My Rabbit is Suicidal!!

[mjpeter]

Ahhhh...I'm stressed. We brought Bella, our 8 month old rescue doe home on Wednesday. She's been eating well so far, loves her greens and pellets, and I've seen her munch on hay a lot. She's also so affectionate! She loves to lay in our laps and cuddle.

Now, the evil side of her personality...I swear she has an adrenaline issue, lol. The first day and evening she spent on the lower level of her NIC condo, and everything was great. Well, late last night she decided to try to explore the other levels. At first, it was fine, but then instead of using the ramps, she's trying to CLIMB the sides!! She'll get up a few squares and then fall and try again. Oh my God....I had to eventually take her out and put her in a traditional multi-level cage until we figure out what to do. With this one, her paws have more trouble taking hold. I want her to have extra room, but I don't know what to do. She knows how to use the ramps, but just kept trying to climb. I was afraid she'd hurt herself if I left her alone. So far she's fine in this one, but I'm sad she doesn't have as much space. I'll make sure to take her out as much until I figure out what to do. Any advice?

Also, she had a few poops strung together this morning. She's still eating, drinking and pooping, so do I need to worry about this? Change her diet? Thanks!

 

[Orchid]

Oh how exciting for you!
I've never heard of a climber like that. Wow!
I'm sure someone with super amounts of knowledge will catch up with you but we were just at the vet for Sloane.
Stringy poo and all too.
The vet said that part is hair... That you can even break open the poo and see how hairy the poo is which is why it's so stringy like that.
It could be one of the reasons for your issues.
Break some poo open and see what you have going on there I would say.
The vet here recommended Sloane start taking Papaya tablets to help.
Even pineapple juice if she was getting bad enough. She's super little. 1 lb 15oz. So for her it's just 1cc.

If it's become an issue though, drop a word over in health and wellness. Lots of knowledgeable folks around
Good luck with everything!

 

[JBun]

We call them spider bunnies You could try putting some cardboard along the lower parts of the walls, and just zip tie it on.

A little fur in a rabbits poop is fairly normal, as they can't help but ingest some when they groom. You just don't want there to be large clumps of fur stringing them together, or for the fecal poop size to become very small(GI slowdown). If it seems her gut is slowing down some, brush more often, and you can stop sugary/starchy treats or reduce pellets a little, and continue to offer unlimited grass hay. Sugars and starches, including those in pellets, slow down gut motility. Indigestible fiber in hay, speeds up gut motility. So by cutting out treats or reducing pellets, it increases a rabbits hay consumption, which in turn, increases gut motility, and helps prevent blockages from occurring. You do need to ensure your rabbit is still getting enough protein though, if you reduce pellets. As long as the hay is a good green hay with leafy strands in it, it should be fine.

Also ensuring they have a good water source helps. If your bun drinks from a bottle, offer a water dish. Rabbits generally drink much more from a dish.

With papaya and pineapple, there is some debate whether it is actually effective. Supposedly the enzymes don't survive the rabbits stomach acid. Plus it doesn't dissolve hair. At the most it is a tasty treat. But for a rabbit with GI slowdown, the sugars in the pineapple juice could pose a risk of causing an overgrowth of harmful bacteria. I personally don't believe in using them, but some people seem to think they do work.

 

[mjpeter]

Oh how exciting for you!
I've never heard of a climber like that. Wow!
I'm sure someone with super amounts of knowledge will catch up with you but we were just at the vet for Sloane.
Stringy poo and all too.
The vet said that part is hair... That you can even break open the poo and see how hairy the poo is which is why it's so stringy like that.
It could be one of the reasons for your issues.
Break some poo open and see what you have going on there I would say.
The vet here recommended Sloane start taking Papaya tablets to help.
Even pineapple juice if she was getting bad enough. She's super little. 1 lb 15oz. So for her it's just 1cc.

If it's become an issue though, drop a word over in health and wellness. Lots of knowledgeable folks around
Good luck with everything!

