Faith not eating/pooping?

[lauratunes12]

According to my stepsister, Faith has not even her pellets for three days now. She is sill eating her hay and downing the carrots or strawberries we've given her, but no pellets. This isn't a huge deal, maybe she decided she didn't like them or something and we need to get her a different kind of pellets. The bigger problem now is that she's eaten three carrots and has been out for 45 minutes and has not pooped once. Usually by now the towels we lay down and let her run around on are covered in poop, especially when she eats treats.

She seems to be acting pretty normally. Hopping around being a curious bunny.

Should we be worried? We can't get my dad to take her to the vet for a checkup anyways. (She's "just a bunny" but we have two dogs that go to the vet regularly...)

 

[Ellie]

Please tell me you don't just feed her strawberries and carrots, besides hay?

I'd start doing the precautions people do for GI stasis. Not too sure what everything is but you can google it, and I'm sure people will tell you in a few minutes. Start ASAP though because that doesn't sound too good to me...

No offense, but tell your dad that bunnies are animals too. They have just as much spirit and personality as dogs do, and deserve just as much care.

 

[JBun]

If she's in the beginnings of GI stasis you need to cut out all carbs and sugary treats- no carrots or strawberries. If she's still eating hay thats good. She needs lots of hay. Just keep a close eye on the eating and the poop. Make sure she really is eating her hay, and if she poops again, make sure they look normal.

 

[lauratunes12]

I take that back, I went off the word of my stepsister, and I just went to clean her cage, and she hasn't eaten any hay.

But no, we usually give her 1/4 cup of pellets, quite a bit of hay( not exactly unlimited because she eats everything we give her right away.) then she usually gets like two carrots or half-1 strawberry a day.

She's running around doing bunny 500's and binkying, but still no poops or eating any hay. She just polished off the carrots we gave her.

She is in a pretty small cage right now, because it was meant as a temporary cage until we could make her a bigger one.(she was the right bunny at the wrong time). Would that have anything to do anything?

She's a 13 week old Holland Lop, for reference.

Edit: I just read that lack of exercise can cause GI stasis, and apparently my stepsister has not had her for out-of-cage time for three days.

 

[lauratunes12]

I just went and got some grass from outside(its not treated) and hand fed her some, and she LOVES it.

And now she's drinking some water, but still no poops.

 

[lauratunes12]

Okay, so she ate a bunch of grass and drank a bunch of water.(half of a 5 inch bowl) and now she is laying around. I think she's starting to show that she's uncomfortable now, because she keeps getting up, laying down, moving positions, getting up again, and laying down again.

Sorry, we are first time bun mommas and this is the first weird behavior Faith has ever shown.

 

[lauratunes12]

Grrrrr, I wish this girl would decide how she wants to be. Sick or happy... She is now back to eating grass and binkying. Still no poop though, and we're on two hours(and who knows how long before that) of no bathrooms.

 

[JBun]

She might be feeling uncomfortable because she has gas. If you have some simethicone infant gas drops, you can try giving her some of that. The recommended dosage is 1-2cc every hour for 1-3 hours, then 1cc every 3-8 hours after that. With her being a baby still you might want to even do a little less than 1cc, especially if she's pretty small. If she doesn't show any improvement and no pooping then you should probably get her to the vet tomorrow. If she really does have stasis, then you don't want to wait too long because this can kill your rabbit. I lost one of mine to this earlier this year. As long as there isn't a complete blockage, the important thing is to keep their digestion moving and keep them hydrated. She should always have access to water. If she drinks out of a bottle, it would be good to give her a water dish also. That's good that she's running around, that will help to get the digestion moving too. If she's used to eating leafy greens like cilantro or green leaf lettuce(NOT ICEBURG), you could try a little of that too. I had another rabbit that got this and he wouldn't eat his hay or pellets but he would nibble on leafy greens. You'll want to clean any old poops out of her cage so that if she does poop now, then you'll know it's recent.

 

[cwolfec]

:yeahthat: in regards to the Simethicone! Helps my buns a ton!

My buns are pretty much nocturnal, and stay under the bed and sleep most of the day. They can go hours without pooping. BUT for them that is normal. If your bun usually poops quickly like you said, I would be getting a little worried.

Is she shedding? Can you get her to drink some Pedialyte? That is good to get the gut moving...

Hope she feels better and poops soon!! :litterhealthy:

 

[Imbrium]

lauratunes12 wrote:

I take that back, I went off the word of my stepsister, and I just went to clean her cage, and she hasn't eaten any hay.

