Soooo Frustrated with my rabbit!?

Question

hey there!

I have a 2 year old (approx.) lionhead male rabbit and for the last week he's stopped eating his food. he always would finish his food up and leave the bowl dry! and he doesn't drink much water either, but he'll sometimes eat some carrot. He is also not interested with his treats that he usually gobbles up in no time!
So we were worried and started force feeding him through a syringe - a combo of his normal pellets and water blended. and when we did that he pooped which is a good sign cuz he also wasn't pooping!
we think he may have ingested some paper or maybe a hairball....
his behaviour is normal he acts how he usually does the only thing is he has no interest in his food :(
I also tried putting his head in his food bowl but he just pushed away.

we also plan on taking him to a vet if this continues...so anyone know if this stage will pass or what???

hes usually a really good eater- we always had to refill his bowl morning and evening! we also started giving him some timothy hay...maybe hes not used to it cuz we never gave him that

Chalice--How Long should his top teeth and bottom teeth be?? like metric wise...cuz i looked at his teeth and they seem fine...his bottom are shorter than his top

Can I use anything that could be found in any home to grind down his teeth??

Answer 1

I too had a rabbit do this. It turned out to be his teeth needed to be clipped. I took him to the vet and had his teeth clipped, and then I began to provide more hay (free feed- in other words, plenty for him at all times.) The best kinds can be found at www.oxbowhay.com That will give you an idea of the right types to provide. Do not give an adult rabbit either alfalfa hay or pellets with alfalfa. It has too much calcium and will cause health issues. For a baby it is fine, but not for an adult.

Another rabbit of mine got a tummy problem and quit eating. She got to the point we were force feeding her all kinds of foods... Mostly baby food with timothy pellets mixed/crushed in it. Then we also began to add fresh pineapple (for enzymes) and continued this for a week or so... Eventually she began to get better and eat on her own. The vet never found a reason for it. She would do it occassionally throughout her life with us. Periods of not eating and us having to force feed her.

My advice: take to the vet to make sure it isn't teeth problems (they can even grow into their tongue!)

If the vet says it isn't... keep doing what you are doing, but make sure you are force feeding enough to make it better. It takes time, but you must make sure they are eating enough to keep their gut moving.


Add: I forgot to mention- on www.oxbowhay.com they have a product called critical care... It is for your bunny that isn't eating, but your vet would have to call and order it. It works really well, but you must get your vet to order it.

Add: No, you can't grind their teeth at home... This is not the front teeth... It is their molars, you can't usually even see them in their mouth. That is why a vet has to do it. They usually have to be sedated to have it done... almost like surgery.

Good luck.

Answer 2

You need to be aware that not eating in a rabbit is far more serious than it is in a cat or dog. Rabbits have much faster metabolisms, and they cannot last for long if they're not eating properly. Not eating or pooing properly is a classic sign of problems in a rabbit.

You need to get to a vet asap - certainly no later than tomorrow. The rabbit may well have dental problems, which can cause major problems including not eating or abscesses. Rabbit abscesses are also a lot more serious that cat or dog abscesses, and a lot harder to treat - they tend to reoccur over and over even when the source of the problem is gone. With that in mind, get to a vet asap before this happens!!

Chalice

Answer 3

i would get his teeth checked as it sounds like he may be having problems with over grown teeth.

most rabbits tha have plenty of hay to eat with their normal food do not normally need their teeth trimmed but in your case it certainly sounds like it may be the prob.

if it was anything different then normaly they would show other symptoms. i only ever had one rabbit that had to have its teeth trimmed by the vet

hope this helps