DC isolating himself

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Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears

Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears

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Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
So at the beginning of the week I suspect something might be wrong with him. Possible infection in genitals?and he also on eye drops 4 times a day.

So with the possible Infection I pulled out the extra cage and put inside the bunny pen so he could still see his friends. Once I felt he was peeing normally I let him be with his friends but left the cage inside open.

With the cage still being inside DC seems to spending a lot of the day inside it. He has igloo in the cage so he can get ontop and jump out if he wants that's the same way he gets in. I put food and water in the cage so he can eat and drink.

DC has always been the social bunny. He liked Monsters when she was here. He was the first to accept Snookium by jumping into his pen and saying hi and eatting with him.

I don't know if maybe Smokies is being mean to him/more than normal and thats why he's chossen to hide away.

I have a different top that will go on the base on the cage that is lower but it's solid plastic but it's lower. The one in there now has the bars on it and it's higher.

He has a vet appt tomorrow morning. Everytime somebunny goes to vet I take a friend with them.

I don't know what to do or why this is happening.
 
What did the vet say?

Danielle:)
 
poor DC! could it be he's really not feeling well and just wants to be left alone? also if he's been used to sharing his living space, maybe he's decided to be a bit territorial. perhaps the other bunnies are shutting him out - they will have picked up on him being ill and going to the vet. they may be telling him to keep away until he's recovered.

hope ive made sense!




 
They didn't check the genitals issue? :shock:
 
Donna, I doubt that DC has gone territorial, if that were the case I would suspect he would be aggressive but he's not.

Sas, His Genital issue has cleared it's self up. I mentioned that I had separated him to watch him but again, it was over looked. If the other Intern had been there I'm sure she would of asked. But she didn't get a chance to see me.

I don't have another choice of vets here. The only ones that really seem to know what they are doing are The U of S where they specialize in exotics.
 
Perhaps this is something to do with him being in pain/not feeling like himself?

You say the genital issue has cleared up- are you sure?
Rabbits hiding away, with a sudden change in their behaviour can be signs of pain. Perhaps there was an underlying cause of his genital issue that is still bothering him?

Anything different about his pooping/peeing habits etc?

Jen
 
jcottonl02 wrote:
Perhaps this is something to do with him being in pain/not feeling like himself?

You say the genital issue has cleared up- are you sure?
Rabbits hiding away, with a sudden change in their behaviour can be signs of pain. Perhaps there was an underlying cause of his genital issue that is still bothering him?

Anything different about his pooping/peeing habits etc?

Jen
Click to expand...
I am pretty sure the genital issue has gone away. While he was locked up by himself I was watched for out put and it was fine.
Hard to notice any changes when the rabbit lives with 2 house mates.
 
I'm really not sure what to suggest......every theory given seems to have an 'answer'.

So what could this possibly be?

Pain
Bullying/Aggressive Behaviour from others
Perhaps the 'bond' has gone/been changed between him and the others after his abscence (while at the vets).

I really can't think of anything else?

Pain: you are positive that the genital issue has gone away, even though no tests/vet has confirmed this?
Teeth are fine- checked by vet- so that can be positively ruled out. Unless it is possible root infection? :?
You haven't noticed anything unusual about his stool or urine, and he seems to be going normally?I understand it's hard with the others, but perhaps you could separate him for a while to check he really is 'going'?

Bullying from others: Have you seen any behaviour towards him from the others that is unusual? Aggressive? Isolating?

Sorry to be going over these issues again, but there has to be a reason that he is acting this way, and the sooner it is found out, the easier and more likely it will be able to be 'sorted'.

Jen
 
Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears wrote:
I am pretty sure the genital issue has gone away. While he was locked up by himself I was watched for out put and it was fine.
Hard to notice any changes when the rabbit lives with 2 house mates.
Click to expand...
If it was an infection, I don't think it totally goes away on its own, it's just suppressed. Just like toothaches -- they come and go. You can ride them out, but they're going to come back.

Its also possible the antibiotic eye drops helped dropped the levels down in the urinary tract as well, but it certainly wouldn't be enough to clear it up completely.

And there really isn't much to see in terms of output. Blood in the urine and straining to pee may well mean an infection or stones but the lack of those symptoms don't rule it out.

The immune system may be fighting it off for now, but if the immune system gets overwhelmed or further taxed by another issue, it might quickly go systemic (system-wide).

I'm not sure if you mentioned to the genital swelling to the vet, but I don't think they would have had to do much more than prescribe a different type of antibiotic that would help the eye as well as a possible UTI. Diagnostics aren't crucial unless the antibiotics don't help, but this would have been a precautionary measure that could have taken care of the works.

I'd call them back and ask for an oral antibiotic, they should just give you the drugs without charging for another visit.

You can't always see anything by looking at his teeth and gut noises won't tell you much in this case, either. But take one step at a time. I'd treat for a possible infection.


sas :expressionless
 
The possible genital infection happened 3 days after he was on the eye drop.
I can't just call up the vet and demand a prescription without seeming the infection. Right now it has gone away. I will keep a close on it, but as of right now it's fine.

I made this thread not to talk about the infection but as to why he doesn't/didn't want to hang out with his friends.
 
Very, very often, the only way we ever know there is something wrong with a rabbit is by small changes in their behavior. Like this.

If the swelling went down and he was back to being perfectly normal, I'd be inclined to dismiss it. But he is showing slight behavioral changes and that will always send up a flag.

And you certainly don't have to 'demand'! Just explain to the vet that you're concerned that he had previously had swelling and now he's acting slightly different, and I'm sure they will gladly write a prescription.

I really isn't a big deal, its just something inexpensive and precautionary. :)



sas :bunnydance:


 
Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears wrote:
I made this thread not to talk about the infection but as to why he doesn't/didn't want to hang out with his friends.
Click to expand...

This is often indicative of an illness/pain of some kind ;). Rabbits are incredibly subtle creatures, and the way they show pain etc. is by just slight changes of behaviour ie. isolating themselves/hiding away/sitting slightly oddly etc. etc.

Jen
 
Im going to address the social aspect of this since I know that is worrying you the most.

How are the other two acting towards him? Keep an eye on them, see if they are shunning him in any way. If they are, it could be because he is ill. Rabbits can sense these things and will often leave a buddy (self preservation thing) if they know he is ill or think he may be dying. I once read an article that said if one mate seems to suddenly not want to be around the other to be extra cautious because he may have said goodbye knowing his buddy didn't have much time left (sad, huh?).

Other than that, he may be just self secluding himself if he is not well. Think of it as wanting to go to your room and hide under your covers (not hang out with friends) when you arent feeling well.

I have a trio as well, one girl and two boys. I brought the girl, Hazel, in hoping she would provide companionship for both of them, but especially Max should Basil pass this year (he is not doing so well with his arthritis). I often see the three of them snuggling, or even just one of them with Basil, but Im increasingly noticing Basil lying by himself, which obviously upsets me. I dont know if he is doing this himself, if they are doing it to him, or if he just cant move well enough to keep up with them so he stays in one spot and lets them come to him.

I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you see him exhibiting obvious signs of distress of being bullied. I would concentrate on making sure he is well again and then go from there. Keep an eye on his genitals, as others said just because it looks like it cleared up doesn't mean it has. He could be in a lot of discomfort and so is isolating himself.

If this continues once he is better, you could always try rebonding them (neutral ground etc) but I wouldnt worry too much about the social part for now other than that it could be a sign he is not well.
 
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