Please Help me my boy wont eat or drink

Love your rabbit
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
B

BrownieDaisyandJasmine<3

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 25, 2021
Messages
74
Reaction score
22
Location
India
This happened so suddenly. Yesterday at 3pm, he eagerly followed me for a treat. At 4 pm, he started flopping unusually and then completely stopped eating.

He passed 3 to 4 soft poos around 3:30pm, and then again the same at around 7pm. And after that he's passed some very small, oddly shaped and dry poos in the night.

I stayed up with him all night, he got two doses of simethicone, and lots of belly massages. No change in the morning. Its currently 7am.

His actual stomach that can be palpated near the ribcage seems very hars. But the rest of his belly where the intestines are, feels soft.

Since 4pm yesterday, all he has eaten is 4to5 strands of hay, and a few basil leaves. Thats it.

I know most of you will wonder why I havent taken him to the vet yet. Its because there isnt a single one in my entire city. The nearest one is a 12hour train journey away which he probaly wont survive. All I have is cat/dog vets so all I can ask them is for fluids.

Please, please if someone can help me out in any way, any suggestions, experiences, etc anything. I really am just shattered, especially after losing another bunny just two months ago after a spay surgery.

Please help me. Thank you in advance.
 
Without having access to vet care, if the stomach isn't distended with bloat, I would be inclined to give meloxicam to help manage the pain (if this is something available), and I would syringe feed every 4-6 hours, to keep bun hydrated and try and get the digestive system moving normally again. If a rabbit syringe feeding mix isn't available, the rabbits food pellets can be soaked in warm water and made into a mush to feed orally.

Also if your buns ears feel cool at all, that will mean your buns body temp is low and your bun needs to be kept warm. Rabbits that are feeling unwell will usually become chilled, which can affect their ability to recover. So make sure your bun is warmed up before syringe feeding, and make sure the feeding mix is also warm( but not too hot).

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Medicating_your_rabbit
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Gastrointestinal_stasis
 
Stomach distended as in the whole belly region, right? His stomach I can feel under his ribs, its very hard like a rock. But the rest of the belly region is pretty soft.

He has also passed 4 to 5 oddly shaped poos again and was sniffing his hay a little bit. He also took 1 strand and drank a fair amount of water. But its been more that 15 hours since he acted normal.

Is this condition okay to syringe feed? I have a few packs of critical care and appetite restore.

Thank you so much JBun, you've always helped me out in tough situations and I cant tell you how much I appreciate it.
 
Without a vet available to help determine what your rabbits condition is, there's no way of knowing for sure if it's safe to syringe feed or not. But because he's pooping a little, that means there isn't a complete blockage at this point, and also means bloat is unlikely. And it's important for a rabbit to get food into them and keep that digestive system moving. If it were me in this situation, I would syringe feed. I would also give the meloxicam, and maybe the metoclopramide or ranitidine.

But if you aren't sure, and if you can consult with the distant rabbit vet, I would phone them up.
 
JBun said:
Without a vet available to help determine what your rabbits condition is, there's no way of knowing for sure if it's safe to syringe feed or not. But because he's pooping a little, that means there isn't a complete blockage at this point, and also means bloat is unlikely. And it's important for a rabbit to get food into them and keep that digestive system moving. If it were me in this situation, I would syringe feed. I would also give the meloxicam, and maybe the metoclopramide or ranitidine.

But if you aren't sure, and if you can consult with the distant rabbit vet, I would phone them up.
Click to expand...
Okay, I will try to feed him. He also ate a few leaves of cilantro and drank water willingly.

I dont know the dosage for rantidine or metoclopramide. I tried calling the vet but she wont pick up.
 
Hi, update:

So he has pooped a little since morning today. They're quite smaller than usual, but better shaped than yesterday.

He's eaten maybe 8-10 strands of hay by himself since yesterday night, and also willingly took 4-5 strands of cilantro. Also, some basil.

He's still fairly active and not lethargic, although he doesnt want to do his usual explorations around the house yet. But he will groom himself pretty thoroughly, and doesnt seem to be in acute pain.

