Sick Rabbit?

RabbitsOfTheHill · Mar 19, 2016

Hi all! I have a young male rabbit, as of today hes been acting really strange!
It all started as of the morning, I went outside and thought he was dead as he laying there, eyes open, looking stiff :/ He was fine though thank god! Hes been extremely quiet though, not hanging out with his 3 buddies he is partnered with and not eating his food, Im a bit concerned, any ideas please? :/

Homer · Mar 19, 2016

Is he pooping? Clean the cage so it's easier to tell. He might have fur block and be plugged up. If that happens then they stop rating and you will lose him.

Miss M · Mar 19, 2016

When I started reading, I thought it was a case of "playing possum", like all the pictures in our "Dead Rabbit" Picture Thread -- in which all the rabbits are fine, they are just sleeping in a way that is downright heart-stopping. They look dead, but you poke them and they jump up and glare at you for disturbing their naps. :roll:

But with the changes in behavior, I agree with Homer. Treat it as an emergency until you know otherwise, because rabbits can go downhill so fast.

Separate him from the others and pay close attention to his food and water intake. Go ahead and stop pellets and give him regular old-fashioned kitchen oatmeal and hay. You can coat the oatmeal lightly with molasses to make it tantalizing. Give him pineapple or papaya, as those help break up fur blockages. Fresh is best, but canned will work.

You must keep him eating, or his GI tract will shut down and you will lose him, as Homer said. It isn't enough to drink, he must eat. Maybe he'll take plantain (lawn weed), strawberry leaves, or blackberry/raspberry/rose leaves and twigs (don't worry about the thorns, rabbits eat those). If you can't get him to eat, then everything is on the table. Fruit, treats, any sort of thing that you ordinarily would give only in small amounts.

Naturally, he needs fluids, too. Gatorade, Pedialyte, tea (not much sugar, if any), fruit juice, anything to get him to drink.

If he will not eat or drink, you will have to force food and fluids. Spoons, syringes, whatever it takes.

:clover: Keep us updated!

RabbitsOfTheHill · Mar 19, 2016

I did see the dead rabbit thread, they all looked so cute aha

He is now in a hutch by himself that is clean. I think he has ate a little bit as there was no potato peel

Although I can not find any poop still, he peed and it looks fairly healthy. Hes still alive and doing a bit better I think but I am not sure if he is drinking - He was peeing though. He is sitting in the corner of a hutch though looking upset. I also think he knocked off some other bits and bobs out of his options to eat but has left all his greenery so I might try and feed him some of what you suggested Miss M? Thank you

He also had unlimited access to hay before I moved him to the hutch