Penny not eating as much as normal

[kirst3buns]

Penny has not been eating as much as normal. I'm worried about her and just when I think I need to do something different, she hops in her litter box and starts munching hay and leaves a nice normal looking pile of poos. I don't know what to think. This is kind of a gradual thing. A coupleof weeks ago I noticed she wasn't diving into her pellets with gusto but she does eat them by the end of the day (she doesn't get much - 1/4 cup divided between morning and evening). She's been eating hay, but I don't think she's been eating as much of that either.

Every morning and evening my rabbits get salad that is usually romaine and cilantro or parsley. Starting a couple of days ago I added some carrot and carrot top but thought that may be bothering her so I haven't given her any today.Before I left for work this morning, I gave her a bowl with lettuce and cilantro in it and when I came home there was still part of a lettuce leaf in it.I gave her a heaping teaspoon of canned pumpkin with her salad tonight and she gobbled it down greedily. She seems to be acting ok but hasn't done any bunny 500's or binkies in a couple of weeks either.

I thought that it was probably getting on the warmish side in my sunroom area so Sunday I moved them to my basement. I don't really like the set up because they don't have as much running room right now, but Pennycomes out of her cage and explores during free range time. She seems to stress out more about new situations so I chalked the not eating all the lettuce this morning up to nervousness. Also, I had roofers at my house all day so I'm sure there was more noise than usual. That's another reason I moved them to the basement.

Her pellets are Oxbow Bunny Basics T that I ordered in winter so are about 4 months old. I am ordering a new bag tonight just in case. The hay is from Kleenmama and is also about that old. It is 3rd cut timothy and blue grass.

Sorry so long, but I wanted opinions on what I should do and thought I'd better give as much info as possible.

 

[kirst3buns]

I gave her simethicone tonight just in case but she hasn't touched her salad yet.

 

[naturestee]

Maybe her teeth are hurting her? Looking back, Loki was a little less interested in his veggies for a few weeks before he went into stasis due to pain from his molars.

It's also possible that she's just upset from all the changes, but after what I went through with Loki I'd rather be on the safe side.

 

[kirst3buns]

I thought about teeth. I just peeked at her and she still isn't eating but I caught her drinking. I will call a vet in the morning and see when I can get her in.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Good Luck at the vet, I hope you can get her in tomorrow.

 

[Haley]

I wouldnt worry too much, especially because of the time of year (weather changes, molting etc) and the change of environment. All of mine have been a tad off lately.

If youre worried you could have her looked at. If its her teeth you want checked go to Dr. Clarkson in Ann Arbor. Hes the best for teeth but kinda far away.

Really though, it could be the weather change and then the move to the basement thats throwing her off.

 

[kirst3buns]

Haley, what's really got me freaked out this evening is that she hasn't eaten her lettuce! She ate pumpkin a bit earlier and was munching on hay off and and on but hasn't touched her pellets or lettuce this evening. That is so unusual. I don't know what to do. I've got a very tiny amount of critical care here but Penny hates to be touched and holding her would stress her out completely. She ate the banana out of her salad but hasn't touched the rest Do I just leave her alone for the evening and hope she's a bit better in the morning?

 

[Haley]

Hmm ok that does sound like it could be her teeth if shes eating only the soft foods. Do you have some metacam you could give her? I would give her that and some simethicone just in case its gas and shes just being picky (bc she loves both pumpkin and banana).

So Id do simethicone, tummy rubs and metacam and see how she is in the morning.

Something else you might try- put her pellets in some lukewarm water and let them sit. Then stir them and mix in some pumpkin for flavor. Its essentially homeade critical care and usually tastes better.

 

[kirst3buns]

I do have some metacam that is left over from when Basil hurt his foot. I have no idea how much to give her though. For Basil it said 0.6 ml every 12 hours so maybe that amount. I can try that with her food too but I know that last time I did that (when she was spayed) she wouldn't touch it, but I'll give it a whirl.

 

[Haley]

Hmm you must have the lower concentration they started using. I would give her .6 and see how she does overnight.

 

[kirst3buns]

I'm skipping the metacam for the night. I let her out and she's hopping around and chewing up the box that is in the run area. I think if her teeth were hurting, she wouldn't be ripping the box to shreds. :? She drank all the water mixed with cranberry juice that I gave her so I'm just going to try the pumpkin mixed with pellet and see how that goes. She did have more normal poos and is reallly acting ok right now. I guess I'll just stay up late and watch TV and see how it goes.

Haley, if I'm thinking its not her teeth now, do you think Dr. Cornwall would be the right vet to call?

 

[kirst3buns]

One more question - Can you give a rabbit too much canned pumpkin? She's already had a heaping teaspoon around 7 p.m.

Ugh! I mixed pellets into some pumpkin and she wouldn't eat it but she took some of the timothy hay cube I offered. I just don't know what to make of this but since she ate something and drank something I'm going to sleep (later anyway).

