Bunny Not Drinking

[icrewtoo]

Hi, I'm hoping someone here has had a similar situation and can shed some light...

Saturday morning my bunny (Buttercup, who is a male lionhead) was panting and kept laying down. I took him right to the vet. She took xrays, said she didn't see anything, gave him fluids and sent us home. Buttercup seemed to perk up and be normal again but by Saturday night he wasn't eating, drinking or pooping.

Yesterday morning (Sunday) he didn't eat, except a little hay, he didn't poop or drink water. By the afternoon he had a few clumpy, soft and shiny stools and then it turned to a little diarrhea. I heard some gurgling coming from his stomach. No emergency vet around us, so I syringe-fed him baby food and water. Still not eating on his own (except the hay) or drinking. Ignoring all his treats...

By the evening he ate a small piece of lettuce and started producing stools and they looked more normal, still slightly shiny. At bedtime he ate a few pellets of his normal food, but I still didn't see him drink.

This morning he left a pile of great looking poop in his litterbox and I could see he ate some pellets last night. He was also acting binky this morning and devoured his morning banana slice (hasn't done that in two days). I still haven't seen him drink, but he is acting totally normal.

The vet can't see him until tonight, but my question is this- is it normal for a rabbit to be acting strange like that on Sunday and then just turn around, or is he still not out of the woods? My fear is that I'll take him to the vet and put him through unneeded stress OR, I won't take him and he'll die suddenly because there is an underlying problem Buttercup isn't showing.

Any mature advice is much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[lagomorph]

Gosh, I don't know, and I would hate to advise the wrong way, only to hear from you the next day that he died. I can only speak for myself -- I would not take him to the vet again if he continues to eat, remains active, and poops normally. I wouldn't worry about the fact that you haven't seen him drink. The banana and other moist foods provide some water. I don't think rabbits that get fresh/moist foods need to drink very much. You might not be there to see it, on the rare occasion that he does drink.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Are you offering water in a bottle or bowl? I would recommend using a heavy crock that can't be tipped over. My rabbits drink a lot more that way than when I had bottles. You can also put just a touch of apple juice in the water to encourage drinking. If you do the apple juice also have some plain water available just incase your rabbit doesn't like the juice.

Beast of luck. Keep us updated.

 

[icrewtoo]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! His water is in a crock, so he doesn't have to worry about a bottle. I'll try adding the apple juice to give it a little flavor.

In the meantime, if he doesn't drink, I've decided to run up to the vet and leave a note with the doctor that explains the timeline of everything that has happened since we left on Saturday, and see if she can have a look before the appt. and let me know if I should come up or not. I just really don't want to put undue stress on the little guy.

I know, it sounds totally crazy, and I think I'm being a little more protective than normal because I'm supposed to go out of town tomorrow (I've already delayed my trip by a day).

Will keep you updated. Thanks again!

 

[lagomorph]

Ah. I definitely understand the rush to get everyone all set before going away!

 

[FireValleyRabbitry]

I have had rabbits do what urs is doing...I left them alone to do their thing...dident hold them at all and in a few days they were fine and eating and drinking normaly...i think it is from stomach ache maybe stale food?

 

[FireValleyRabbitry]

Also try feeding him comfry....its a plant that is really good for stress and helps with that sorta thing...Grows really fast and just a tiny peice will help if you can find a store or something that has it. Best of luck and try really hard to not take it out to much and take it places

 

[YappleDapple]

just had a similar situation with our bunny Ferris...I think it sounds like gastric stasis where they have a buildup of gas that they cannot move. Possibly it is a hairball but in that case he wouldn't be eating most likely. We held Ferris on our lap and gently rubbed the sides and bottom of his tummy towards his tail. This really helped. Also encouraging him to move might help break it up. Soaking his greens in water first will help to give him more liquid if he's not drinking.

Stasis is usually caused by too many pellets and fruit and not enough leafy greens and hay. Make sure you monitor the amount of pellets you are feeding him.

Hope he gets better soon!

 

[YappleDapple]

Another thought...I would take him to the vet if he's not drinking. Anytime a bunny avoids food or water it is a huge sign that something is not right.

 

[lagomorph]

I really think it depends quite a bit on their diet. If they are fed only dry foods - hay and pellets - they will need to drink a lot more, and you will see them do it. In addition to hay and pellets, my two rabbits get a big salad of mixed greens in the morning, and they free range on grass in the afternoon. They are both 5 yrs old, and I've probably seen each one drink from the water bowl less than 10 times in the entire 5 yrs. That's not to say they don't drink; it's just that they drink infrequently enough that I hardly ever see it.

 

[MiniLopHop]

I think personality also plays a role. For some reason my boys tend to drink from their dishes more frequently when I see them than the girls. I know that everyone is drinking because the water needs to get refilled, but I just don't see the girls at it.

 

[icrewtoo]

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for the wonderful responses. Just thought I would give a quick update...

I ended up taking Buttercup to the vet. She took a look and said that everything seemed to be ok. When I asked what was going on, she said that it could be the stress of the previous visit (the reason for the diarrhea), and that the fluids could very well still be in his system (reason for not drinking).

After taking him home he seemed totally normal and I'm happy to report that bun is doing great! He's eating hay, drinking his water and being very, um, productive, if you know what I mean

Thanks again to everyone for responding!