Is he in pain?

[PeachJuice]

So this morning he was totally fine, hopping around, jumping onto his little house. He was hungry and I needed to shower first, so I gave him a small peace of a vegetable cracker (I know I'm not supposed to do that) and a treat from the pet store (I hate them and won't buy them again, but he likes them and I need to finish them). But when I put his veggies in the cage, he didn't lunge for them like he usually does. I thought maybe he was just tired or not hungry and he would eat later, but it's mid afternoon and he hasn't touched them. He's been spending the day in his house and in the corner, just sitting there. When I went to pet him he didn't try to lick me like he usually does, but seemed to like me rubbing his side. Yesterday I fed him some kale for the first time, usually he doesn't get digestion problems from new food, and I'm thinking it's probably not that since he digests lettuce, spinach, carrot tops, cilantro, and parsley all fine; but I'm wonder about it. Yesterday I also fed him romaine lettuce, carrot, and some sweet pepper along with the kale. Do you think he has gas or is having some digestion problems? Is there anything I should stop feeding him? What can I do to help him?

By the way, he is a Polish dwarf rabbit, and he's about 5 or 6.

 

[ZRabbits]

Poor baby. Sounds like he has gas. Though he handled lots of leafy greens together, the cracker along with the pet treat could given him an upset stomach.

Dobby would do the same thing before I realized what gas pains in a rabbit looked like. Don't feel bad. I read this and it helped me understand gas pains.


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11931&forum_id=10


You can find all kinds of information in the RO Library.

Hope your poor baby is feeling better. I understand lots about gas pain as I've been getting older. I think maybe since he's in his senior years, it's kind of now watch what you feed him like you did when he was a baby just starting out with veggies?

K

 

[PeachJuice]

Thank you, I'll just watch him carefully 'til he's doing better.

 

[LakeCondo]

I'd recommend cutting out both the carrot tops & carrots. Carrot tops have more than 10 times as much calcium as any other green, & carrots have enough sugar that they should be only a treat.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat:

 

[tonyshuman]

I agree that it could be gas. You can try to listen to his belly for gurgling noises, and/or give simethicone. The link ZRabbits gave has great info on gas, as well as a protocol for at-home treatment.

edit: Make sure you are closely monitoring his input and output. I'd change out his litterbox so you can make sure he's pooping.

 

[PeachJuice]

Good news, he seems to be doing much better. He ate last night and today he's back to normal. I gave him a light meal just to make sure he was passing it okay. Thank you for all your suggestions and I will definitely take them all into consideration. No more kale for bunny, and I'll try to cut down on the carrots.

 

[ZRabbits]

Glad to hear your bunny is doing so much better. Now you know what to look for and how to go about feeding kale and carrot tops.

K