Decreased Appetite...Activity Levels...

[Jenk]

I've some general questions related to a bun's inappetance and activity level:

1) If you notice (or think that you notice) your bun consuming less food/water than normal, how long do you wait to make certain that you're right before calling the vet?

2) What medically-based issues might cause inappetance of a cyclical nature (e.g., parasites, bacterial imbalance, etc.)?

3) Do your buns take frequent "rest stops" regardless of the time of day? (That is, do they eat for a bit;rest for a bit; then return to eating in about 15-20 min.?)



Thank you (for putting up with my bazillion-and-one questions),

Jenk

 

[Maureen Las]

1) If you notice that your bun is eating and drinking less go on red alert right away. A good test is to try to feed a fav treat and if that is refused then you can know that something is wrong (but that doesn't mean serious.
Your bun could have gas, Feel his tummy to see if it is soft or possibly tight and hard. Notice your bun's position. A bun with gas will usually shift around a lot due to discomfort and sometimes sit in a hunched position. Very seldom will a bun with gas stretch out with feet behind him. if you think there is a possibly that itis a gas problem you can administer gas infant drops (simethicone) liquid ) at least 3 times with an a hour in between if there is no change.

Refusing to eat ot drink could also be the beginning of stasis. This would be a change in poops either the number and the size and constistency. A stasis bun often will have tiny dried poops , sometimes misshapen. because the GI tract is not functioning smoothly your bun will often not eat. If you suspect stasis make a vet appt as soon as possible. The earlier this is treated often the more successful the outcome. A bunny uncomforatable from stasis will often sit hunched in one position. This is a painful condition for a rabbit.

Changes in eating and drinking are also often related to dental issues


Almost any medical problem will cause a bun 's eating and drinking to change or stop.
Often pain will do it.
You need to watch the bun very carefully and not wait for more than 24 hrs to go to the vet.
Bunny often eat and rest, eat and rest ..they are grazing animals so that is normal.
I'll post some links for you later

 

[Jenk]

Emma'sstill active (digging like crazy at the towels on her enclosure's floor atm).

For days now, she's been waiting hours before touching her greens. Her reluctance, though, coincides with me starting a new bottle of the plant-enzyme/probiotic compound that she's been on for many weeks.

Zoe was suspicious of the new batch, too, but is now eating her greens normally. So I don't know if it's just Emma's pickinesscausing the issue, or if she's in the early stages of stasis. To test things further, I hand-fed her leafy greens without the enzyme-probiotic; she took them willingly.

Her overnight poop looks normal, and she is eating hay. She's also drank more water sinceI've gotten up today.

I've called hervet this morning to see what amount of Bene-Bac I could try her on (assuming that she continues to ignore greens with the powdered compound on them).

 

[Maureen Las]

It really sounds to me like she doesn't like the enzyme probiotic on her greens. Right now I wouldn't worry about itthis

 

[Jenk]

angieluv wrote:

It really sounds to me like she doesn't like the enzyme probiotic on her greens. Right now I wouldn't worry about itthis

It's the same compound that she's eaten (on her greens) for weeks, justa new bottle of it. The fact that Zoe turned up her nose at it, too, says something. But Zoe, who loves her greens, gave in andnow scarfs them immediately--powder be damned.

Emma is our ultra-sassy bun, who's alsoturned out to be the finicky one. She won't pee in a litter box inside of her cage; she refused to eat another (fresh, lovely-smelling) brand of timothy hay; and now she's refusing her greens with the same enzyme-probiotic as always. That would figure.

I'm still keeping a close eye on her, especially in terms of food/water intake and her poop output. But that's nothing unusual; I watch Zoe equally closely.