 

[Haley]

You can give her another tablespoon. Pumpkin has lots of fiber but it does also have some carbs so I try to use it more as a supplement. But its better than nothing at all. Ive given 3-4 heaping tablespoons to a bunny who wouldnt eat anything else.

Sounds like maybe shes just being picky or something if shes eating the hay cubes. Could just be an onset of gas causing her to be this way...Get some sleep, woman

 

[naturestee]

When I'm offering pumpkin, I give them a tablespoon or so twice a day along with their veggies. It's a little more sugary than greens so think of it like feeding carrots. If that's all she's interested in eating on her own then give her more.

Timothy cubes were also something Loki started eating again before other things like pellets. For one thing, it's a treat for him and it's sweet because it's held together with molasses. For another, they mainly use their incisors to chew the cubes apart and don't need to work their molars much.

Hopefully she'll be feeling better in the morning.

 

[kirst3buns]

Well, she ate her salad sometime after 1:00 a.m. and drank more water. She wouldn't touch the pellet mixed with pumpkin mixture and I can't tell how much hay she ate but she ate another couple pieces of a timothy hay cube. She hungrily gobbled pumpkin this morning but no pellets. So she's not worse yet.

My plan is to call a vet and see when I can get her in, hopefully today.

Haley - I'm thinking I'm going to try Dr. Clarkson in Ann Arbor. If I can't get her in there today though, maybe Dr. Cornwall in Clarkston and if all else fails, Dr. Stilson at Companion. Any thoughts on the best vet?

 

[kirst3buns]

Update-Stasis the vet says. He did x-rays and her gut is pretty full. He gave her a shot of metacam and raglen(sp) and gave me oral of both to take home. He also suggested babyfood and plenty of water and gave me some critical care. I asked about pedialyte and he said YES! I picked up pedialyte and baby food on my way home from the vet. He also suggested I move her back to more familiar surroundings, which I did the minute I got home. She will hopefully be able to cope with the noise of the roofing.

I got about 2 tsps of very watered down critical care in her just now. and a couple drops of pedialyte. I'd like to get more pedialyte in her but I'm giving her a break right now. I've offered pumpkin again and she hasn't touched it (her favorite!) I think she is still pretty stressed from the trip to the vet which took over three hours (2 hours was at his office!). I'll try again in about 20-30 minutes.

Oh, and he checked her teeth and tried to get a look at the molors with an otoscope and didn't see a problem and he didn't feel one either.

 

[Haley]

Im glad shes ok and that you ended up going to him. Hes great.

From the sounds of things, if shes pooping and was eating a little last night it should be early on enough not to be too severe. Just be careful with baby food since it often has a lot of carbs or sugars in it. I would use a little but mainly stick with thecritical care, mushed pellets and pumpkin. I used baby food before on Max and itsort of made things worse by giving himrunny poop (bc of the sugar etc).

Main thing with stasis is to make sure she gets lots of hay and fluids.

Did he hear any gas? Im glad to hear he was able to look at her teeth too!

 

[kirst3buns]

He listened and said that there weren't enough gut sounds which is why he wanted to do the x-rays to see what could be going on there. I hope we caught it early enough but I'm still worried because it's been quite a while since she pooped now (at least for a worried mom). The last time I noticed new poops was between 1 and 5 am when she polished off the salad I left her. She has a clean litter box now and nothing since we got home. She hopped around the sunroom a bit and then laid down in "her spot" out there. I just shooed her into her cage so I could give some more pedialyte.

Dr. Cornwall was worried about her sugar levels which is why he suggested a bit of baby food. She hasn't touched any of it and I haven't forced it on her. She hasn't eaten anything on her own since we got back from the vet.

I was just reading about the reglan he gave her and I hope that works and there is no blockage. He looked at those x-rays though and didn't see anything so maybe that's why he decided to go that route. I wonder how long it takes to work? I have an oral dose to give her this evening. He talked about hospitalizing her too if we need to get more fluids in her but didn't want to do that today because she was so stressed about being there. He thought the least amount of stress the better which is why he suggested moving them back to their room. It isn't too loud at the moment as they are working on another part of the roof.

 

[Haley]

Dont panic about the poops- bunnies can literally go about a week or so without pooping. I dont panic unless its been 24 hours or more. When mine have gas its sometimes about that long.

Just let her relax for now and try not to act stressed around her- they really pick up on that. Maybe put a blanket over part of her pen so she can hide. Also encourage her to run a bit later on, as exercise will help get her gut moving.

The reglan should start working by this afternoon so hopefully you'll see some poops tonight.

Im working tomorrow so if you need me to come check on her during the day at all let me know

 

[kirst3buns]

Well, stuff is comin out now but still nothing goin in on her own:?

I got in 1 teaspoon of pedialyte and 1 teaspon of critical care in just now but ended up wearing most of it. She was much easier earlier today. Maybe that means she's feeling fiestier? Even as a bunny burrito I had to recapture her several times! And my stupid syringe isn't working as well now. Back to the library to find stuff on syringe feeding.