Worried about my bunny

[Krissa]

Hi again, I dont post much, (cause Im shy), but I read the forum a lot. Anyway, I'm worried about my rabbit Gandalf (neutered male).

When I came home from grocery shopping andrunning here and therea bit ago, I notice Gandalf was sittingEXACTLY where he was when I left (I was gone over 6 hours). I opened his cage and talked to him, even petted him, but he did not leave the litter box. I got some bananas so I offered him some, he ignored it while my other two rabbits went crazy for the bannana. I have offered him pineapple, cilantro, pumpkin and crasins but he wont eat (and those are his favorite foods). But now the strange part. . . he let me pick him up!

Gandalf hates people (I found him outside this summer dumped by someone) so I can never hold him without a fuss. I got him out of his cage and he just SAT in my lap! That not Gandalf! I set him on the floor, and he just stayed there, he didnt run away like normal and do binkies around the room! I have looked him over, and he looks normal and the poops in the litter box are fine. Does anyone have any ideas, the vet is already closed and I'm worried about him, he was fine this morning.

I hope this made sense, I'm so worried about him. :shock:Any thoughts would help. Is there anything I can do for him until the vet is open?

 

[zarathustra]

Did he eat his food for the day? i know he ignored the treats. Is he eating his hay?

 

[Krissa]

Thanks for the quick responce . I just checked, he ate some hay since I filled it this morning, but it doesnt look like he ate the pellets (I give him 1/2 cup a day).

 

[zarathustra]

Hmmmm...

While it could be that he is just in a mood -- mine does that from time to time.

Not to needlessly alarm you, but it could be what i have termed "bunny funk." Once, Mrs. Sniffles got in a mood for over a day and then just lost her appitite. She was not weak, just in a funk and not eating. Well it kept up and I got worried, her temp was a little off et al. Basically the beginning of stasis. Took her to the vet and that is what it was. Turns out numerous buns came in that day with the same thing..... weired eh?


The vet told us if it happened again to give her tummy a good massage and give her all of her favorite foods. She also said that we should give her a baby smithicone drops. (gas meds) Then, if it kept up to call her.

 

[Krissa]

Thanks! Ill hold off calling off work for a vet visit until I see how he looks in the morning. He is surrounded by his favoite foods (carfully counted so I will know if he eats any). I hope he is just mad at me for leaving him inside on such a nice day.

 

[RO STAFF 2]

What are his poops looking like?

Is he drinking?

Also, is he molting?

Whena bunny looses his appetite and gets lethargic, it's usuallyserious. Monitoring his poops is probably the most important thing.

 

[naturestee]

Hi Krissa! I remember you!

This is how Mocha acted when she started going into stasis. Zarathustra gave some good info. Also, try to get him to move around more- it'll help get his gut moving. And encourage him to drink lots of water. If you use a water bottle, give him a bowl, too. Wet down his veggies, and you can feed him a little canned pumpkin too. Heat can also help- you can put him on your lap for a bit or place a warm water bottle near him. If he doesn't start eating again within 12 hours or so, take him to a vet.

 

[Maureen Las]

This may or may not relate to your bunny. What you are describing is exactly the way my bunny Joey was behaving after a fight with another male that occurred while I was sleeping. He was literally in shock. He usually was feisty and sort of difficult but that morning I found him sitting in Peewee's cage (one rabbithad gotten into anothers area by accident.) He let me pick him up (which he never did before) and he was limp....if I laid him dOwn he just laid there. I truly thought that he would die. I went on this site and every one guided me through the day bytelling me to hold him, talk to him and pet him gently. I was warned and it did occurr that he went into stasis from the incident and I spent about 2 weeks treating him but he is now fine. Is there any possibility that something frightened your bunny very very badly????

 

[Krissa]

Ill get him out and hold him for a bit. I found an eyedropper, should I try to force feed him some pineapple juice or water? I tried some pumpkin, but he is ignoring it. Oh, and his poops look normal and they are from the last 24 hours because I changed his litter yesterday.

My other bunnies are all jelous and jumping around thinking "why is he getting all those yummy treats?"

 

[Maureen Las]

Is he still acting like a zombie?

 

[Krissa]

angieluv wrote:

Is there any possibility that something frightened your bunny very very badly????

Yes it is very possible, he jumps at everything and is very skittish, it makes me think that his former owner hurt him in some way (makes me very mad). Thats what makes me worried to hold him too long, I dont want him stressed out because I am holding him, I've just finally gotten to the point that he wont thump and hide in his house when I come to feed him and Ive had him since summer.

 

[Maureen Las]

Joey was exactly like that...he really hated me to touch him but that day I held him close up to my mouth and he didn't resist and I talked very sweetly and gently to him (and I had the same fear as you) that holding him would make him worse. You have to use your own judgement on this. Joey didn't like me but he was familar with me ..if your bunny is in shock you need to provide the most calming soothing environment for him that you can. Maybe you could pet him in his cage and talk to him. First of all I don't know if he is in shock but Joey almos t seemed like he was "not there and vacant" ..very scary. Is your bunny that bad?

 

[Krissa]

Im holding him right now in my lap and he hasnt moved, but he is shedding like crazy all over me (I am covered in white rabbit hair). I've been massaging his tummy and that hasnt even gotten a reaction. I even brought my bird, Pippen, over to see him (they are friends) but he just sits there . Pippen is helping too, she is grooming his hair, silly bird.

 

[Maureen Las]

Krissa ......do you think some thing frightened him really bad? Joey was "beat up" by another male but not physically injured. I don't want to mislead you as maybe there is something else going on. Joey was a rescue and probably mistreated by children in former home.

 

[Krissa]

I have no idea if something scared him, but I hope it is only that and not some horrible illness. I got him to drink some water and pineapple juice from an eyedropper. He is still in my lap but he moved to snuggle next to Pippen, I just know I'm gonna end up sleeping with him in my lap tonight.

 

[Maureen Las]

The more that he starts to move around and act like himself the better it is. Joey started to act more normal later in the day of the fight. ..but later on went into stasis. If your bunnyis acting any more normal he is probably coming out of it. I, personally would be less concerned with force-feeding than just bringing him back to normal emotionally... at least until tomorrow. let me know as I certainly hope that I have given you the right advice.

 

[Krissa]

Thanks everyone for all the advise and support. He is sitting next to me in my recliner and looks content so I'm going to let him sit there for awhile. Ill keep you posted on how he is and what the vet says if he is not better in the morning.

 

[Maureen Las]

Do let us know how he is and post more often. You express yourself well.

 

[LuvaBun]

Hi Krissa. Any improvement in Gandalf today?

Jan

 

[Krissa]

Hi all, Gandalf is doing much better this morning. I held him until about 2am while rubbing his tummy because I heard it making gurgling sounds. (He actually fell asleep while I held him ) Before I put him in his cage I made him drink some water and I changed his litter box so I could look for new poops. No poops yet, but when I got up this morining he begged for his crasins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yippee!!! He ate some pumpkin, cillantro and was eating a bit of hay when I left for work. He even got mad at me when I stopped giving him his treats and gave me a bunny butt!

Since he was eating when I left I will check his box for new poops when I get home. If there are no poops - to the vet he goes! If there are poops I will call the vet and ask her opinion.

Thanks to everyone for all the advise, I feel much better now that he ate some food infront of me. If anyone has anymore suggestions, please tell me. I leftall kinds ofveggies in his cage and wrote down how much of eachI left so that I will knowif he ate them.

I do have one complaint though, why do all my critters always act sick AFTER the vet leaves for the day?:dunno