not eating pellets or hay

[taykelly11]

Hi guys, before I even start I want to note I have called the vet and he won't be in until Tuesday (tomorrow) so I figured I'd hop on here for some help in the meantime.

About, eh 2 days ago, I noticed my year old Dwarf rabbit Bandit had not eaten his bowl of pellets. Now usually I catch im with his head in the bag of food eating while mommy's not looking so this is really unusual for him. He does not seem to be in any pain, he's slightly less active but not to the extent that I'm freaking out. No tooth grinding and he's laying flopped or meatloaf, so no hunched over in the corner positions. Yesterday I offered him lettuce, basil and parsley which he ate but he has not touched his pellets and I dont seem to notice any less hay in his holder so I don't think he's eating much of that either. He's had GI before so I'm aware of the symptoms and I don't believe its that. I checked his teeth and his front ones are still aligned so I can't attribute it to those unless he's having back teeth issues now which I'll ask the vet about. I offered him a carrot and blue berry which are his favorite and he denied both, also very odd. Does anyone have any help they can offer? He's sitting next to me now licking my hand so I'm not extremely worried but would still like some comfort if anyone else has had this issue. Could it be the change in weather? Would the heat bother him?

 

[JBun]

Getting him to a vet would be the best thing, especially since it's already been two days. I can only make guesses and offer what I would do, but if he has a complete gi blockage, feeding him could make things worse.

Is it very hot in your home? Is he breathing fast and are his ears hot? If so, he needs help cooling down. If he's in severe heat distress, you need to get him to a vet immediately. If it's not heat that's the issue, it could be his teeth if he isn't showing syptoms of his belly hurting, like changing postitions frequently, laying down but seeming uncomfortable and pressing his belly to the floor, eye squinting. These are additional signs of pain, along with the other ones you mentioned. So if you think it might be his teeth causing the problem, you still need to get him to eat, or he could develop stasis if he hasn't already. If he will only eat soft leafy greens, then feed him some of those. If you have critical care recovery food, then you can start feeding him that. If he won't eat it on his own, you will need to syringe feed him. Make sure his body temp hasn't dropped and his ears aren't really cold, before you start syringe feeding. If so, them you need to help warm him up with a warm pack or warm towels, before syringe feeding. If you don't have critical care, you can soak some of his pellets in warm water, and feed him the mush. Plain canned pumpkin(not the spiced pie filling) can also be used. You will also need to syringe water if he's not drinking on his own, so he doesn't get dehydrated. Make sure to syringe slowly so he doesn't aspirate the liquid. if it is a dental problem, some rabbits won't drink cold water cause it hurts their teeth, but will drink warm water.

If it's stasis then you really need to get him to a vet. You can read the info on this link about stasis.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

 

[taykelly11]

Thank you, he just ate a handful of lettuce and basil with some water, and I found some droppings so at least his system is still moving. I have a 12:30 appointment tomorrow for him so hopefully we'll figure this out. I really hope its not GI, he got it after he was neutered last summer and although he was easily treated and better the next day the vet bill was awfully high. Of course I'd do anything for him though, pains of a bunny mommy

 

[Blue eyes]

I would also suggest you refresh his hay. I know mine seldom touch hay that's been in the cage for half a day. They want new stuff. As soon as I put new in, it gets them to eat it.

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

:yeahthat: I agree, whenever Ash has hay that's a few days old he stops eating it, but whenever I get him some new hay he's all over it.

I haven't got much more to say but I really hope Bandit gets well in no time! I'll be keeping you and him in my thoughts and prayers. ray:

 

[tonyshuman]

Since it sounds like it was getting progressively worse, I would go with tooth issues. A number of other hints are there: him being a dwarf, the pellets being the first thing he stopped eating, not doing the normal gas hunched position. I'd keep him eating until you can see a vet. He probably needs his molars trimmed, and hopefully there is no infection at the tooth roots. Adding water to the pellets and mashing them up into a slurry sometimes gets them to eat.