Thanks so much! My poor rabbit is probably sick of me being in her face 24/7, but I suppose that will change as we get used to each other. I'm either thinking she's eating too fast, or too slow, or worried about something else. I think I did a bit too much reading about other sick bunnies to relax. My husband thinks I'm nuts.

 

[mjpeter]

We call them spider bunnies You could try putting some cardboard along the lower parts of the walls, and just zip tie it on.

A little fur in a rabbits poop is fairly normal, as they can't help but ingest some when they groom. You just don't want there to be large clumps of fur stringing them together, or for the fecal poop size to become very small(GI slowdown). If it seems her gut is slowing down some, brush more often, and you can stop sugary/starchy treats or reduce pellets a little, and continue to offer unlimited grass hay. Sugars and starches, including those in pellets, slow down gut motility. Indigestible fiber in hay, speeds up gut motility. So by cutting out treats or reducing pellets, it increases a rabbits hay consumption, which in turn, increases gut motility, and helps prevent blockages from occurring. You do need to ensure your rabbit is still getting enough protein though, if you reduce pellets. As long as the hay is a good green hay with leafy strands in it, it should be fine.

Also ensuring they have a good water source helps. If your bun drinks from a bottle, offer a water dish. Rabbits generally drink much more from a dish.

With papaya and pineapple, there is some debate whether it is actually effective. Supposedly the enzymes don't survive the rabbits stomach acid. Plus it doesn't dissolve hair. At the most it is a tasty treat. But for a rabbit with GI slowdown, the sugars in the pineapple juice could pose a risk of causing an overgrowth of harmful bacteria. I personally don't believe in using them, but some people seem to think they do work.

Thank you, also! I read earlier on this forum that rabbits sometimes prefer bowls, so I put a bottle and a bowl in her cage. I'm glad I did since she hasn't once used the bottle. I wasted a few dollars, but at least she's hydrated.

 

[Orchid]

We call them spider bunnies You could try putting some cardboard along the lower parts of the walls, and just zip tie it on.

A little fur in a rabbits poop is fairly normal, as they can't help but ingest some when they groom. You just don't want there to be large clumps of fur stringing them together, or for the fecal poop size to become very small(GI slowdown). If it seems her gut is slowing down some, brush more often, and you can stop sugary/starchy treats or reduce pellets a little, and continue to offer unlimited grass hay. Sugars and starches, including those in pellets, slow down gut motility. Indigestible fiber in hay, speeds up gut motility. So by cutting out treats or reducing pellets, it increases a rabbits hay consumption, which in turn, increases gut motility, and helps prevent blockages from occurring. You do need to ensure your rabbit is still getting enough protein though, if you reduce pellets. As long as the hay is a good green hay with leafy strands in it, it should be fine.

Also ensuring they have a good water source helps. If your bun drinks from a bottle, offer a water dish. Rabbits generally drink much more from a dish.

With papaya and pineapple, there is some debate whether it is actually effective. Supposedly the enzymes don't survive the rabbits stomach acid. Plus it doesn't dissolve hair. At the most it is a tasty treat. But for a rabbit with GI slowdown, the sugars in the pineapple juice could pose a risk of causing an overgrowth of harmful bacteria. I personally don't believe in using them, but some people seem to think they do work.

Hmmm
I'll have to look into that some. She doesn't like taking it to begin with. If it's pointless I'd hate forcing her for no reason.

 

[lovelops]

Bella sounds like Lady... Lady was trying to climb the play pen I had to beat Brooke's butt one night. I had to pull her off the play pen and remove her paws and nails from the mesh! BTW, what type of Bunny is Bella? Lady is a Holland Lop.. I like Jbuns phrase spider bunny... that's fitting...

You know the problem is that these bunnies are night owls. During the day time, it's all, yawns and I'm so tired and I just want to rest and eat my hay, but night comes and it's like vampires waking up....

Lady reminds me of Russell Brand on a bender in the West End on a wild weekend. I hear all kinds of stuff falling and crashing in the bathroom and hallway in the middle of the night and it's always I swear around 3am and whenever I turn on the light, she stops in mid action with this look on her face like I haven't done anything.

