Depressed Bun Lost Her Mate Won’t Eat (Update in last post)

[dude.the.rabbit]

I’ve been nursing Sandy back to health now for two weeks since she lost “Dude” her mate. I just realized a couple of days ago that Sandy is deaf. She is totally depressed and is only here because I keep pushing food into her. I know many people think I should get another friend for her, but I just can’t bring myself to do this. Am I doing the right thing for Sandy? Any advice?

[{Alli}]

I know how hard it is to lose a pet and looking to get a new one feels like you’re betraying your deceased pet. Honestly, I think you should do what’s best for Sandy and try to look for another bunny companion for her. It seems like since she’s deaf, she probably relied on Dude heavily for hearing i.e when you called them to come, danger, etc. If she was eating I would say you could wait some time until you’re ready but if you’re force feeding her she might need another companion. Have you tried putting a stuffed animal rabbit and rubbed Dude’s scent on it if you have something like a blanket he liked?

[Dr. Doolittle]

Poor Sandy. 🙁 I am new to bunnies this past year ;hopefully someone with more experience will answer. Given what I’ve read about introducing bunnies and trying to bond them, I think the experience can sometimes be stressful, so I would not rush this if it were me.

I am currently dealing with GI Stasis in my Honey (since Saturday afternoon), so I know how difficult, stressful, and consuming it is to keep a bunny eating. I would keep giving her time and love. What are you feeding her? Does something like canned pumpkin (plain pumpkin–not the spiced/sweetened pumpkin pie filling) entice her? What about trying different types of hay? Honey is taking to the Oxbow Botanical blend better than her “plain” timothy or oat. ( http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/type/detail?object=1620 ) You may already be doing all of this–just trying to think about what I’ve read and what I’ve been doing with Honey’s stasis.

Do you think Sandy’s depression has led to stasis? If so, she may also be dealing with gas pain and you may want to address that. If her fecals are normal size and amount, this is probably not an issue.

It’s so hard to see our pets grieving and/or sick. 🙁 I’m sure it’s hard on you, too, having lost Dude. Hang in there.

[Tessie]

Oh, poor Sandy.
I’m sorry, and I have never experienced this problem, but I think probably time is the best thing.

Maybe you could get her some new toys or tunnels to distract her a bit?
If she’s struggling to eat, make sure you’re offering her plenty of her favourite things.

I wouldn’t advise getting another bunny so soon, you both need time to recover, and bonding is a long and stressful process.

[jerseygirl]

{{{Sandy}}}

One of the members on here had a friend bring her rabbit over for play dates. This helped get her grieving bunny eating again. Do some nearby friends have rabbits?

[dude.the.rabbit]

sadly I don’t have any bunny friends nearby. I’ve been giving her Oxbow Critical Care with a little extra pineapple mixed in which she likes, but today she didn’t want it. I also give her Oxbow Timothy and Botanical hay and about a tablespoon of pellets morning and night. Plus Kale and Romaine. She did eat the lettuce and kale over the course of today, but isn’t eating much hay. I’ve put applesauce on her hay as a last ditch effort to get her to eat and she will eat some of it. Her poops are small but they continue to come out. She is really just eating so much less than she should and doesn’t want to play or anything I will try to add some tunnels to our playroom. She did play with a ball with me yesterday, but today she didn’t want to come out of her x-pen. She is snuggling with her stuffed bunny. It’s been two weeks now. Wish I could help her!

[MarkBun]

I would find her a new friend asap.

You won’t be soiling the memory of Dude, you will be finding a new friend for Sandy and also saving another bunny and giving them a forever home. Find a rescue/shelter that will do dates to see who she might like. It can be tough to do for you but it is what’s best for Sandy.

Note that not all rabbits take the death of a mate this hard but if she’s barely eating for two weeks, I feel it is a serious thing and you should find her a new friend.

Bringing other rabbits over for playdates could be a bad idea as a rabbit can become very territorial or aggressive with a strange rabbit.

[dude.the.rabbit]

Just wanted to add an update. I got a letter from our village that they had a leak of some sort into our water supply the week I noticed the problem with Sandy. I was pretty upset that this cryptosporidium caused so much pain in our household. Anyway, Sandy is better. At least she’s healthy. She still won’t bond with us, but I think she leads the life of leisure here and if she is a grouch it’s not my fault. She always comes a runnin’ if I have a tidbit of pineapple for her I am now giving her bottled water as I don’t trust the city water! So, life goes on without our sweet Dude………

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