Moss is sick!

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Zaiya

Allison
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Mossy seemed fine this morning when I gave him his food, but when I went out to feed him tonight, I noticed he wasn't acting OK. I investigated, and found these symptoms:

Food not eaten
Water drank a little
Discharge from nose, not much
I can feel his ribs and hips
Not very active

I was wondering if it could be either snuffles or wool block.

What's wrong with him? What can I do to help him?

Please help my bunny!!! Thanks!
 
Is he still pooping and is it normal? How long has it been since he ate on his own? Is the discharge clear? Did you check the inside of his front legs? If a rabbit is having a lot of discharge, it will usually use its front legs to wipe it's nose with.

It sounds like he may have GI stasis, depending on what his poop is like. If it's been 12-24 hours since he last ate, or has severe bloating, get him to the vet immediately. If it's only been a few hours since you think he last ate, you could try a few things(unless he's bloated). He most likely isn't eating cause he has gas from a gut slowdown. It can be from a new food, certain veggies, molting, too many carbs and sugars in the diet, or other illness causing pain. You can try giving him some simethicone(infant gas relief) to help control the gas pain. The dosage is 1-2cc of 20mg/ml, every hour for 3 hours, then every 3-8 hours as needed. Also if you have any metacam pain reliever for him, giving him some of that will help as well. Make sure to syringe some water with it. Syringe into the side of his mouth slowly, giving him time to swallow, so he doesn't aspirate the liquid. If his body temp is cold, you need to warm him up with warm packs or warm towels, before trying to syringe food or water to him. Also if you have critical care food mix, feed him some of that. If you don't have critical care, then you can use 100% plain canned pumpkin(no spices) to syringe feed him with. You can also try to see if he will eat dark leafy greens like green leaf lettuce, cilantro, or parsley. And try and get him to eat grass hay. Tummy massages and letting him run around can also help get the gut moving.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
 
bunnies can NOT go without eating - their digestive system will shut down. you need to tackle this problem immediately! as Jenny said, if it's already been quite a while, you should skip the home remedies and rush to the vet ASAP... otherwise you can try home remedies to get him through the night, but he definitely needs to see a vet first thing in the morning (especially since the nasal discharge suggests that more is going on here than just stasis).

some of what's below has already been covered, but I'm saying it again because I have a cut-and-paste response for stasis issues and it's easier to not have to go through and modify it for what Jenny has already mentioned :p.

you can buy a syringe at any grocery store. if you have critical care food (comes from vets), you can syringe feed that. if you don't, you can make a pellet slurry - take some pellets and add water or pedialyte; microwave. let sit for 5-10 mins so the pellets can "fluff", then mix together (breaking up the pellets as much as possible); add more liquid if needed to get it to a good pudding-like consistency for syringe feeding (using a food processor (before adding liquid to the pellets), a blender or a mortar and pestle (again, before adding liquid) will make it easier to break up the pellets). critical care will work with a syringe as-is but with the DIY slurry, you may find it necessary to cut the tip of the syringe off to make the opening larger.

you can also offer a little bit of canned pumpkin (PLAIN stuff, not the pie filling kind) and/or some fruit or squash flavored baby food... not a whole lot, as these foods are sugary - maybe 2 tsp or so. if he won't eat the pumpkin on his own, you'll need to water it down with water or pedialyte in order to easily syringe feed it. these things could also be mixed into the pellet slurry or critical care to make it tastier.

you should syringe water or pedialite if you're worried he might not be drinking enough and/or if you're feeding pellet slurry/critical care.

when you syringe feed a rabbit food or liquids, you want to aim for the gap between his front incisors and back molars and always squirt the food/liquid in sideways - never straight back - to make sure he won't accidentally inhale it. remember to give him time to chew/swallow. I find it easier (especially with liquids) to have the bunny wrapped in a towel, as things can get pretty messy.

