Dutchess not eating

[cwebster]

Dutchess not eating x 36 hours. Gave her Critical care and antigas liquids by syringe. Took her to vet . Has had teeth spurs trimmedtwice. Vet sees no tooth problems, said she is a little bloated. Is doing an xray. What might be wrong and what should i do? Is usuall avid eater of timothy hay, pellets, and veggies suchas green leaf, dandelion greens, carrot tops, with small bits of kale, carrot, and dried apple.

 

[JBun]

If the teeth are fine, it could an upset stomach. Or there could be something else going on, that hopefully the xray picks up. If the vet doesn't find anything besides the little bit of bloating, it's probably just a matter of giving the pain relief and gut motility meds you get from the vet, and continue syringe feeding until the upset passes. If you are still at the vet, sometimes the vet giving sub q fluids can help rehydrate them and get them back on track and doing better.

 

[cwebster]

Thank you for your prompt reply. Vet saw nothing wrong with her teeth. She had sub cutaneous fluids. Xray showed hypomotility. She still is not eating or pooping. Today gave her the meloxicamand more critical care. Vet didnt give her gut motility meds. Will keep giving her the critical care and ask vet about motility meds. She will eat carrot top stems if i feed them into her mouth but spits out the the rest of the tops.

 

[Roo1234]

How is Dutchess today?

 

[cwebster]

Today she still wasnt eating or pooping so i let the vet know. I gave her meloxicam and some critical care. All she would eat were two carrot top stems (if i put them in her mouth). She spit out the leaves. Vet said her lab results were normal and said hes thinkng teeth. Took her back two hours ago and am waiting to hear what he says. Will ask about some kind of motility meds. She had fleas yesterday so have revolution to put on her but havent done it yet.

 

[cwebster]

Vet just called. Gave her motility stimulant, rechecked her teeth and xrayed her again. Ate veggies and hay but no poop yet. Will get her home with her love bunny Arnold and make sure she exercises moretoo. Hope she is on the mend.

 

[cwebster]

Dutchess got all better, and has been finefor months, but tonight is not eating again! Put her separate so i can watch her food intake and poop. Gave her antigas med and she ate two carrot tops ( just tye stems, not the soft tops part). She would not grab or eat her daily treat ( piece of dried apple). Will call vet in am but not sure if it is gut stasis again. It has only been three months since the last time. She gets timothy hay, pellets, and veggies (small piece of carrot, kale, lettuce, carrot tops, and dandelion greens) daily. Made some critical carefor carnivores which i will give her if she doesnt eat.

 

[Shmibunny]

Made some critical carefor carnivores which i will give her if she doesnt eat.

Do you mean for herbivores? Carnivore=meat eater, herbivore=vegetarian such as rabbits. Critical Care for Carnivores is not suitable for rabbits.

It can take a while to get over gut stasis. As long as she has no blockage or her stomach is not bloated for example, she needs frequent syringe feeding, motility meds, pain medication, plenty of fluids etc. For days or longer possibly.

But it would be very important to figure out the cause of the stasis. There could be an underlying illness, injury, or infection or maybe you need to make her diet even healthier going forward. Buns have such sensitive tums. Usually there are subtle signs of a stasis coming before it happens: smaller poops, abandoned or mushy cecotrophes, less hay eating. Although sometimes it is quite sudden. I measure my buns pellets by the gram and almost never give carrots, and even so I need to monitor their poops and eating.

 

[cwebster]

Shmibunny, thank you. Yes i meant critical care for herbivores. I was really stressed and worried.
Fed Dutchess critical care and mylanta ( simethicone) over several hours and encouraged her to exercise. Her poop looked sparse but normal. Made her eat carrot tops by feeding them into her mouth.
This morning, she ate greens and a little hay hay so am hoping for the best. Will continue monitoring herand babying her. Vet isnt available today.
Will make carrots a rare treat, although i was only giving her an inch piece per day. That just may be too much.
I only give her and Arnold a few grams per day of pellets. Mostly they get timothy hay. Recently i gave them medoim timothy from Rabbit Hole hay, but am ordering coarse in case she needs more fiber.

 

[cwebster]

Dutchess very active, runs around and kicks upher heels, but did not grab andeat anythingtoday including veggies. Gave her simethicone three times as well as critical care for herbivores. Am still worried she is not eating her hay or pooping. Hard to tell becauseshe lives with Arnold. Maybe i am just too worried. Would feel better if she would eat hay or poop. May separate her out but am afraid the stress might not be good for her.

 

[cwebster]

It is night now, dark. She is snuggling Arnold and sitting at the front of the cage. Do they eat at night or just sleep?

 

[Shmibunny]

It is night now, dark. She is snuggling Arnold and sitting at the front of the cage. Do they eat at night or just sleep?

How's her eating, drinking, and pooping -- or lack thereof? How long has it been since she ate, drank, pooped herself? Or was watered/fed? How is her behaviour now? A bunny will hide their pain and sadness when they need you the most.

Sure bunnies eat some hay at night (at least I think so) and leave lots of droppings when doing so, but they also use that time to rest. Bunnies are kinda always alternating between eating, napping, and other things, and should not go without food for too many hours.

If she isn't eating, drinking, or pooping, she needs you to be keep her body going until she does. Especially hydration is so important. If she isn't well-hydrated, also her gut will dry and the poops/fur inside that otherwise would eventually pass might become too hard. She'll get water from CC but that may not be enough. Try to syringe some water into her mouth gently (but careful it won't go into her throat&lungs) -- many bunnies will lick water from a syringe on the floor, especially if you flavour it with baby apple puré or something nice. Minimise the added sugar content though. Offer all her favourite greens, grass, herbs, except maybe not the ones that are carby/sugary.

Is she on pain meds? Pain will stop a bunny from eating and delay recovery.