NOT EATING

Mini_Rex · Jun 30, 2023

Honestly, I'm glad I have my bun's cage 2 feed from my work desk. It allowed me to see signs of him not acting right.

I noticed Rocket acting weird about 2 hours after he ate his pellets. He didn't finish all of them.

He would continue to just sit in the corner of his cage out in the open not in his hide away.

I tried to give him a banana, nothing. I tried to give him his hay, nothing.

At first I thought GI stasis, but right before he started acting weird, he was chewing on the bars. He won't let me check his teeth.

He's acting very lethargic, not drinking water, now that I'm typing this he started to eat some pellets.

You can see that he wants to take the food I offer him from my hand, he even grabs it, but then he drops the food.

I'm unsure what is going... plz see pic of his posture. He switches from that to laying down.

He's seemingly a little active right now, but he's just choosing to remain hanging out in a corner, sleep, occasionally groom himself.

He switches between the position in the picture, loafing, and laying down. No pellet dropping for atleast 3 hours. No pee in about 4 or 5 hours.

NO rabbit savvy vets within a 2 hour drive are available today. Found a ER that would take him. The vet there isn't exotic certified, but they own rabbits. It's my only option outside of paying a 60 dollar non refundable co pay for a 9 am appointment tomorrow that won't even refund me if I cancel due to death. Ticked me off when they said that.

He's trying to show he's healthy. But after sitting with him for 8 hours for over a week, this is NOT his normal behavior. He's usually super active and zooms around.

Again, I dunno if it's GI stasis or if it's dental... or I'm being paranoid and he's just being lazy today.

JBun · Jun 30, 2023

Frequently shifting positions, like sitting hunched (usually in a corner or by the water dish, not to be mistaken for a bun loafing and resting), then laying down belly pressing (different than contented flopping), getting back up, laying back down, just seeming unusually restless; accompanied with uncharacteristic lack of appetite for the time of day (middle of day, rabbits are often less active and may not eat as much), are signs of possible stomach upset. It could be something off in the pellets, especially if you're still feeding the lower quality feed store pellets.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Gastrointestinal_stasis
https://rabbit.org/2013/02/gastrointestinal-stasis-the-silent-killer/
Generally if it's a dental issue, if it's the beginning stages, the rabbits behavior will still be pretty normal, aside from not eating much or selectively eating, or trying to chew and dropping their food (not the same as a rabbit taking food from your offered hand and dropping it just to get it out of their face). There won't be belly pressing or acting unusually lethargic and sitting hunched not wanting to move.

https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951360
Medirabbit: dental issues

I would suggest encouraging hay eating over the pellets. Maybe throw out that dish of pellets in case there's something in there that was the culprit. I'll usually try a few doses of baby gas drops in case the GI upset involves gas production (info in the stasis links). But if it's been more than 12-24 hours since your rabbit last ate, or if the condition seems to be deteriorating, especially if there are signs it could be bloat or there's true diarrhea (fecal balls also runny/mushy), this is considered an emergency.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Veterinary_emergencies
Just a note, never force feed (syringe feeding) anything to a rabbit with suspected GI problems, until a vet has ruled out a complete obstruction and bloat, as the added pressure on the stomach can risk pressure on the heart and lungs, or stomach rupture. The most I'll try is simethicone usually, but if it's severe bloat, even that could be a risk.

Mini_Rex · Jun 30, 2023

JBun said:
Frequently shifting positions, like sitting hunched (usually in a corner or by the water dish, not to be mistaken for a bun loafing and resting), then laying down belly pressing (different than contented flopping), getting back up, laying back down, just seeming unusually restless; accompanied with uncharacteristic lack of appetite for the time of day (middle of day, rabbits are often less active and may not eat as much), are signs of possible stomach upset. It could be something off in the pellets, especially if you're still feeding the lower quality feed store pellets.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Gastrointestinal_stasis
https://rabbit.org/2013/02/gastrointestinal-stasis-the-silent-killer/
Generally if it's a dental issue, if it's the beginning stages, the rabbits behavior will still be pretty normal, aside from not eating much or selectively eating, or trying to chew and dropping their food (not the same as a rabbit taking food from your offered hand and dropping it just to get it out of their face). There won't be belly pressing or acting unusually lethargic and sitting hunched not wanting to move.

https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951360
Medirabbit: dental issues

I would suggest encouraging hay eating over the pellets. Maybe throw out that dish of pellets in case there's something in there that was the culprit. I'll usually try a few doses of baby gas drops in case the GI upset involves gas production (info in the stasis links). But if it's been more than 12-24 hours since your rabbit last ate, or if the condition seems to be deteriorating, especially if there are signs it could be bloat or there's true diarrhea (fecal balls also runny/mushy), this is considered an emergency.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Veterinary_emergencies
Just a note, never force feed (syringe feeding) anything to a rabbit with suspected GI problems, until a vet has ruled out a complete obstruction and bloat, as the added pressure on the stomach can risk pressure on the heart and lungs, or stomach rupture. The most I'll try is simethicone usually, but if it's severe bloat, even that could be a risk.

