bunny only wants hay?

[Sam_]

bubbles and brownie had been drinking less water before they got back from the vet after their scabbing issue. the vet said they were dehydrated and gave them subcutaneous fluids. we have been unable to get greens for multiple days and they have been eating tons of hay. I tried giving them romaine lettuce and water, but they only will eat their hay. what is going on? I have critical care available

 

[Mac189]

What ended up being the diagnosis and treatment?

I haven't actually heard of a rabbit skipping romaine lettuce for hay, so that's a bit new for me and what I know. On the one hand, eating hay is always good, but skipping sources of water when they are already dehydrated isn't ideal... Rabbits often drink when we aren't looking. Are you offering water from a bowl instead of a bottle? I tend to avoid force-feeding before it is absolutely necessary, I feel that it adds stress to conditions that are almost always exacerbated by stress, but it's an excellent thing to have on hand. @JBun or @Blue eyes would be very good people to advise on this

 

[JBun]

Eating lots of hay is fine, though I can't say why they are doing that exactly. Rabbits will sometimes favor hay over their other foods when they have an upset stomach or a gut slowdown. They crave extra fiber to get their gut moving normally again. That's all I can think of. Unless that hay just tastes extra good. Are they drinking normally now? Are they on any meds?

 

[Sam_]

Eating lots of hay is fine, though I can't say why they are doing that exactly. Rabbits will sometimes favor hay over their other foods when they have an upset stomach or a gut slowdown. They crave extra fiber to get their gut moving normally again. That's all I can think of. Unless that hay just tastes extra good. Are they drinking normally now? Are they on any meds?

they recently took revolution from the vet and they are currently on Trimeth-sulfa

 

[Sam_]

What ended up being the diagnosis and treatment?

I haven't actually heard of a rabbit skipping romaine lettuce for hay, so that's a bit new for me and what I know. On the one hand, eating hay is always good, but skipping sources of water when they are already dehydrated isn't ideal... Rabbits often drink when we aren't looking. Are you offering water from a bowl instead of a bottle? I tend to avoid force-feeding before it is absolutely necessary, I feel that it adds stress to conditions that are almost always exacerbated by stress, but it's an excellent thing to have on hand. @JBun or @Blue eyes would be very good people to advise on this

the vet couldn't figure out if it was mites or bacteria, so she prescribed trimeth-sulfa and revolution. they have drank from a bowl for over 2 years

 

[JBun]

It could be because of the antibiotics then. That can cause some gut upset, so they may be trying to counter that by eating more hay. If they keep eating hay, they will drink water. They can't keep eating without drinking too. So either their hay eating will slow down or stop if they don't drink, or eventually they will drink. Just keep an eye on it.

 

[Sam_]

and If they stop eating and drinking I give them critical care?

 

[JBun]

Call your vet. Did the vet check their teeth? You had said on your other thread something about them drooling.

 

[Sam_]

they checked everything and they said it was either mites or bacteria

 

[FuzzyWabbit]

Does the Rabbit eat her rabbit food?

 

[Sam_]

they ate their romaine lettuce last night. I'm going to keep feeding them watery greens to keep them from getting dehydrated