lethargic, not eating

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ozemba

ozemba

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Help me out on this one, its been a while since I've posted, every bunny is still doing well EXCEPT this morning when I fed my Elopx, he didn't go straight for his pellets like usual. He sat in his litterbox and just watched me. He had water, and hay, but I topped both of them off as well and he still didn't move. I left his cage door open and walked away, which usually ends up with he chasing him around the shed to catch him. Nothing. No reaction. Picked him up, felt his abdomen, no lumps, tightness, or anything out of the ordinary. His feet were wet with urine. Poops were normal. He is drinking, he's just lost his appetite and isn't moving around much. He seemed fine last night. :(
 
:( sounds like it might be a sick bunny... did you try taking him out of the cage and putting him in the floor to see if he would start running around? It doesn't sound like anything obvious... not sure what to suggest. :/
 
You must get him to eat and drink...try wetting some parsley..old fashioned oats dry....electrolyte solution, like Pedialyte there is a home made solution in the forum.. if you must use a medicine syringe and syringe water into his mouth. Hydration is critical, if they don't drink they won't eat..
Are you sure he is pooping? Clean out his box and make sure...if he is eating drinking and eliminating then it is something else.
 
If he's being limp or not moving much, it's usually important to keep him warm. Not eating and not moving suggests gastrointestinal discomfort. I noticed a bunny of mine behaving very weak and limp shortly before she experienced massive diahrea. Saving her life took intensive supportive care for many days.

For one day off feed, I'd try
Keeping bunny warm
smethicone infant gas drops.
Herbs that can help increase appetite or reduce gas, like parsley, cilantro, dill, fennel greens, lemon balm, etc. (or anything else he's familiar with and likes)
and offering old fashioned oatmeal or even a little bit of black oil sunflower seeds as an alternative to pellets.
 
Alright, I did get him to eat some hay and clover, but he still isn't as active as he usually is. Since he is eating and drinking I'm going to go tomorrow and get some of the herbs you guys have listed. I cleaned out his litter box but haven't checked for fresh droppings. When I bug him he will run and he even dug around a little bit in his run earlier.
 
look at the size of his poops, if they are smaller then usual he needs to "speed up" his gut motility, sometimes this can be done by adding a little parsley or cilantro, to his diet, or adding them to a force feeding combination, [if you were going to a vet for slow gut motility they would probably prescribe metoclopramide] - the hay and clover is probably the right thing , if he is still a little slow maybe you can wet his greens to improve water intake.
 
Why do rabbits have to be so darn cute and hard to diagnose? His box is still poopless. I can't tell that he's eaten any more than before, he was laying on his side kinda sprawled out in his cage, not hunched up in his box like all the rest of today.
 
Morning update:
He is acting normal-ish again. Seems a bit more grumpy than normal. He is moving around just fine and has obviously eaten some more hay and clover. There weren't that many poops in his litter box, and what was there was smaller than normal, so I'm still going to give him some herbs and gas relief. See if he becomes a happy bunny. <br /><br /> -- Thu Apr 02, 2015 2:57 pm -- <br /><br /> Herbs and gas relief have been administered. He's eating all the fresh greens I've given him but he still isn't eating his pellets or really that much hay. His water bottle is also still full, so now I'm worried about that, but all the fresh greens means he is getting some water content. I might try the ACV in his water, see if he likes it.
 
For some reason they do like the flavor of A.C.V. I give it to mine every day..it would be good to wet his greens too. He seems pretty small so any water should help.
Syberchick recommended a belly rub...may be worth a try...if nothing else he will like it. :D
 
Morning update:

Tristan is eating his pellets, all the greens I left in his cage last night were gone this morning, no trace whatsoever. He is drinking again, half of his water bottle was gone this morning. Litter box was full of normal sized regular old poops. I think the smethicone drops helped or at least got him to feeling like he could eat again.

Thanks everyone! I'm glad he is feeling better. Hopefully nothing shows up in the next couple of days.
 

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