Rabbit not eating or drinking for several days

Hello,

I have a black buck mini rex that I have had for almost a month now. He is perfect, except the last like 5 days he hasn't been eating very much and has not been drinking very much or even eating hay. He is almost 6 months old. I give 32 oz. of water a day and unlimited timothy hay and 1/2 cup of pellets every morning. The last few days he has been drinking about 1/4 of his water a day and about 1/4 cup of his pellets if that, and a little bit of hay, but not much at all. I have noticed him getting a little thiner and have put alfalfa hay in his cage instead of timothy hoping that his calorie intake will be more and he would gain weight. What should I do?

Thanks,

Rachel

Check him ALL over for signs of a bite. I'm thinking maybe spider? Take his temp (rectal thermometer, unless you have a spot gun and can get way down in the ear with it). check his teeth and mouth (carefully) to be sure he doesn't have an abscess growing in his mouth, or a misaligned tooth.

Perhaps add applejuice, or a flavored gatorade to the water...very dilute. Tempt him with a dandelion leaf, parsley, plantain, apple leaf, mulberry, or better yet, willow. a small square of

Has anything changed in the rabbit's life? New food or bag opened? New hay? moved him to a new cage?

Anntann":3sudr4sm said:

Has anything changed in the rabbit's life? New food or bag opened? New hay? moved him to a new cage?

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He has been moved into a new cage, and I was gone for like 4 days. When I can back he was still happy and very active. Even doing circles in his cage. But since I have moved him to his new cage everything has changed. Could this be why? If so what should I do?

Thanks
Rachel

Rabbits can be stressed by the oddest things. If you think the timing is right to indicate that the onset of the problem may be connected to moving to the new cage, I'd put him back in the old one in the same location as previously. If he begins eating and drinking readily once this is done, you will have an answer. If it doesn't work, you will have to look further for an answer.

How are his poops? What is coming out is at least as reliable an indicator of health/illness as what is going in.

MaggieJ":1qlo416k said:

Rabbits can be stressed by the oddest things. If you think the timing is right to indicate that the onset of the problem may be connected to moving to the new cage, I'd put him back in the old one in the same location as previously. If he begins eating and drinking readily once this is done, you will have an answer. If it doesn't work, you will have to look further for an answer.

How are his poops? What is coming out is at least as reliable an indicator of health/illness as what is going in.

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I moved him back into his old cage, same location. He is just laying down in the cage after sniffing around for several minutes.
His poops look normal, no hair or anything else. Just not as many as expected.

Thanks
Rachel

Hope everything improves with your bun- it can be scary when they stop eating and you dont know why. His return to his familiar cage hopefully will help.

i push to get some dandelions into him, or parsley, carrot greens...anything green that might get things moving.

Have you felt his tummy at all to see if there is a blockage occuring?

Yes, giving him some greens, as Ladysown suggests, is certainly a good idea. Helps get things moving and helps stimulate interest in eating too.

I would also advocate giving him a little bit of fresh fruit like pineapple or papaya- they have natural enzymes that help break things down in the gut if needed. Not too much especially if you are giving greens also though because you don't want to cause diarrhea/cause an imbalance in the gut flora. I would also keep grass hay in with him that he can eat if he wants it.

It sounds like he might be drinking enough water on his own if he is drinking at least 8oz/day (1/4th of a 32 oz bottle) for his size. My big guys don't drink a whole lot more than that unless they had a lot of activity, etc. A 6lb rabbit on average would drink around ~9oz (or 90-100ml per kg) and if yours is a MR then he is probably considerably smaller.

Best of luck,

Lauren

This is going to sound perhaps a bit odd, but find a sycamore tree and get some leaves from it. Feed it to him and see how he reacts as far as his diet goes.

As far as water goes, I'd suggest maybe getting a vitamin electrolyte supplement.

I also think he's drinking plenty of water and you don't need to do anything there. I had a doe in pain from kindling and I got her to eat by soaking pellets and alfalfa leaves in banana puree with a little water. She inhaled all of it. You can use any plain juice that does not have a sweetener added or throw it all in a blender with a banana, melon, or anything soft that will mix in to goo. Naked Juice works great but it's fairly expensive. Just make sure to only mix a days worth at a time or refrigerate it for no more than a another day or 2. It has a risk of going bad quickly and that will make your rabbit very sick.

