Hef's not himself

[BunnyMom]

When I came home from work last night I went into say hello to everybunny and Hef just sat in his cage unresponsive.That is so not like him! I noticed he had eaten only some of his hay,but he hadn't touched his water bottle all day. I tried giving himgreens, carrots, even applesauce, but he wasn't interested in any ofit. He wouldn't even do his normal exploring when I brought him out -instead he hid under the couch in one spot.

We kept an eye on him for a few hours and just as we were ready to goto bed he started eating. I woke up a few hours later to check on him -he had eaten everything. I brought him out and he started runningaround and exploring a little. Finally, when I was getting ready forwork this morning he started drinking, but only a little bit. He seemspretty much back to normal, but I'm still worried about him. Did hehave gas? An upset tummy?

He's also been chewing on his litter pan lately (like I don't give himenough toys to chew!) - he doesn't seem to swallow the plastic bits,because I find them all over his cage.:X But I'm sure this can't begood for him. Could this have caused his upset? How can I get him tostop the chewing? I'm afraid if I use the bitter apple spray then hewon't use the littler pan at all! Any ideas would be greatlyappreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Lissa]

Maybe he's depressed? Does he get enough run time?

 

[Buck Jones]

BunnyMom wrote:

Hef just sat in his cage unresponsive. That is so not likehim! I noticed he had eaten only some of his hay, but he hadn't touchedhis water bottle all day. I tried giving him greens, carrots, evenapplesauce, but he wasn't interested in any of it. He wouldn't even dohis normal exploring when I brought him out - instead he hid under thecouch in one spot.

...just as we were ready to go to bed he started eating....[L]ater...hehad eaten everything....[H]e started drinking, but only a little bit.He seems pretty much back to normal, but I'm still worried....

He's also been chewing on his litter pan lately (like Idon't give him enough toys to chew!) - he doesn't seem to swallow theplastic bits, because I find them all over his cage....But I'm surethis can't be good for him. Could this have caused his upset? How can Iget him to stop the chewing?

Rabbits willdo that on occasion, and it mystifies me just as much as it does youwhen it occurs. Your reasoning about its causes are as goodas any that might be proffered. If there is no lasting,permanet effect, I'd say just move on and not worry too much about it,unless you see a pattern developing.

In a situation whereyou are finding the plastic bits all around, it is difficult todetermine exactly how much the bun has really ingested. Wehad similar thoughts about our mini-lop, who was chewing on foam rubberwire insulation. Turned out she had eaten a good deal morethan we suspected, developed GI Stasis, and cost us upward of $1,500 inveterinary, hospital, and surgerical expenses.She survived, butplastic, like foam rubber, is not a good thing for their digestivesystem. I would substitute a wooden or cardboard box forlitter if you have suspicions he is eating the plastic. Atleast, he can eat those safely.

You might try another litter box manufactured by another company. Notsaying it will work, but it might be different enough to change the"chew factor."

Good luck!

Buck

 

[Carolyn]

Hi BunnyMom,

Would say the same as Buck about the litterbox or if you have a wire-bottom cage, you could do without the litterbox.

As far as the spell of not eating, sometimes they just feelunder-the-weather. I've had that happen once or twice withTucker. It scared the heck out of me. I'm glad tohear that he's eating again.

More importantly than anything is that they drink.Dehydration can kill a rabbit very quickly, so you really want to makesure that when they go through such a thing, if you have to syringefeed them some water, do so. Keep in mind that you have tosyringe feed them slowly because if you go to fast, you can get waterin their lungs.

-Carolyn

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Not sure what all it could be but......

Someone I know had a bunny get a bit sick like a tummyache and her vetsaid that sometimes the greens we feed can go "sour" before we can evensee that they have and it could give a bunny a tummyache.

Just a thought.

 

[BunnyMom]

Thanks everyone, for your help! I figured maybehe was a little under the weather - I wasn't sure if rabbits go throughthat sort of thing, but Scott and I have both been sick recently, so Iwas hoping the buns didn't get anything. It was helpful to hear thatbunnies do get these sort of things too. I was so worried about mylittle guy!

He seems pretty normal tonight - running around like his usual hyperself, but he's still not drinking the amount he normally does. I'll tryto syringe feed him some water before I go to bed.

Good idea about the new litter pan, Buck! I was planning to geteverybunny new cages and litter pans for Easter. I'll keep thechewability factor in mind!

Thanks again!

 

[Cailloui]

One thing I just went through the night beforewith my Bun was her water bottle.. It was not producing any water fromit at all.. Before I had noticed, I had noticed that her bottle wasstill full, she wasn't eating, and she just sat in the corner.. Worriedme a lot..

I then noticed she would lick on the ball of the bottle for a sec andthen nudge the nozzle and then repeat the process.. That's when Ichecked the water bottle..

There are 2 balls in it, and I had to pull the nozzle part out and pushthe ball at the top back down as it had gotten stuck.. Not sure howthat happened, but it did lol

Now I check the bottle everyday to make sure it is working correctly..I am happy to say that she is back to her normal happy self!

 

[RebeccaUK]

Thats a good point Cailloui....those plastic bottles with the balls in often malfunction but we just don't think to check them.

 

[BunnyMom]

Thanks! We checked his bottle this morning and gave it a good cleaning. Hopefully he'll drink more today.

 

[BunnyMom]

Speaking of water bottles, we used to have thebottles with the pin instead of the ball spout. One day we noticed Pocohad cut a few big gashes in her hip. She races around her cage a lot,so we though she cut herself on her food dish. After we removed it (andafter some expen$ive trips to the vet!) she was still cutting herself.We realized it was on the water bottle - the pin spout bottles have asharper edge than the ball spout ones. We switched back to the oldbottles and she's been fine ever since.