bunny not eating-questions

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gale

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Our 5 yo mini lop has gone on an eating strike. The last time this happened we took her to the exotic animal vet and by the time they were done with her, it was almost $500. Note that all they did was force feed her and watch her and kept her for 2 days. We cannot afford another bill that big (to top it off, they don't tell you how much it costs until after-they claim they don't know). We live in a very rural area and this is the only vet that sees rabbits. And it's not local.

So anyway they did say that if she did it again, to syringe feed her baby food-applesauce and sweet potatoes. Does anyone know how much to feed daily this way? We are offering the usual hay and pellets and making sure she has fresh water. I got her to eat about 4 tsp of applesauce from the syringe today. Should I continue or should I wait until tomorrow? There are a couple of small poops in her box but that's it but she may be going on the ground (she is outside in a large enclosure). Should I syringe water into her as well?
 
It sounds very strange! The best thing to do if you don't have a vet, call or get in contact with an experienced rabbit breeders.

The syringe feeding sounds great! I would feed her 3 times a day. Morning, evening, night. I would also offer water to her about 5 times a day.

This works miracle with my rabbits who stop eating and drinking!
ImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1414539375.635298.jpg
I got this at my local pet store. It encourages eating and drinking. You just put some drops in their water and food and encourages them to eat again! It also give them the protein and vitamins they lost when they were on strike.

Good luck!


~Breeding Quality Holland Lops Since 2012~
 
Thanks. I don't have any local stores at all so I'll try to make a trip to town to the pet store and see if they have those. I live out in the sticks. Lola is acting fairly normal otherwise-she is grooming herself and moving around a lot. Just not wanting to eat. She doesn't seem uncomfortable or anything and is letting us pick her up to feed her.
 
That's good that she is acting normal! If she isn't herself, then there is something wrong. Hopefully she gets well soon!


~Breeding Quality Holland Lops Since 2012~
 
If you have a large syringe, you can soak pellets in water and make a paste to force feed. Adding the baby food to it can help. The general guideline for force feeding would be about 30cc (or as much as they will eat) 3-4 times a day.
Baby food on it's own isn't enough long term. Apple is high in sugar, so not good for too much, and sweet potato isn't really good for rabbits to begin with.
Try offering fresh veggies, especially if she is used to eating them. Veggies are usually something rabbits will eat and can help get them eating when they don't want to.
I would recommend keeping her more confined so you can monitor her better. You need to know what she is eating and what her poops look like. IF she does get sicker, it is better if you can get a hold of her easily.
 
Rabbits don't go on hunger strikes. Not eating is usually a sign of serious pain. If she's acting normal, then maybe she's only in pain when she eats, which would indicate a dental issue such as overgrown teeth. Find a different vet to give her a dental checkup and burr down any sharp points in her teeth, I wouldn't trust a vet that recommends applesauce and sweet potato. Like Korr_and_Sophie said, mush up some pellets in water to syringe-feed, with a teeny bit of apple juice if needed, and also syringe water if she doesn't seem to be peeing much.
 
The most important thing is to make sure she is hydrated. Syringe water to her 3 times a day. This often loosens the hair block and straightens things out.

Look for the normal poops. Tiny indicates a growing blockage in her gut. Also, find some Bene-Bac powder at your pet supply store or on-line, and provide that to help restore her GI. That can be blended into her water.

A hefty bill is avoided by starting with the water, and then with Critical Care formula which you should keep on hand. Also, keep Gas-X tabs on hand for reducing gas in her gut--hence pain formula.


Been thru this countless times.
 
whiskylollipop said:
Rabbits don't go on hunger strikes. Not eating is usually a sign of serious pain. If she's acting normal, then maybe she's only in pain when she eats, which would indicate a dental issue such as overgrown teeth. Find a different vet to give her a dental checkup and burr down any sharp points in her teeth, I wouldn't trust a vet that recommends applesauce and sweet potato. Like Korr_and_Sophie said, mush up some pellets in water to syringe-feed, with a teeny bit of apple juice if needed, and also syringe water if she doesn't seem to be peeing much.
Click to expand...
There are no other vets to find. There are two vets within an hour of me and both will not see rabbits. I live in a rural area. There's nothing at all within 30+ minutes of where I live. Anyway she won't let us catch her now. We finally did last night and she was pretty stressed out. But the good news is there was a piece of carrot in her pen and it was chewed to a point so I know it was her. Hopefully she'll start eating again.When we went out today she would not let us catch her so I gave up for now.

I tried to syringe water last night and she really fought it. I don't think any got in her.
 
Thanks for the link. She has eaten a couple more inches of carrot and a few pellets and she pooped some more. Hopefully we're past the worst of it. She has done this before (after the time she went to the vet) but it was only skipping a meal here and there. This time she had not eaten any hay, pellets, or her fresh veg.
 
Have her teeth ever been checked? Were any xrays done? As has been mentioned, the lack of appetite could very well be dental related. Dental issues are a common cause of rabbits having continued eating problems, especially when their behavior remains normal otherwise. If she isn't exhibiting other signs of pain like lethargy, tooth grinding, belly pressing, sitting hunched up for long periods, but her behavior seems normal other than not eating, I would highly suspect tooth problems. Signs of this are continued lack of appetite, dropping food from mouth, selective eating, odd chewing behavior, drooling, nasal and/or eye discharge.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

I agree that syringe feeding sweet and starchy foods is not good and can just lead to further gut imbalance and more problems. I too would have very serious doubts as to how rabbit savvy a vet is that suggests this. Pellets soaked in warm water can be used in a pinch to syringe feed(need a wide tip syringe or can get clogged), as can plain(not spiced) canned pumpkin. You can try offering it first in a dish to see if your bun will eat it on her own, but if not you will need to syringe feed. But the best thing to syringe feed with is recovery food made for herbivores. Oxbow Critical Care is a common one used for rabbits.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KSOIJG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Always insist that your vet provide costs up front. In fact tell them that you insist on this when you book your appt. You can always walk out the door if they refuse.
 
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One-thing that my vet recommended was to syringe a little bit of pineapple juice into them. I know this is sugary but you don't want to give them a ton just a little bit. It also has to be fresh pineapple juice, just go buy a pineapple cut it up and squeeze the juice into a bowl. The enzymes help break down any hair blockage that could be part of the problem. Hope this helps!! I know how you feel!
 
We totally gave up on the syringe feeding. She just didn't want to be caught. She's been eating the carrots and today she ate an apple slice. Tonight I gave our other bunny some grass and decided to give Lola some too, even though I was sure she wouldn't eat it. Surprise-she came to me and took it out of my hand. There is hope! She isn't sitting hunched up but she isn't really stretching out like she does during the summer either. Neither one of our rabbits are stretching out these days. I'll see if I can get the regular vet to look at her teeth. It sounds like the exotic animal vet isn't a good one so we won't go there again since they are the one that suggested the baby food and they are the ones that don't tell us the cost until we pick them up. Actually they did give us a figure for their spaying but when we came to pick them up, it was higher and what could we do. We didn't have anything in writing and I wanted to take our bunnies and if we didn't pay they wouldn't let us.

I do have some of those tablets that are the same as pineapple. They've never really liked them though.
 
She is eating normally again and there's a normal amount of poop in her box. Hope this never happens again-it's stressful for everyone.
 
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