Rabbit not eating hay!!!!

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RuneKingHarsh

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May 12, 2021
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Location
Varanasi, India
Two days ago, my rabbit was digging soil from pot and jumped for pee(which he do everytime)but this time he fell on his back. Since then he stopped eating hay or any hard to bite foods. His front teeths are fine. What can i do since no vet is available near me??? Also he is behaving as usual but not eating hay and pooping very less. Also he drinks his own urine idk why??
 
Would check the back teeth. If there is any way to have a vet look at him, would do it asap so he doesnt develop GI stasis.
 
Getting your rabbit to eat hay is essential for his wellbeing. Try hand feeding him, or soak pellets in water for a "critical care" feeding paste/mush.
If your rabbit had a particularily nasty fall, it might be that his molars, the teeth far back in the mouth, got hurt. Usually that cannot be checked at home(you couldn't see much or really know what is going on) and needs a veterinary checkup. Falling on his spine might have also caused some nerve damage.

If you can't find a rabbit-knowledgeable vet, then try to get in contact with the best general vets you have around. See if they treat rabbits, or if they can refer you to someone who does.
 
Getting your rabbit to eat hay is essential for his wellbeing. Try hand feeding him, or soak pellets in water for a "critical care" feeding paste/mush.
If your rabbit had a particularily nasty fall, it might be that his molars, the teeth far back in the mouth, got hurt. Usually that cannot be checked at home(you couldn't see much or really know what is going on) and needs a veterinary checkup. Falling on his spine might have also caused some nerve damage.

If you can't find a rabbit-knowledgeable vet, then try to get in contact with the best general vets you have around. See if they treat rabbits, or if they can refer you to someone who does.
Hand feeding isn't helping!!!He just avoids it. He only eats cauliflower leaf part not the stem. He also eats carrot when given in very small pieces. In my city, only dog and bird care center is available. They know nothing about rabbit!!!(as one of them suggested to give him rice daily when i first adpoted him)
 
@JBun is well-versed in health-related topics. She should be able to give more advice than me.
There are a few reasons why a rabbit might stop eating, and if they won't take to force feeding or pellet mush, they need medical help. You have to look further than the city you live in. Many rabbit folks do so as savvy vets aren't that easy to come by.
I travel about 130km to our nearest savvy vets, there really isn't anyone closer. If you want to help your bun, it's a commitment to be made.
Even if you can't physically get to the further, savvy ones, you could just give their receptionists a call and ask for advice.

A bit unrelated to the health part, but why would your rabbit "jump for pee"? How exactly does that occur?
 
If your rabbit is not eating or pooping and it has been several hours, you need to take your rabbit to an emergency vet. Force-feeding is something you can do at home to ensure your rabbit has strength and nutrients to function if they are not willing to eat for one reason or another - just be mindful for checking for bloat prior to force-feeding:

If your rabbit does not resume behaving, eating, and pooping as normal, than a vet visit is needed to assess why he is no longer willingly eating.

Re: drinking his own urine, if this is a new behavior, it again warrants a vet visit and assessment.
 
Your rabbit may have injured his jaw and that's why he's not eating hard food, because it hurts, or maybe his spine is injured as well. You really need to try and find a knowledgeable rabbit vet if at all possible. Your rabbit in the very least, may need pain medication like meloxicam, or a stronger pain med like buprenorphine. Or your rabbit may have fractured the jaw and needs surgery. You can try messaging this FB group(link below). They may have a vet suggestion for you.

Nom Nom India Bunny Rabbit Caregiver Network

In the meantime you can try making a pellet mush if you normally feed your rabbit hard pellet food. You do this by soaking the rabbit food pellets in warm water. If your rabbit won't eat the pellet mush on his own, you can try syringe feeding it using a large tip feeding syringe. Or if you have Oxbow Critical Care for herbivores available in your country, that is the usual food used for syringe feeding rabbits. He may be drinking his own urine because he's hungry because he can't eat due to pain, or if he's having problems drinking from his water dish/bottle.

(Syringe feeding info)
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Medicating_your_rabbit
 

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