Pseudopregnancy/behaviour change

[Abelia]

Hi guys I’ve a singly kept 1,5 years old unspayed female rabbit and since this morning she has been trying to build a nest.She is pulling her fur and carrying straw/hay in her mouth to the nest.She is gathering up shredded newspapers and that kind of stuff.(She even carries cloth bags and blankets)She is constantly digging and going mad.What should I do?I am afraid she will harm herself.

 

[Hermelin]

Let her be that’s normal behavior with false pregnancy. If you don’t want her to go through false pregnancy you should consider getting her spayed. Because it will be something that happens at least once every year or every time it get triggered.

https://www.rabbitcaretips.com/false-pregnancy-in-rabbits/
It will just take a few days/weeks until it will pass.

 

[Abelia]

Thanks for your advice! I really appreciate it But she has lost her appetite since then.She hasn’t eaten anything for almost three hours.Does it have something to do with false pregnancy? How can I get her appetite back?

 

[Hermelin]

That’s not normal if she have stopped eating. Try to bribe with treats and see if she will accept any. Do she act as if she’s in pain for example pressing the stomach to the floor?

 

[Abelia]

Nope she doesn’t seem to be in pain.She just sits in her nest all day except for a couple of times.Just now I tried to give her some sweet treats that she really loves but she only ate a few bites.She acts like her nest is only thing on her mind

 

[Hermelin]

Do you have any gas drops? myself will give it when my bunnies have less appetite. Because gas can cause bloating and she might not be in bad pain but waiting longer without eating it can get worse.

So giving a little gas drops can maybe help her a bit. Because gas troubles is quite common when bunnies stop eating.

I know when one of my bunnies got gas troubles he still accepted treats in the beginning. But because it was not his normal attitude, I was concerned and a few hours later he started to act as if he had stomach pains.

So keep an eye on her if she start to act abnormal and still refuse to eat.

 

[Abelia]

Sadly I don’t have any.I’ll observe her for a while then.Hope her appetite increases.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Since 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. It can be given to your rabbit every hour. These should help get gas out. It is a substitute for Infant Gas Drops.
Also, give tummy massages to get the gas moving.

 

[Diane R]

Your bunny not eating is likely to be caused by the false pregnancy stress. Are you planning to have her spayed? Has she eaten now? If not, this is an emergency and needs a vet visit.

 

[Abelia]

Thanks for your concerns! She was so obsessed with her nest yesterday today she is much better.Her appetite got back and she seems to be doing better.She even started to leave her nest just to be around me.Actually I was intending to get her spayed but I haven’t got around to it yet.Thanks again for your help!