But no, we usually give her 1/4 cup of pellets, quite a bit of hay( not exactly unlimited because she eats everything we give her right away.) then she usually gets like two carrots or half-1 strawberry a day.

that's WAY too much carrot - carrots are loaded with sugar.
HRS feeding suggestions:
non-leafy veggies (including carrots) - About 1 tablespoon per 2 lbs of body weight per day
fruits - about 1 teaspoon per 2 lbs of body weight per day

the vast majority of the fresh food she eats should be leafy greens. check out http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html and http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#greens for full info on veggie feeding.

as for the stasis...
~ canned pumpkin (plain stuff, not the pie filling kind) is high fiber and good for getting things moving again... if she won't take it on her own, it can be syringe-fed (use water, pedialyte or pineapple juice to water it down a tad for syringe feeding)
~ papaya tablets if you have or can find them
~ a little unsweetened pineapple juice, preferably fresh squeezed (or can be added to water; just make sure plain water is also available.
papaya and pineapple have enzymes that can help break down a hairball
~ simethicone (any brand of baby gas drops) - it's incredibly safe for them and will help if it's just gas. even if it doesn't help, it can't hurt. give 1-2cc per hour for three hours, then 1cc every 3-8h if needed
~ if she's not eating at all, syringe feed critical care food if you have it/can get it from the vet. if you don't have any/can't get it, then add a little water to some pellets and microwave for a minute or two, then let sit for 10-20 mins to cool off/let the pellets fluff (add more water if needed to get it the right consistency for the syringe). you can spike either one with a bit of fruit-flavored baby food (preservative free) to make it tastier/encourage her to take the syringe.
~ try to get her to eat some hay... if you're not already feeding alfalfa, I'd get some of that since it's tastier than grass hays and she's young enough to still be eating it. hay of any sort contains fiber and helps a ton with keeping things moving.

oh, and hay REALLY needs to be unlimited - there's no such thing as eating too much hay

 

[lauratunes12]

Thanks guys! I'm still a little bit worried, and she still hasn't eaten any pellets, but I went down to check on her and she was munching on her timothy hay. She pooped a tiny bit, but especially with all the grass, hay, and carrots she just ate, it wasn't much poop. I will check on her again a little later, but I think she's doing okay for now.

I usually would only feed her like half a baby carrot but I have no control over what happens during the week... and the two carrots usually happen. I will tell Kiley to give her less.

 

[Imbrium]

let her know that excess fruit/sugary veggies leads to diabetes and obesity in rabbits - maybe that'll scare her into easing off the carrots and feeding more leafy greens.

I'm glad to hear faith is pooping at least a little and is eating hay - the hay's the most important thing

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[lauratunes12]

Yep, eating plenty of hay now and pooping a bit, maybe she's just maturing and not having everything she eats go straight through her. . we to her NIC cage done today so now she's happily exploring that.

 

[JBun]

It doesn't have to do with maturing. Sometimes if a rabbit is checking out a new area then they won't poop everywhere, but with her not eating her regular food along with not pooping then it is almost certainly some sort of stomach upset. I lost a rabbit to GI stasis so if you think Faith may have had this then this is what you should look out for and what to do. Look for poops that are extra large or small, irregular shaped poops, or mucousy poops. Rabbits poops should be round and generally about the same size, except for the cecotropes. And also if she isn't pooping when she should be or stops pooping. If she has any of these problems plus she isn't eating very much, stops eating, and is acting different like grinding teeth, hiding when she normally wouldn't, isn't moving around very much when she normally does, just any behavior that doesn't seem normal or right for her. If this happens then you should get her to the vet.

If I had known what to look out for then I probably wouldn't have lost my little bun. I was just feeding her a little treat each day, but with stasis that can be enough to kill them. So because of Faith not eating and pooping, if you even think it could have been stasis, then don't give her ANY carbs or sugary treats(carrots, fruit, grain, etc) until her poops look completely normal and she's pooping normal amounts for her, and then still be careful about the treats you give her and keep an eye on her poop to make sure that she's ok. If she does have any irregular poop then talk to your vet about what to do. You may need to give her probiotics until her poops get back to normal. If she did have stasis then staying away from the treats could actually save her life.

I'm glad she's eating hay. It's the best thing for them when they've had tummy trouble. I bet she's loving her new NIC home.

 

[lauratunes12]

Her poop looks normal and she is acting normal, but this started before we put her in her new cage. It's just not nearly as much as she usually has, and she won't eat pellets, only hay and grass.

 

[JBun]

That's great that her poops are normal looking. She's probably not pooping as much because she wasn't eating very much the last few days. If she keeps eating a bunch of hay that's really good, and her poops should get back to her normal amount. With the pellets, is there anything new or different about them. New bag, different kind, anytning like that? It won't hurt her not to have pellets for a few days. If nothing about her food has changed then my guess is that she had a tummy upset and maybe some gas. That will stop their eating until they start feeling better. I've found with my buns, as they start to feel better, they'll start to eat veggies or treats first, then they'll start to eat their hay, and they'll finally start eating their pellets last. So as she's feeling better she should eventually start eating her pellets. You mentioned that she's 13 weeks old and that normally you feed her 1/4 cup pellets... So at that age and until she's 6-7 months old, she's still growing and should really be getting as much as she wants to eat of both pellets and hay. You don't want her running out of either one. Then when she's full grown, depending on her weight, you can start limiting pellets, but she should still get as much grass hay as she wants to eat every day. It helps to prevent digestion problems. So right now it should be unlimited hay and pellets, once she starts eating pellets that is

 

[Blue eyes]

:yeahthat:

I'd also suggest you treat carrots like a special treat and only give them a couple times per week. Keep to leafy greens for the daily veggies. Give her some time to get older before loading her system with excess sugar (carrots). As JBun has said, she is still at a very vulnerable age.

The best thing you can do for her is unlimited hay, more pellets and exercise.