Need help please!

[KARA]

I'm on day 8 with my rabbit not eating anywhere near enough. At first I thought it was stasis, but it is not. We tried Metacam with the gut motility drugs and there was no change. So X-rays were taken and there's nothing there. No gas, no blockage. Blood tests were taken to check kidney and liver and white blood count. Everything looked fine. Ears were checked and they look fine. Teeth were looked at and they said fine except there was one of the front teeth looks like it was chipped. But was not a concern. However, bunny was not sedated. So I don't think they got a great look at the back teeth, but not really sure. Been syringe feeding Critical Care. Now trying an antibiotic, Baytril to see if there's something we're just not seeing. On day 2 of that. Done with the Metacam yesterday and he seems a little bit worse today. Really didn't eat all day on his own until this evening. He's only eating a few small handfuls of greens in the late evening. Being very very picky. Really not eating all day and overnight just some pellets. Will still come running for dried papaya treats though. And he also loves cherries. I cut one in half for him and seemed like he was having a hard time eating it so I cut the half up into fourths, then he ate it right up. Any ideas what can be going on? I'm so exhausted and emotionally drained.

 

[zuppa]

Hi, I have a few questions here.

How old is your rabbit and how long is he with you
What is his normal daily diet and were any changes made recently
Any stress or changes in your normal life? New family members, pets?
Why you thought it was GI stasis and how you know it wasn't
How's his poos are they good size/form or tiny/irregular
Looks like they done lots of tests already and two courses of antibiotics
Is there any changes in how he acts is he less active or just has bad appetite?
How much he eats normally, is he under/overweight?
So he refuses to eat hay, his pellets, but still eats some vegetables and fruit? But having problem chewing his cherry

 

[KARA]

Hi, I have a few questions here.

How old is your rabbit and how long is he with you
What is his normal daily diet and were any changes made recently
Any stress or changes in your normal life? New family members, pets?
Why you thought it was GI stasis and how you know it wasn't
How's his poos are they good size/form or tiny/irregular
Looks like they done lots of tests already and two courses of antibiotics
Is there any changes in how he acts is he less active or just has bad appetite?
How much he eats normally, is he under/overweight?
So he refuses to eat hay, his pellets, but still eats some vegetables and fruit? But having problem chewing his cherry

His is 4 1/2. I've had him since he was 1. Lionhead about 5lbs. I think his weight is fine. He was getting unlimited hay, about 1/8 cup of pellets and about 2 cups fresh greens. Eveything was fine until I woke up to him being a bit lethargic and wouldn't eat. Seemed in pain. I brought him right to the vet. Went through gut problems with him about a year ago. Had been fine since. Adjusted his diet. His poops are fine when he eats the little but that he does. Not many cuz hes not eating much. His personality seems fine, but not quite as active. The past few days he was eating more pellets and a little hay and some greens, but not nearly enough of any. Today really no hay and not much of anything else.

 

[KARA]

Hi, I have a few questions here.

How old is your rabbit and how long is he with you
What is his normal daily diet and were any changes made recently
Any stress or changes in your normal life? New family members, pets?
Why you thought it was GI stasis and how you know it wasn't
How's his poos are they good size/form or tiny/irregular
Looks like they done lots of tests already and two courses of antibiotics
Is there any changes in how he acts is he less active or just has bad appetite?
How much he eats normally, is he under/overweight?
So he refuses to eat hay, his pellets, but still eats some vegetables and fruit? But having problem chewing his cherry

No stress that I know of. I live alone, no other pets. He's very stressed now from all the vet visits and syringe feeding.

 

[zuppa]

Quote:

His is 4 1/2. I've had him since he was 1. Lionhead about 5lbs. I think his weight is fine. He was getting unlimited hay, about 1/8 cup of pellets and about 2 cups fresh greens. Eveything was fine until I woke up to him being a bit lethargic and wouldn't eat. Seemed in pain. I brought him right to the vet. Went through gut problems with him about a year ago. Had been fine since. Adjusted his diet. His poops are fine when he eats the little but that he does. Not many cuz hes not eating much. His personality seems fine, but not quite as active. The past few days he was eating more pellets and a little hay and some greens, but not nearly enough of any. Today really no hay and not much of anything else.

