as well as his).

And/or you maywant to rethink the living space. What kind of acage are they in? He's going to need some space to get away from her. Food issues aside, he may also be depressed from the harrassment. I've had this happen with a number of bunnies,andthe simple addition of a shelf or a box in their existing cage, or a new NIC pen or extention solved the problem.

BTW, Caity, when we revamped our site we lost attachment photos, so we can't see your pictures anymore. Do you have a Photobucket account? We'd love to see the pictures again.

Here's a thread about PHotobucket pics: http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=25443&forum_id=47

sas

 

[Pipp]

PS: I really suggest also monitoring his weight andhis output (poops and pee). If he is loosing weight, has little tinypoops, or if he's straining to pee, those are signs of trouble.

And I strongly suggest getting some Nutri-Cal, a vitamin paste that's made for cats and dogs but works well for rabbits. Especially if he's losing weight.



sas