SO MANY BUNNY PROBLEMS

[maxysmummy]

Hey guys, i've had so many bun problems in the past 2 weeks i can barely handle it!

Max (Mini lop, 4 months old) is on an antibiotic called Bactrim (or something similar?) for a breif bout of GI stasis about a week ago that also came with mucousy poops (vet said could be a parasite, after a few days of meds he is perfectly fine and pooing, eating and peeing normally).
But, I have noticed in the past few days he has a bit of crusty build up around his nose. he isnt sneezing or acting weird, his paws dont seem to have any crust on them either but it's rather concerning. I should probably add that their cages have been FILTHY lately - we changed the cage into a different room and they've lost all sense of toilet training - something we're slowly trying to build back up but in mean time their cages get extremely messy during the day - poops and pees everywhere. He has been drinking and peeing a lot more than usual lately - they both have (unless we just notice it more now that they arent litter trained) so i'm thinking perhaps nose crust is due to messy cage - its inflaming him a little?

Second problem with max is malloclusion - made a thread about this a while back BUT we have noticed lately he has a problem with chewing wire - unfortunately not cables and the like - the WIRE ON HIS CAGE ! (gah!) how can we stop this behaviour? its only going to make his teethys worse

Next we have Wolfgang - 4 months old Netherland dwarf. lately he has lost quite a bit of his appetite. he is still eating but he barely eats anything! still active, still happy, still normal poops and pees (if anything his poops are better now than they have ever been) but it seems he has gone off his pellets? he eats other things but only eats the pellets when there is no vegetables left. is this a problem?

xxx

 

[Flirtycuddle]

My Ziggy will only eat his pellets after all veggies are gone too and he is around a year old. He has started eating less pellets and more hay leaving some in the feeder by morning when he used to eat all his pellets before touching hay. I would think as long as he's still acting normal and eating/drinking (even if its not pellets) there wouldn't be to much to worry about. I have no advice on Max though sorry. My guy still shakes his cage with his teeth when he feels its time to get outta the cage lol. I started giving him hay in a toilet paper roll with a couple pieces of treat in the middle to occupy him and its helped.

 

[golfdiva]

Sorry you're having so many problems! I can't help w/ Max, hopefully someone will come along soon w/ more knowledge. I can tell you not to worry about not eating pellets. Rabbits don't need very much pellets. As long as he's eating hay and veggies he's fine. My Hershey prefers veggies to pellets also!

 

[Bunnylicked]

If there's any hay dust or dirty litter around, that's probably why he has a little extra snot. One of my rabbits has always had this a little bit - his nose gets a little crusty any time I don't clean up for a while. Try cleaning his cage more often.

You might be able to stop the wire chewing by rubbing something bitter/sour and strong smelling - like perfume or fresh lemon juice - in the places he chews most.

It's possible that the pellets taste different. Did you just get a new bag?

I completely understand what you're going through. I've had lots of rabbit health problems in the last 2 months. Try not to get too stressed out about it.

 

[tamsin]

For the chewing, I would cable tie or hang some lengths of wood or chew sticks in the area he is chewing. That way he can continue to chew but it will be things good for his teeth.

 

[tonyshuman]

Max: the malocclusion and the nose discharge could be related. I would have the vet check that the maloccluded teeth are not infected at the base--this can lead to nose drainage problems. Also, if you wipe off the nose crusties and try to keep the environment cleaner for a while, does it get better?

Wolfgang: try to feel his back molars. He may be having molar overgrowth which is common in small-faced bunnies and often leads to them not eating one of their types of food. If you stick your finger in his mouth they should not be terribly sharp when he tries to chew on you--ie it should not bring blood but may hurt. A vet can also get a good look at the back molars with their instruments. Also check that the food is good and not expired, or isn't from a different bag or something. The bag may be bad.