I saw she climbed to the back of the toilet, knocked all the towels, shampoo, whatever the heck was up there off, and was working on what was beside the toilet when I flipped the light on. I'm thinking of trying to wear her energy out during the evening so she will sleep in the nigh time.. Yeah, right... one can dream...

Good luck with the bun and she sounds like a sweetie...

Vanessa

 

[mjpeter]

Bella sounds like Lady... Lady was trying to climb the play pen I had to beat Brooke's butt one night. I had to pull her off the play pen and remove her paws and nails from the mesh! BTW, what type of Bunny is Bella? Lady is a Holland Lop.. I like Jbuns phrase spider bunny... that's fitting...

You know the problem is that these bunnies are night owls. During the day time, it's all, yawns and I'm so tired and I just want to rest and eat my hay, but night comes and it's like vampires waking up....

Lady reminds me of Russell Brand on a bender in the West End on a wild weekend. I hear all kinds of stuff falling and crashing in the bathroom and hallway in the middle of the night and it's always I swear around 3am and whenever I turn on the light, she stops in mid action with this look on her face like I haven't done anything.

I saw she climbed to the back of the toilet, knocked all the towels, shampoo, whatever the heck was up there off, and was working on what was beside the toilet when I flipped the light on. I'm thinking of trying to wear her energy out during the evening so she will sleep in the nigh time.. Yeah, right... one can dream...

Good luck with the bun and she sounds like a sweetie...

Vanessa

Lady sounds like a hoot!

Bella is a Dutch. She's got a little bit of weight to take off from the last owner since I don't think she got too much time out of the cage, so maybe it's a good thing she likes to climb. I'll take pictures soon. Whenever she's out she won't sit still and pose. Silly bun...:happyrabbit:

 

[Imbrium]

Cardboard and zipties ftw! I would zip-tie it to the inside of the condo, just to make sure she doesn't try to climb anyway and get a foot stuck between the cardboard and a grid.

My little 3-4 lb lionhead, Nala, once learned how to escape from 48'' high playpens! She had me SO stumped until I walked out at the right time and caught her CLIMBING out - it turned out that she could only do it in one spot where the x-pen was attached to an outer corner of the NIC condo, forming a 90 degree angle where the left side was NIC and the right side was x-pen. To this day, I don't know what it was about that - she's never been able to climb 90 degree angles that are x-pen on both sides or NIC grids on both sides.

I zip-tied posterboard to the top of the x-pen panel that she was climbing (I wouldn't use posterboard in your situation 'cause one side is glossy and I'm pretty sure that's bad for them if they chew it; I have it out of chew-reach in my pen) - that way, she gets about halfway up and doesn't have foot-holds to go any further

 

[3willowsbunny]

Bella sounds like Lady... Lady was trying to climb the play pen I had to beat Brooke's butt one night. I had to pull her off the play pen and remove her paws and nails from the mesh! BTW, what type of Bunny is Bella? Lady is a Holland Lop.. I like Jbuns phrase spider bunny... that's fitting...

You know the problem is that these bunnies are night owls. During the day time, it's all, yawns and I'm so tired and I just want to rest and eat my hay, but night comes and it's like vampires waking up....

Lady reminds me of Russell Brand on a bender in the West End on a wild weekend. I hear all kinds of stuff falling and crashing in the bathroom and hallway in the middle of the night and it's always I swear around 3am and whenever I turn on the light, she stops in mid action with this look on her face like I haven't done anything.

I saw she climbed to the back of the toilet, knocked all the towels, shampoo, whatever the heck was up there off, and was working on what was beside the toilet when I flipped the light on. I'm thinking of trying to wear her energy out during the evening so she will sleep in the nigh time.. Yeah, right... one can dream...

Good luck with the bun and she sounds like a sweetie...

Vanessa

OMG! LOL!!! I just had to laugh at the description of your Lady, she does sound like a fun, silly goofball, but at least she's not boring (too bad she has her fun time at 3 AM!!).