Please Help: Rabbit Is Hunched Up And Reluctant To Move

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Karaliene

Karaliene

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Bouquet (one of my rabbits) is sitting pretty hunched up and doesn't seem to budge much. I think she's pooping, eating, etc. - but it's kinda hard to be certain as there's three of them. She did accept some of her favourite treat about an hour ago and this morning she raced to the food bowl to get the pellets pretty much as normal. But she's not even attempting to run away as I pick her up (which I did to see if I could quickly check for anything wrong. I didn't hear any tooth-grinding (I did take a look at her teeth and they seem fine) but then again, I wasn't exactly listening out for it.

What should I do?

I need help soon as I know that perhaps this is GI Stasis - or if not, GI Stasis could happen. Please help!
 
Thing is, I can't - our local Vets4Pets is closed. Isn't there something - anything - I can do for them here? At home?
 
Yes. I got her two Saturdays ago, along with her daughters. All spayed.
 
First thing I would do is to make her move somewhat, just hopping around a little. Also a gentle tummy massage - most of my rabbits don't like being touched there, so I put them on my lap and rock my legs. There are videos on how to do a massage.

Also, whenever a rabbit looks odd I give some Simethicone (Infant colic relief), about 20mg 2-3 times a day. (I put it on a little kitchen oatmeal if they still eat)

What is their usual diet? Did you change their diet recently, or when you got them?
Offer hay right where she sits and watch if she eats or not. You can try to feed some safe plants like narrowleaf plantain, leaves from roses, brambles, apple trees etc.

And see a vet asap.
 
Your rabbit probably has Gas Pain which can lead to Gi-stasis. Gi-stasis is fatal if left untreated, but there are several things you can do to help her. I would not syringe feed just yet.
  • Get the rabbit to a vet. If taking her in is not possible, call the vet.
  • Give infant gas drops (you can buy them from Walmart or a pharmacy). You can give her 1-2 ml every hour for 3 hours, and then 1-2 ml every 3-8 hours or as needed. If you don't have gas drops you can brew fennel seeds, peppermint tea, or chamomile tea in hot water and syringe feed it to your rabbit after it is cooled. NO HONEY. Syringe it to your rabbit every hour. These should help get gas out. It is a substitute for Infant Gas Drops.
  • Give tummy massages to get the gas moving.
  • Make your rabbit run around. It may be that you must push her around and make her mad in order to get her moving, but it will be worth it. Moving around will get her gut moving.
  • Give fresh pineapple juice. It can help with dissolving hair in the intestines which could be clogging her up. If you don’t have fresh pineapple you can use canned pineapple, but it does not work as well.
  • Give fresh veggies (Romaine lettuce, cilantro, and parsley. No kale or cabbages). Soak them in water for a minute and feed them to your rabbit while wet that way your rabbit gets water. You can crush some pellets and put the pellet powder on the wet veggies.


If your rabbit has not eaten or pooped in 8-12 hours follow the instructions below:
  • Syringe feed Critical Care 6 times a day. If you don’t have Critical Care you need to soak pellets in water until they are mushy. Then smash them in the water until you have a mixture the consistency of pancake batter.
  • Syringe water 6 times a day. Fill a bowl with water so that the rabbit can drink freely. Add some apple juice or pineapple juice to make it more appealing.

If you need to order Critical Care, here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FKACXO/?coliid=I1XGIN0R5O7U7D&colid=1WPEFZJ54GMSE&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it.
 
If your rabbit isn't eating, DO NOT syringe feed unless instructed by your vet and the vet has ruled out bloat and a complete intestinal obstruction. If you syringe feed a rabbit that has a bloated stomach it could cause the stomach to rupture, or put increased pressure on the heart and lungs resulting in respiratory or cardiac failure.

If she is eating but not wanting to move, I would be looking for a possible leg injury. See if she is not wanting to put weight on one of her legs. Also check her eyes to make sure they aren't the problem either. If there is a leg injury or a problem with the eyes, she will need to be taken to an experienced rabbit vet.

If she isn't eating much or at all, but appears to be able to hop around fine with no sign of injury, then it could be an upset stomach causing the lack of appetite . I would try the baby gas drops. If she isn't feeling better two or three hours after that or her condition worsens at all, I would get her to the vet immediately .
https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-...abbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/
 
Last edited:
Mariam+Theo said:
If your rabbit has not eaten or pooped in 8-12 hours follow the instructions below:
  • Syringe feed Critical Care 6 times a day. If you don’t have Critical Care you need to soak pellets in water until they are mushy. Then smash them in the water until you have a mixture the consistency of pancake batter.
  • Syringe water 6 times a day. Fill a bowl with water so that the rabbit can drink freely. Add some apple juice or pineapple juice to make it more appealing.

If you need to order Critical Care, here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FKACXO/?coliid=I1XGIN0R5O7U7D&colid=1WPEFZJ54GMSE&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it.
Click to expand...

I realize this is your copy/paste whenever anyone posts about potential GI issues, but do be careful about encouraging any type of syringe feeding. This can be a dangerous thing for someone to do as Jenny has explained up above. It can cause more harm than good. Simethicone and gentle massages are the safe suggestions to offer. (Pineapple juice has been debunked and the added sugar can make GI issues worse.) You might want to edit your future posts on this.
 