I've been giving him some electrolyte solution, as the vet refused to provide fluids because I contacted the exotic vet first and it was her advice to give the subq fluids. He's had about 10 ml of electrolyte solution since yesterday night.

His stomach still feels pretty firm, but I can feel gas moving around in the intestinal region. I dont know if I should assist feed some more critical care.

Any suggestions? Are we doing okay? Will he be fine?
 
Here's a pic of his poos and one in comparison to regular sized ones from his friend.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20230513_114134.jpg
    IMG_20230513_114134.jpg
    3.7 MB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20230513_114236.jpg
    IMG_20230513_114236.jpg
    5.6 MB · Views: 0
Maybe try offering more greens. If he'll eat enough of those on his own, along with some hay, you shouldn't have to syringe feed, which will also be less stressful to him. Just make sure none of the greens are spoiled at all, or have signs of black spots, as these could cause additional digestive upset.
 
Yes, Im going out rn to buy some new veggies. He is nibbling here and there on his hay, but still not eating it as he usually would.

Im kinda worried about bloat because his stomach beneath the ribs feels harder than normal (I checked the stomach of my other bun). But he is not acting like he's in pain. He's running around sometimes, isnt sitting hunched, or grinding his teeth. Im just worried about his hard stomach.

Also, should I keep giving him electrolytes? He just peed and it was really orange and not like his usual yellow.

TIA.
 
Because he's starting to eat better, he probably doesn't need electrolytes anymore. If he'll eat enough veggies, that should give him plenty of fluids to keep him hydrated. If he won't eat much veggies/greens still, and not much hay, you may need to start syringing critical care and water, to keep his gut moving and him hydrated.

But as long as he'll eat enough that he's pooping semi decent size poops, which from the photos don't look too bad, I would hold off on trying critical care feeds, unless you feel he needs it. You could try offering a small dish of it to see if he'll eat some on his own. Just make sure it's made up fresh and not left sitting out too long.
 
Update

He ate a reasonable amount of hay. And some herb. Isnt drinking water and his pee is still very orange so Im syringe feeding him water.

No poos, yet. Last was the image I shared in the morning.

His stomach is still quite hard. Should I worry about that?
 
It could just be from his digestive system being slowed down and backed up, but it's impossible to know for sure without a vet exam/xrays. He's eating, so that's a plus. If means he's not in severe pain anymore, and his digestive system is moving, at least a little. Which he should poop again soon because he's eating now.
 
JBun said:
It could just be from his digestive system being slowed down and backed up, but it's impossible to know for sure without a vet exam/xrays. He's eating, so that's a plus. If means he's not in severe pain anymore, and his digestive system is moving, at least a little. Which he should poop again soon because he's eating now.
Click to expand...
Yes, he's pooping a little. Very small, but atleast there's something. I can also feel his intestines rolling a little. Its slower than usual, but again, atleast something. He's also eating some cecos. Is there a possibility of a true bloat?
 
Not if he's eating and pooping. A rabbit experiencing true bloat, is very unlikely to eat and is usually in extremely severe pain, and will be showing signs of this pain.
 
JBun said:
Not if he's eating and pooping. A rabbit experiencing true bloat, is very unlikely to eat and is usually in extremely severe pain, and will be showing signs of this pain.
Click to expand...
Ohkay. Thank you JBun. He pooped a little rn and also ate.

So Im just gonna keep pushing hay and water.
 
Update:
His eating and pooping has returned to normal.

But he has started peeing more than usual and its completely transparent like water. Its never been like this before. He is not drinking any more than he usually does, nor has his veggie intake increased.

The only thing thats changed is that I have stopped his pellets, because I feel that's what caused his stasis in thr first place. He went all weird and uncomfortable sometime after he had it. Also, I gave him some water via syringe 2 days ago because he wasnt drinking on his own.

Everything else is normal, he's flopping and binkying, and he's gained back almost all thr weight he lost over this episode.

Is this bad? Or do they usually do this after a stasis episode? Its thr first time I have dealt with stasis this severe. The ones with my other buns were really short and they recovered the same day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top