Worried about my rabbit!

Hi Cat and Carole,
Just letting you know, Patch is doing great! He was completely back to his old self by yesterday morning, so my parents felt no need to take him to the vets- he must have just been having an off day. Got my friend round to take a look at him just in case (she´s got an animal care qualification), she agreed with them. He´s completely back to normal, scaring the life out of me by magically appearing in the house!
Thanks, Vicky.

Hi Vicky,

Hopefully by now you will have been to the vets and Patch is on the mend, but you are right to be concerned. Rabbits are prey animals in the wild and are very good at hiding illness, so any change from their normal behaviour should be viewed with suspision.

The most important thing to check for, even though the weather is still quite cold at the moment is fly strike. Check his backend very carefully, if there is any mess make sure you clean and dry him very well and if there are any maggots then you should take him to the vets as soon as you can.

The most important thing when a rabbit is poorly is to keep them eating, as if their guts stop moving it can be fatal. They can get gut blockages caused by hairballs or impacted food and again, the best thing is to keep them eating. Pineapple juice is often advised to help ´break down a blockage´ , actually there is no evidence that it does help to do that but it does stimulate the guts to move due to its acidity and so can be helpful. Another thing to can do at home is syringe feed them liquid food. You can get special liquid foods from your vet or, if you can´t get there, you can mix a pelleted diet with water into a much and feed that.

Obviously if this doesn´t improve the rabbit within 24 hours then you should do exactly what you have done and take him to your vet.

I hope he gets better soon!

Cat

thats great, I hope he is back to his usual,cheeky self soon. i suppose the water bottle is a good backup in case he needs it.

I brushed off lots of hair with a new slicker brush, and I mean LOTS. Dad just got me to put him back in his hutch, but I´m going to go out every now and then with some water in a bowl, as he has the bottle thing in his hutch but dosen´t like it too much. I´m a bit more optimistic now, because he looks a bit better.

I am glad that he is drinking, Vicky that is the best thing he can do. When Flossie was off her food once I kept putting her water bowl in front of her and she kept drinking from it. If Patch is moulting they say to go over the fur with a damp hand and peel the fur off your hand. It stops the rabbit from ingesting too much hair and makes them more comfortable. I think in longer haired breeds that is what happens. You do right to go to the vets, I would too.I would not damp him tonight, though , while he is a bit off.

he´s hardly eaten any greens, which is the strange thing.
fresh pineapple juice is meant to contain enzymes that break down the blockage, according to "the really useful bunny guide" :) he´s a bit better, still not eating but he is drinking, we´ve tried tempting him with everything now.
taking him to vets first thing in the morning

I would say try and tempt Patch with anything, Vicky, although I have not heard of pineapple juice.
I know that rabbits cannot vomit so it could be a gastric hairball but it is hard to guess as so many symptons are similar. If his bottom is messy it cannot be constipation, has he been eating too many greens?

Okay, looking at my book, and my brain telling me while looking at Patch, I have a feeling its either a gastric hairball or possibly maybe GI Statis.. I know I´m no vet, but it suggests pineapple juice in the meantime for gastric hairballs, should I give him some or not?

Hi Carole, Patch won´t eat anything, not even dandelion treats,nuts and chew bars..haven´t seen him drink either. his bottom is a bit messy now you mention it. I´m looking through my bunny books now to see if he has any symptons.

Hi Vicky, sorry to hear that Patch is not him self. it is a good idea to get him to the vet asap. try not to wait, i don´t want to worry you but going asap is the sooner the better in the case of rabbits. He may be constipated, try him with a little bit of burnt toast. have you checked his rear and his toileting. he definitely must be uncomfortable in some way to make noises . is he grunting at you and telling you off? make sure he keeps drinking lots of water even if he is not eating, that is very important. let us know how he is Vicky!! Thinking about you.