active but refusing food?

[pumpkinbumpkin]

This morning my rabbit wouldnt eat and seemed like she had gas (she gets gas everytime she sheds even though i brush her). I gave her gas medicine every hour for 3 hours and eventually she got up and ate 2 pieces of cilantro. Then she ran and hid for another hour. Now she's running around outside her cage and even did a few binkies, but she's still refusing to eat? The only thing I can get her to eat right now are rose petals from her botanical hay and she will gladly take her gas medicine now. Any idea what's going on?

 

[JBun]

Usually when a rabbit is still acting normal but stops eating or will only eat soft foods, it's from a dental issue. They won't eat well due to mouth pain, but still act normally otherwise. At least until it gets to be too long without enough food that it starts affecting their health.

The other possibility is something your rabbit ate caused some stomach upset. And though she's feeling better now, she's reluctant to start eating again because she remembers her food making her feel sick.

 

[pumpkinbumpkin]

Usually when a rabbit is still acting normal but stops eating or will only eat soft foods, it's from a dental issue. They won't eat well due to mouth pain, but still act normally otherwise. At least until it gets to be too long without enough food that it starts affecting their health.

The other possibility is something your rabbit ate caused some stomach upset. And though she's feeling better now, she's reluctant to start eating again because she remembers her food making her feel sick.

I ended up taking her to the vet. She said that she heard gurgles in her belly so she isnt in stasis. She gave me fluids, metacam, baytril, and gut motility meds. I'm back home now and she still wont eat. I gave her the pain meds about an hour ago and the gut motiliy one and another pain meds was given at the vet about 2 hours ago. Any idea how long this takes to kick in? If she isnt eating by morning I was told to bring her back in.

 

[JBun]

Did the vet check her teeth, including getting a look at the back molars?

 

[pumpkinbumpkin]

Did the vet check her teeth, including getting a look at the back molars?

I'm not sure if she looked at the back molars but she did look at her teeth and said they were fine. I actually just woke up to check on her and shes in the exact same spot as she was when I went to sleep. I gave her some simethicone an hour ago and layed some food in front of her and it's still there.

This vet was the only one I could find available that seemed rabbit savvy and would take emergency visits. I know a really good vet that I usually take her to, but they wouldnt get me in for an appointment and said I couldnt get one until thursday.

 

[pumpkinbumpkin]

I'm not sure if she looked at the back molars but she did look at her teeth and said they were fine. I actually just woke up to check on her and shes in the exact same spot as she was when I went to sleep. I gave her some simethicone an hour ago and layed some food in front of her and it's still there.

This vet was the only one I could find available that seemed rabbit savvy and would take emergency visits. I know a really good vet that I usually take her to, but they wouldnt get me in for an appointment and said I couldnt get one until thursday.

After a few minutes of putting hay in her face she ate two strands! Its not much but at least it's some improvement. I feel so bad for bothering her like this but when shes like this sometimes shoving it in her face for a while is the only thing that will get her to eat. When she ate the hay she kept eating some then pausing and then eating then pausing. I dont know if that means any dental issues or not. It just seemed weird.

 

[JBun]

I would suggest to make an appointment with your good vet for Thursday, also saying you would like to get in earlier if possible, if they have any cancelations. Then I would be syringe feeding every 4-6 hours if needed until then(if you aren't already). You can take your bun back to this other vet tomorrow if you need to, especially if you didn't have xrays or blood work done yet and your bun is still acting unwell. But it would be good to have an appointment set up with your good vet in case you need to get your bun in there asap.

If your bun starts acting more normal again with the syringe feeds, but still won't eat on her own, that's a pretty good sign it's a likely dental problem.

 

[pumpkinbumpkin]

I would suggest to make an appointment with your good vet for Thursday, also saying you would like to get in earlier if possible, if they have any cancelations. Then I would be syringe feeding every 4-6 hours if needed until then(if you aren't already). You can take your bun back to this other vet tomorrow if you need to, especially if you didn't have xrays or blood work done yet and your bun is still acting unwell. But it would be good to have an appointment set up with your good vet in case you need to get your bun in there asap.

If your bun starts acting more normal again with the syringe feeds, but still won't eat on her own, that's a pretty good sign it's a likely dental problem.

I'll do that, thanks. I just gave her some of her gut motility meds, metaclopramide I think? She's supposed to get 0.1ml every 6-8 hours. I also just gave her some cc, I got a good bit in her but it took a very long time because she wouldnt swallow it. I listened to her belly and she does have a lot of gurgling in there, would it be okay to keep giving her simethicone? Or am I not able to give it with the other meds?

She just got done with all her cc so I put her down in my room and she acted like she wanted to play but then immediately turned around and hid when she saw me I hope she doesnt hold a grudge for too long over this. When she got stasis earlier this year she got really aggressive towards me and didnt trust me anymore for a while afterwards because of all the force feeding.

 

[JBun]

Simethicone isn't absorbed into the body, it just reduces foaming in the digestive system, so is generally considered safe. I've always given it with other meds, if I've felt it was needed. But if you're ever unsure, or you're worried your bun isn't responding well, always best to consult with your vet.

Your bun will get over being upset once this is over. Just spend time sitting and rebonding with her.

 

[roytaa]

one thing i learned from this good forum is when u feel something is wrong with your rabbit even if you think its does not matter much, go to (GOOD) vet ASAP
, i saw a lot of same threads here when the owner felt something is wrong but waited for improvement but rabbit died, i did this mistake once when my rabbit dident eat much but waited a day to see how its goes , i was lucky my rabbit dident died but it was big problem that solved 1hour after vet medicine

This morning my rabbit wouldnt eat and seemed like she had gas (she gets gas everytime she sheds even though i brush her). I gave her gas medicine every hour for 3 hours and eventually she got up and ate 2 pieces of cilantro. Then she ran and hid for another hour. Now she's running around outside her cage and even did a few binkies, but she's still refusing to eat? The only thing I can get her to eat right now are rose petals from her botanical hay and she will gladly take her gas medicine now. Any idea what's going on?