Rabbit sick?

[Emmade]

Hi, I am new on the forum

My rabbit is 3 years old and has never had any problems. He has always eaten regularly, but since a few hours I am worried about him because he does not get up when I open his cage like he usually does (he stays lying on his side), only when I touch him, he will move. He is also shedding since today. I tried to give him a rabbit treat which he always likes, but he hasn't eaten it yet...

I am really scared that he is being sick, I have never seen him like this.. Help me please

 

[ladysown]

is he still eating and drinking? pooping peeing?

he might be feeling off because he's moulting. sometimes that can throw a bunny off his feed and mood.

give him a good brush out.

 

[JBun]

Does he seem lethargic, any teeth grinding, gurgling stomach, bloating, breathing problems, anything else out of the ordinary besides the laying on the side and not wanting to get up? When you touch him, does he sit up or stay laying down? If he gets up, what does he do? Just sit there, eat, poop?

 

[Emmade]

Thanks for the quick reply!
My rabbit pooped and peed normally not too long ago. He does not drink, when I approach his bottle close to him he takes a few sips but then stops. He does not eat. He seems to be a bit lethargic. He doesn't react much when I pet him or touch him, he stays laying down..

 

[Emmade]

Oh and he does not make any sounds (no teeth grinding, gurgling stomach or other.)

 

[JBun]

So he's very unreactive when you touch him? Can you get him to a vet, like right now?

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/finding-vet-13366/
http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

 

[Emmade]

He seems to be a bit more reactive now, when I approached his water bottle, he sat up and took some sips. I can not take him to a vet right now

 

[Emmade]

Ok he just walked a bit around his cage with his ears up, but when I approached him, he sat back down again.

 

[JBun]

You need to get him eating and drinking. Do you have some electrolytes like pedialyte, that you could syringe to him? He most likely has GI stasis, which is a blockage in the digestive system, and he also is probably dehydrated. You need to make sure he is warm, and if not, warm him up with a warm pack or warm towels. Then slowly syringe some electolytes into the side of his mouth, being very careful to do it slowly and give him time to swallow so that he doesn't aspirate the liquid. Simethicone infant gas relief suspension will also help. Give 1cc(20mg/ml) every hour for 3 hours, then once every 3-8 hours as needed. If you have metacam suspension for him, then also give him the proper dosage of that. Try and get him to eat something. Grass hay is good, or you can try and see if he will eat some dark leafy greens like green leaf lettuce, cilantro, or parsley. If he won't eat anything on his own then if you have a powdered food mix for rabbits, mix some up with water and syringe feed him some(2-3cc/lb every 3-4 hours). If you don't have a food mix, then you can also use plain 100% canned pumpkin(not the spiced pie filing), or you can also use pellets soaked in water and blended so it's smooth and can be syringe feed to him. But he needs some electrolytes right away. I still believe a vet is very necessary right now cause he's probably very dehydrated at this point and needs sub q fluids.

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

 

[Emmade]

I put a little bowl of water in front of him and seems to drink a lot from it, he looks more curious and better than before now. Thank you very much I will keep an eye on him for now

 

[ladysown]

so he's eating and drinking, pooing and peeing.

Sounds like a bun having a hard moult.

Keep him well brushed out and just a general (not a worried) eye on him.

Heavy moults take ALOT out of some rabbits.

Unless he totally stops eating and other necessaries or starts grinding teeth and what not he will be fine. If he's used to getting treats, you could boost his energy and protein levels by giving him some black oil sunflower seeds and some wheat (oatmeal).

 

[Emmade]

Thanks Ladysown,
I was so worried yesterday because I never saw him like that
This morning my rabbit seemed fine again, he eats and drinks a lot right now, and he comes to see me like he usually does when I open his cage. I think it is the moulting like you said, I will brush him now.

THANKS A LOT!!

 

[tonyshuman]

Some bunnies prefer to drink from a bowl; maybe that's what's going on here. I'd keep a close eye on him for the next few days, though, and if he gets lethargic again, he should see a vet.