Moss not eating

[Zaiya]

One of my boys, Moss (who just had his birthday this week! 1 year old!!!), didn't eat or drink at all, today. I even tried to give him dandelion greens, grass, miner's lettuce, and dried rose petals! I'm really worried! He didn't touch any of it! What should I do?

Other than not eating or drinking, his behavior is normal. Well, his litter box was kind of dry... I'll clean it and see if anything's there in the morning.

Edit: I just saw him drink a few licks out of his water bowl. YAY!!! Still has all of his food from this morning, though.

 

[LakeCondo]

Is he eating hay ok?

Does he feel like he might have gas?

 

[Zaiya]

Not eating hay, at least not that I could tell.

How can I tell if he has gas? I'm still rather new to rabbit keeping...

Another thing I'm worried about: moss has medium-length "wool", and he is also shedding. I'm worried about hairballs. How often should I groom him to keep most of the hair from getting ingested?

 

[JBun]

Is he pooping, or are his poops really small, irregular shaped, or mushy? By normal, do you mean he is acting completely normal, like he usually does, besides the not eating? Is he sitting hunched up and not moving around much? Is he grinding his teeth at all? Is his stomach bloated at all? If he's not pooping either, then it sounds like he may have GI stasis. You can try giving him some simethicone(infant gas relief). Give 1cc each hour for 3 hours, then every 3-8 hours as needed. If you have any metacam on hand for him, then giving him some of that may help as well. If it's been all day since he last ate or drank, then you will need to syringe him some water so that he doesn't get dehydrated. If you have unflavored pedialyte, you may want to give him some of that, as he may need the electrolytes by this point. If you have critical care food mix, you can syringe feed him some of that, or plain canned pumpkin(not the pie filling). If he seems cold at all, then you will need to warm him up with a warm pack or warm towels, before you try and syringe food and water. Belly massages also can help to get the digestion moving, and letting him hop around as much as possible. If it's been more than 24 hours since he last ate, then you need to get him to the vet right away. This article helps explain GI stasis.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

To check his belly for gas, see if it feels really firm or if it is distended at all.

 

[Zaiya]

He acts like he usually does, sitting in the corner watching everything that's going on . He seems perky, and his attitude is normal, but it's just the food that hasn't been eaten. I'll give you guys another bunny report in the morning and see if he has eaten, drank, or pooped at all.

 

[JBun]

If he doesn't seem uncomfortable like he is in pain, it could be that his teeth are bothering him when he chews, so he doesn't want to eat. In that case you will need to get his molars checked for sharp points and possibly filed down.

 

[Zaiya]

HALLELUJAH!!!! Moss's food is almost all gone and the water level is down! The hay is all messed up, so I'm assuming that he ate some, and there's bunny berries in the litter box!!! He even greeted me at the door of his cage this morning! I'll keep an eye on him just in case, but for now he's cured!

 

[JBun]

That's good news! He may have just eaten something that upset his stomach. I've had wilted veggies do that before, or eating some sort of strange crumb off the floor. Hopefully it's a one time thing, but if it happens again, you'll want to try and figure out what might be causing it, so you can prevent it from happening again. It's amazing how happy seeing those little bunny poops, can make us

 

[LakeCondo]

I'm glad he's better.

It's always a good idea to get simethicone drops etc to have on hand just in case they're ever needed.