I've never had it myself with my rabbits, but from this forum I know that when they refuse any particular type of food this can be teeth problem often there are spurs on back teeth and he (maybe) needs proper check of his back teeth. Hopefully other members will give you more advice, I just see you've done a lot already, if this is nothing wrong with his stomach I don't know why there was need to use strong medicine before they actually can diagnose what the problem is, now as you said he stressed from all the vets and all and antibiotics are also not something that cures anything, first you'd need to identify the problem, then take steps. Hope he'll get better soon

 

[KARA]

Quote:

I've never had it myself with my rabbits, but from this forum I know that when they refuse any particular type of food this can be teeth problem often there are spurs on back teeth and he (maybe) needs proper check of his back teeth. Hopefully other members will give you more advice, I just see you've done a lot already, if this is nothing wrong with his stomach I don't know why there was need to use strong medicine before they actually can diagnose what the problem is, now as you said he stressed from all the vets and all and antibiotics are also not something that cures anything, first you'd need to identify the problem, then take steps. Hope he'll get better soon

Thank you

 

[zuppa]

You can give him fresh or dried herbs good for appetite I give my rabbits mint, chamomile usually, some other herbs depending on what their problem is, but mint is good for digestion and also for appetite

 

[KARA]

You can give him fresh or dried herbs good for appetite I give my rabbits mint, chamomile usually, some other herbs depending on what their problem is, but mint is good for digestion and also for appetite

He's mostly only eating cilantro and carrot tops right now. Some parsley. I'll try the mint.

 

[BunbunandBarry]

Has his appetite changed dramatically and are his poops normal?
Our female bun (2 years) has never had much of an appetite. A bowl of food lasts her for a couple of days, hay is sometimes ignored. She will gobble up sugar treats but I limit them for her health. We adopted a male bunny recently who eats A LOT and we are currently bonding them (they don’t live together freely yet though) Since we have had him our females appetite has grown and she eats hay with almost enthusiasm! She still doesn’t eat as much as our male though.
I don’t know how old your bun is and all the details, but maybe he just isn’t greedy?! As long as his poops are looking healthy and he isn’t losing weight and has been checked, maybe all is good. Or maybe if he lives alone he might need a playmate?

 

[KARA]

Has his appetite changed dramatically and are his poops normal?
Our female bun (2 years) has never had much of an appetite. A bowl of food lasts her for a couple of days, hay is sometimes ignored. She will gobble up sugar treats but I limit them for her health. We adopted a male bunny recently who eats A LOT and we are currently bonding them (they don’t live together freely yet though) Since we have had him our females appetite has grown and she eats hay with almost enthusiasm! She still doesn’t eat as much as our male though.
I don’t know how old your bun is and all the details, but maybe he just isn’t greedy?! As long as his poops are looking healthy and he isn’t losing weight and has been checked, maybe all is good. Or maybe if he lives alone he might need a playmate?

His poops were fine until yesterday. But his appetite has decreased more and the poops are now small and very dry. I think he might be dehydrated. I'm going to bring him back to the vet today. But still don't know what's wrong with him.

 

[BunbunandBarry]

Our female has tiny poops on occasion, lasts about a day or 2 and then they are back to normal. She also doesn’t drink hardly anything. The vet says she is healthy so we go with it.
If your bun is losing his appetite more and more though, and his poops are changing, I would take him to the vet to get a professional opinion.
I hope it’s all sorted for you soon

 

[BunbunandBarry]

Also, you could give him some wet greens (ie. washed but not shaken dry) to get more water into him- if he will eat some

 

[KARA]

Back from the vet. It was a back molar. It ulcerated his inside cheek. They filed down the tooth. Now in recovery mode. Thanks for the help.

 

[zuppa]

Good to hear that, well done hope he'll recover soon

 

[KARA]

Thank you

 

[BunbunandBarry]

That’s great! Hope he is feeling better soon!