Still not himself

[Becknutt]

Floppy is still not himself. He is cleaning himself, eating hay and drinking a small amount of water. I replaced his water dish with pedialite mixed with a little pineapple juice, and he still has his bottle of water.I did see some cecals (which he ate) but he will not touch greens or even papaya. He is more active than he was last night but still not himself.

He had what I thought to be gas the night before last and I gave him a tummy rub and he seemed better yesterday morining (he ate 1/2 his greens.) Yesterday afternoon he started acting gassy again so I gave him simethecone and tummy rubs. This morning he would not touch his greens. He doesn't want tummy rubs. I did get him to eat 1/2 of a prune this morning. He would not take thedried papaya, which is one of his favorites.

I'm really getting worried. What do you think it could be? What should I do? How long should I wait this out before taking him to the vet?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Has he pooped?

 

[Becknutt]

I've only seen cecals today. I cleaned out his box about 2 hours ago and nothing since then. He did poop yesterday, and they seemed slightly smaller than usualand harder.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Have you given him pumpkin? Is he molting?

Sounds like early stasis..... hydrate, and lots of hay/pumpkin

 

[Becknutt]

I haven't tried pumpkin. Yes he is molting rather heavily. I have been brushing him often. He is eating hay on his own. I'll go pick up some pumpkin and try that...Should I be suringing him water/pedialite?

 

[SOOOSKA]

I'm having the same problem with Jackie. How do you force hay on them if they don't want to eat. What is pedialite and where do you get it?

Thanks

Susan

 

[TinysMom]

SOOOSKA wrote:

I'm having the same problem with Jackie. How do you force hay on them if they don't want to eat. What is pedialite and where do you get it?

Thanks

Susan

Susan,

Pedialyte is like a baby's version of Gatorade. You can find it in the baby food section (do NOT use gatorade). Some of it is flavored and some isn't. Most of my bunnies love the bubble gum flavor - I've also used grape and mixed fruit flavored also. Basically, it has electrolytes and stuff that they need and also - with the flavor - sometimes they are more willing to take it.

Peg

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Becknutt wrote:

Should I be suringing him water/pedialite?

Is he drinking on his own? If so, you don't need to syringe water/pedialyte.

Susan, it'san electrolite solutionthat is given to sick children to keep them hydrated and you can get it at the grocery or most big stores like Walmart.

 

[Becknutt]

Just got back and he immediately turned his nose up to the pumpkin. I left it in his cage in case he changes his mind. He hasn't touched anything today but a tiny bit of prune and hay.

He has been eating hay all day on his own, and is in the litterbox now. Will let you know as soon as he gets out if he's left anything...please please please :litterfew:

Yesterday he was drinking fine. Today I have seen him drink a small amount of water (once), but not the pedialite. I got the unflavored so I could try flavoring it differant ways to get him to drink it. He hasn't that I've seen. He did spill it once, so he might have drank a little when I had a little pineapple juice mixed in.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

You must do what I have to with Bo and the pumpkin.

SMOOSH It on his paw or leg or someplace he has to lick it off. Once they taste it they usually like it.

Clover would eat her weight in it!

 

[Becknutt]

I as trying to avoid that but it's worth a shot. He took about 2 bites of his papaya while i was gone to pick my daughter up.

...and no poop.

thank you so much for your help. i'm trying not to panic.

 

[Becknutt]

someone recommended to me on another site to let Floppy eat another buns cecals to help restore flora in the gut. ever heard of this? (as long as the other bun is healthy of course) can it hurt?

 

[JimD]

Bo B Bunny wrote:

You must do what I have to with Bo and the pumpkin.

SMOOSH It on his paw or leg or someplace he has to lick it off. Once they taste it they usually like it.

Clover would eat her weight in it!

Make sure you SMOOSH it in, or be prepared to clean it off the ceiling if they flick it off!

Have you tried Nutrical?
Ditto withthe SMOOSHing technique with it, too.

And don't panic. ....they will pick up on that.
If it's a stasis issue, they can go for a couple of days before you need to hit the panic button.
It also may be a symptom of an underlying issue and may require a vet visit if conditions don't improve, or get worse.

A couple of my buns are going through a molt...and the rest look like they're getting ready to. They've started to eat a little less and are showing signs that they are itchy/scratchy/pully/groomy..... and are most likely uncomfortable, to say the least.

Change out all of the water.....I recommend bottled water.
The last time my buns stopped drinking, the water from the tap was smelling very strong of chlorine.
Occasionally, I'll add a bit ofvanilla to the water to see if it will prompt them to drink.....but make sure they have an additional source of plain water as well.


Eating hay is good a good sign, too!!

 

[SOOOSKA]

Becky it's funny you mentioned eating another rabbits poo. When we took Buttercup to the vet a couple of weeks ago he told us we should do that for Buttercup. He said to make Poo Soup and give it to him by syringe.

Susan

 

[JimD]

Could it be a tooth/teeth issue?

 

[JimD]

Becknutt wrote:

....to help restore flora in the gut.

You can trysome Bene-bacto help with this, as well.

I might try the cecals, if the gut had been compromised in some way that the floral neede to be re-established.

First you need to find out exactly what's going on before trying a lot of different treatments.

 

[Becknutt]

I truely do not think it is a tooth issue, but you never can be sure. He has never had a tooth problem and he is molting. He did eat a bit of the pumpkin on his own...and is still steady munching his hay. He has timothy in the litterbox, a "meadow mix" and I gave him an alfalfa cube. I'll keep monitoring him. If he does not improve by Monday I'll get him into the vet.

ThanksJim forputing my mind at ease. I will keep you all posted.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

He's eating some stuff, so that in itself is good. I hope he improves soon. Keep us posted, hon.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Jim's right! I've had pumpkin flicked on me more times than I want to think about...

 

[Becknutt]

SOOOSKA wrote:

He said to make Poo Soup and give it to him by syringe.

Susan

Yeah, that sounds FUN! LOL.

I just sighed a huge sigh of relief! We have poop!! I never thought I would be so happy to see poop in my life. They appear normal...he left a nice pile in the clean litter box.

Perhaps Jim was right in that he is just molting and uncomfortable. I am so relieved. He ate a small bit of green leaf lettace, and a little more pumpkin. I think he was just trying to scare me! He is still not eating near what he usually does and will not even take treats which is very unlike him. I will still be keeping a close eye on him but I am not freaking out as badly anymore.