Blue eyes said:
I realize this is your copy/paste whenever anyone posts about potential GI issues, but do be careful about encouraging any type of syringe feeding. This can be a dangerous thing for someone to do as Jenny has explained up above. It can cause more harm than good. Simethicone and gentle massages are the safe suggestions to offer. (Pineapple juice has been debunked and the added sugar can make GI issues worse.)
Click to expand...
I always edit to fit the person's needs, but I understand what you mean. Thanks for pointing that out! :)
 
No pineapple juice. There is now a lot of evidence that that can do more harm than good. And don't force feed until a blockage has been ruled out by a vet. If you can keep the bunny eating, great. If not, I would go to an emergency vet if your normal vet is not open.
 
Karaliene said:
Thing is, I can't - our local Vets4Pets is closed. Isn't there something - anything - I can do for them here? At home?
Click to expand...
If you call your local Vets4Pets they will have a recorded message giving your nearest vet that is open for emergencies. Good luck
 
Hey all. I did get through to an online vet for around half-an-hour last night. She suggested a couple of causes - I could LYK what she said if you like?

Just a brief update: This morning, at about 7am, Bouquet did come to greet me with the others. She was still moving sluggishly and did still seem a little lethargic. I swept up as usual, then filled the hay, water and gave them today's pellets. I did half wonder if perhaps I was introducing new pellets too quickly, so I gave them more old pellets and less new - and as usual, they all (including Bouquet) tucked in. Now, about 3hrs later, I have checked on her again and she seems better still. She doesn't seem to be hunched up, she took some of her favourite treats and she's keeping up with the others more now. I haven't noticed her hunched up whilst I've been out there. I refilled her hayrack and she went straight over there and is eating hay now. I'm relieved she's eating it, as yesterday she didn't eat much at all for a good three hours. Anyways, now, the only thing that does seem slightly out-of-the ordinary is that there is more urine in the shed than usual - and it's gone orange, but I think that's because I fed them some different veg. the other day which could have coloured it. But the amount is slightly concerning.

Anyway, I have to go back to lessons in 5 minutes. If you reply - I won't be able to check this until about 1pm when I have lunch! So I'll check her again then - and give another update.
 
Karaliene said:
Hey all. I did get through to an online vet for around half-an-hour last night. She suggested a couple of causes - I could LYK what she said if you like?

Just a brief update: This morning, at about 7am, Bouquet did come to greet me with the others. She was still moving sluggishly and did still seem a little lethargic. I swept up as usual, then filled the hay, water and gave them today's pellets. I did half wonder if perhaps I was introducing new pellets too quickly, so I gave them more old pellets and less new - and as usual, they all (including Bouquet) tucked in. Now, about 3hrs later, I have checked on her again and she seems better still. She doesn't seem to be hunched up, she took some of her favourite treats and she's keeping up with the others more now. I haven't noticed her hunched up whilst I've been out there. I refilled her hayrack and she went straight over there and is eating hay now. I'm relieved she's eating it, as yesterday she didn't eat much at all for a good three hours. Anyways, now, the only thing that does seem slightly out-of-the ordinary is that there is more urine in the shed than usual - and it's gone orange, but I think that's because I fed them some different veg. the other day which could have coloured it. But the amount is slightly concerning.

Anyway, I have to go back to lessons in 5 minutes. If you reply - I won't be able to check this until about 1pm when I have lunch! So I'll check her again then - and give another update.
Click to expand...
That sounds encouraging :) :)
 
Karaliene said:
Hey all. I did get through to an online vet for around half-an-hour last night. She suggested a couple of causes - I could LYK what she said if you like?

Just a brief update: This morning, at about 7am, Bouquet did come to greet me with the others. She was still moving sluggishly and did still seem a little lethargic. I swept up as usual, then filled the hay, water and gave them today's pellets. I did half wonder if perhaps I was introducing new pellets too quickly, so I gave them more old pellets and less new - and as usual, they all (including Bouquet) tucked in. Now, about 3hrs later, I have checked on her again and she seems better still. She doesn't seem to be hunched up, she took some of her favourite treats and she's keeping up with the others more now. I haven't noticed her hunched up whilst I've been out there. I refilled her hayrack and she went straight over there and is eating hay now. I'm relieved she's eating it, as yesterday she didn't eat much at all for a good three hours. Anyways, now, the only thing that does seem slightly out-of-the ordinary is that there is more urine in the shed than usual - and it's gone orange, but I think that's because I fed them some different veg. the other day which could have coloured it. But the amount is slightly concerning.

Anyway, I have to go back to lessons in 5 minutes. If you reply - I won't be able to check this until about 1pm when I have lunch! So I'll check her again then - and give another update.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the update.
 
Before you start doing anything you should diagnose properly what is the problem with her, and since you are completely new to rabbits as I understand I would suggest using some professional help instead of asking random people on the internet. Maybe try ringing Blue Cross they take emergencies
https://www.bluecross.org.uk/victoria-animal-hospital
 
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