here's a great video showing how to syringe feed - [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iGZVYVm5Bg[/ame]

you can also offer pain meds to make your bunny more comfortable - metacam/meloxicam if you have it (bunny painkillers); baby aspirin or low-dose aspirin if you don't. this website has dosing info for pain meds - http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

simethicone (any brand of over the counter baby gas medicine) can also be given. it may or may not help depending on the cause of the GI stasis, but it's *incredibly* safe for rabbits so it definitely can't hurt. you can give 1-2 cc every hour for 3h, then 1 cc every 3-8h as needed if it seems to be helping.

probiotics are also very helpful for tummy troubles (stuff like benebac/probios) - you can sometimes find them at pet stores or feed stores; failing that you can buy them online. do NOT give yogurt w/probiotics, as rabbits are lactose intolerant, plus the extra sugars can make stasis worse. if your bunny gets put on antibiotics at the vet for whatever's going on with the nasal discharge, probiotics are a must.

here's a good listing of rabbit-savvy vets - http://rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=9
 
God just performed a miracle! Moss hadn't eaten all day yesterday, and I was afraid he would die of not eating during the night (because in the morning, it would be 24 hours since I last gave him the food and he didn't eat it). I woke up this morning and actually threw up because I was so sick with worry about waking up to a dead rabbit. I went out to see the rabbits, expecting to cry my eyes out, and I did! But it wasn't a sad cry, it was a cry of joy! I couldn't believe that he was alive! He was eating and drinking, and his ribs and hips weren't protruding as much anymore! The nasal discharge is gone, too!!!
 
I'm SO glad he's doing so much better - what a relief!! I would still take him in to see the vet for a check-up and explain what's gone on in the last 24h though, just to make sure everything is solved for good :)
 
Ok, thanks, everyone! Even though I didn't get a chance to try these things (which is good), it increased my knowledge on rabbits! Not to mention that it gives me more information for showmanship at the fair........

Moss is doing fine, but i'll take him to see the vet this afternoon!

Thanks, again!
 
Glad to hear he is feeling better, but that you are going to have it checked out. Stasis/not eating usually is a symptom of something else--like pain, stress, etc. I understand the feeling of when your bunny is sick. I had a bun that had to be in intensive care at the emergency vet for a poisoning and I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't do anything because I was so distraught. It's a terrible feeling.
 
Yes, it's horrible! I kept waking up in the middle of the night, resisting the urge to go outside and see him. I thought that if he was dead, I would NEVER get to sleep! So I eventually got back to sleep and waited until morning, then ran out to see him.

When I first saw him, the first thing I noticed was that he was sitting in his corner, ears up, and eyes open. I opened the cage door, and nearly jumped out of my skin when he moved! I started saying "good boy, good boy, VERY good boy!" and petting him when I saw that the water level was down, and the grass that I tried to give him the night before was all messed up. When petted him, I noticed that his ribs and hips weren't protruding as much anymore. I checked his nose, and the discharge was all gone! He hadn't touched his pellets, but he was nibbling the hay by the time I left. I got him some miner's lettuce from the side of the house to give him as a treat (my rabbit's love it!). He accepted it, and ate it!!! I was so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope the vet check goes fine!
 
when a rabbit experiences a bout of GI stasis and/or goes off food for whatever reason (like my girls did right after their spay), pellets are normally the very last thing they get back to eating again... so as long as he's chowing down on hay and eating some veggies, he's doing very well :)

it's SO scary when they're sick, and so easy to make yourself sick with worrying... nothing beats the relief of seeing your bunny stuffing their face with food and leaving you lots of poops in the litter box!
 
Ya, the rest of his pellets are still there, but he ate the grass I gave him, and I'm sure he's eating hay. I'll keep watching him!

I groomed Moss's woolly shedding today, and let him run around the pen, too! He loved it! I think Zaeo's jealous... I gave him some grass, and he sat there munching it!

I also cleaned out both cages today.
 
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