Update! So the place I took Rocket to did have an exotic vet on staff and there was a rabbit savvy tech.

Rocket is fine, there was a little stomach discomfort. They're suspecting bloat from stress. Apparently my partner was bringing my dog's face right up to the cage and thinking that just because Rocket isn't running around doesn't mean he's not stressed.

So... I gave him the almost 400 dollar receipt. Told him next time he pays.

Caught it early. His intestines were starting to slow down but hadn't completely stopped.

He was given fluids for being mildly dehydrated, a shot to help with the pain killer .... he surprisingly didn't scream.

Plz see pics for medications. (I scribbled out names and contact info.)

Mini_Rex · Jun 30, 2023

He started eating again when he got to the vet ER.

He's eating and drinking now too. Once he came out of his crate he started playing and being his usual social self. See how tomorrow goes.

JBun · Jun 30, 2023

If he's eating pretty normally on his own, there's usually no need to syringe feed. But it's good to have it on hand just in case. Meloxicam is a normal NSAID given to rabbits, though that's a pretty minimal amount, unless your bun is only 1kg. Usual dose for GI stasis is around 1mg/kg/day, split into 2 doses. Rabbits usually need a higher dose and twice daily dosing because they metabolize the drug more quickly than other animals like dogs. But its good you were prescribed it, though several days worth would have been better.

https://www.vgr1.com/metacam/
Did the vet also prescribe a gut motility med like cisapride or metoclopramide? Though if your bun is back to normal, you won't need it this time. But normally it's prescribed for GI stasis, so you'll know in case this happens in future.

In case this wasn't stress induced but from the pellets, I would suggest keeping an eye on how he's doing a couple hours after eating them, for the next several days. I've had issues with pellets causing digestive upset for some of my buns in the past, so it is something that can sometimes be an issue. I'm glad your little guy is feeling better

Mini_Rex · Jul 1, 2023

JBun said:
If he's eating pretty normally on his own, there's usually no need to syringe feed. But it's good to have it on hand just in case. Meloxicam is a normal NSAID given to rabbits, though that's a pretty minimal amount, unless your bun is only 1kg. Usual dose for GI stasis is around 1mg/kg/day, split into 2 doses. Rabbits usually need a higher dose and twice daily dosing because they metabolize the drug more quickly than other animals like dogs. But its good you were prescribed it, though several days worth would have been better.

https://www.vgr1.com/metacam/
Did the vet also prescribe a gut motility med like cisapride or metoclopramide? Though if your bun is back to normal, you won't need it this time. But normally it's prescribed for GI stasis, so you'll know in case this happens in future.

In case this wasn't stress induced but from the pellets, I would suggest keeping an eye on how he's doing a couple hours after eating them, for the next several days. I've had issues with pellets causing digestive upset for some of my buns in the past, so it is something that can sometimes be an issue. I'm glad your little guy is feeling better

Thank you! Yeah, the vet just mainly gave him pain killers and fluids.

UPDATE!!!

Rocket made a HUGE turn around. He was his usual happy self again. Binkying, zooming around, chewing on things, flicking his feet at me while hopping away because I didn't let him chew on his x pen bars (well screw you too buddy).

He ate all his pellets, going down on his hay, continued to tear up his timothy hay hideaway and then push it back in it's original spot (I guess he likes it there).

Due to the storm, I haven't given him his mid day treat yet to check on his gut. But he did eat pellets and hay from my hand.

I think what happened was on Thursdays I work in office, and apparently my boyfriend didn't have time to supervise Rocket while he plays in his x pen. That being said, until I can get the larger x pen that won't require supervision (Rocket hasn't figured out he can hop over his current x pen of he really wanted to, and he chews the bars), I'ma have to get a sitter for him. Already have someone in mind and she'd be more than happy to do it for a small amount of money.

Pic below is Rocket straight up flopping in his house after playing and eating and pooping and peeing for a solid 5 hours. I'm super please. Bunny wore out! He then started twitching and making the soft purring (not chattering) noises so I'm unsure if that's normal or a concern.