If he doesn't start eating and acting normally soon I would get the opinion of a vet or another experienced rabbit person that can look at the rabbit. There are a lot of things could be wrong.

akane":16gaefdz said:

I also think he's drinking plenty of water and you don't need to do anything there. I had a doe in pain from kindling and I got her to eat by soaking pellets and alfalfa leaves in banana puree with a little water. She inhaled all of it. You can use any plain juice that does not have a sweetener added or throw it all in a blender with a banana, melon, or anything soft that will mix in to goo. Naked Juice works great but it's fairly expensive. Just make sure to only mix a days worth at a time or refrigerate it for no more than a another day or 2. It has a risk of going bad quickly and that will make your rabbit very sick.

If he doesn't start eating and acting normally soon I would get the opinion of a vet or another experienced rabbit person that can look at the rabbit. There are a lot of things could be wrong.

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Ok, I drink naked juice all the time. mix some green machine naked in the pellets? Is that right? How much juice and what should the consistancy be like? I also just got him some parsley so I will see how that works too. About how much parsley?

Thanks
Rachel

Just make sure the kind you have does not have garlic or onion in it. Some mammals are unable to digest it properly and it destroys the red blood cells until they suffer anemia. I didn't see any with either in it but I only drink the fruit ones and the people on the guinea pig forum said a few of the Naked Juice flavors had one of those added.

Exact amount I'm not sure. I usually eye ball it. Since you are offering them to him instead of hand feeding you just need enough to make the pellets mushy or fluffy so they aren't pellet shaped anymore. Maybe 1/2 as much juice to pellets so if you did 1/2 cup of pellets you'd add 1/4th cup of juice. See if that's enough to make them fluff up and give them flavor and if it likes it. If you use those numbers I'd offer him half the mixture the first day. So far I haven't had Naked Juice fail to interest guinea pigs or rabbits even when they were very uncomfortable or sick.

Sounds good. I think I will try that tonight. I gave him an apple wedge and he ate about 1/4 of it (which usually he devours) and some parsley. He ate about 2 leaves. I am keeping it in there for a couple of hours, hoping he will eventually eat it. Thanks and I will keep everyone posted. I was also thinking that maybe I feed him too much? He is about 3 lbs and I feed his 1/2 like my senior does that are 4-4 1/2 pounds. Is this too much?

Rachel

__________ Sun Oct 24, 2010 4:18 pm __________

akane":2wcy30uk said:

far I haven't had Naked Juice fail to interest guinea pigs or rabbits even when they were very uncomfortable or sick.

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I was thinking the Green Machine Naked might be better for him since it only has green veggies in it instead of mostly fruit. Like broccoli and such. What do you think? Do you think he would even try it if it isn't the fruit kind?

Rachel<br /><br />__________ Mon Oct 25, 2010 11:12 am __________<br /><br />Update: I got him to eat about 2 apple wedges and some parsley. He also ate about 1/4 cup of pellets in the evening, but has now decided not to drink much. Maybe 2-3 oz in almost 24 hours.. (My husband says he must not be thirsty :slap His poop look normal and no hair in it. Not as much as I would like to see, obviously though. He isn't eating Hay that I know of either. I live in the city and I am unsure where to get dandelions and herbs. I also weighed him last night and he weighs 2lbs. 8oz and will be a SR on 11/11/10. I gave him a 1/4 cup of pellets this morning and I am going to give him another 1/4 cup when he finishes though...but, he is eating a couple of pellets every onece in awhile. Should I be worried about the water intake?

Rachel

Alot of times, depending on where you live, you can find vacant lots overgrown with weeds.

well, I notice when mine have fresh, wetter food, like fruit, and leafy greens, they do drink less. Pellets and dry hay take a lot of fluids to digest. Fresh food not so much.

What Eco2pia says about fresh foods lowering fluid intake is definitely right. My rabbits are fed alfalfa/grass hay, a bit of grain and lots of greens from spring to fall. They hardly touch their water, although they always have it. In winter, when they get fewer fresh foods and more hay, they drink considerably more.