Sudden change and unsure how to proceed

[Amberniksee]

My bun recently got over a bout of stasis/blockage and had to be syringe fed & medicated 3-6 x a day. (Went to vet for teeth trimming since he wasn’t eating hay and found ‘mass’ instead)
He typically has run of a 9×12 room all to himself complete with his cage, a hutch holding the bun supplies and 4 cardboard boxes he likes to run around and hide in. During his ordeal we had him stay in his cage and a puppy play pen over roughly half the room.
Previously a persnickety bun that didn’t really care for us but has become very friendly and for the first time since having him-binkying!(OH saw as I was working, so jealous!)
My question is- should I allow him to still have the cardboard houses? He spent A LOT of time in them and I think that may have been part of the reason he stopped eating but I can’t be sure.
Also- we plan on getting him a friend and as I have heard they are supposed to be in view of one another could I just section off half the room and have him in the one he’s in now and let the other bun have the other half when we get it?

[JackRabbit]

What kind of mass was it? Was the vet able to take care of it?

Let him have his cardboard boxes — bunnies love tunnels to run through and places to hide.

Is your bunny neutered?

[Amberniksee]

She couldn’t really tell me what she thought it was, either food or poo or hair that just wasn’t moving. He was put on metaclop and critical care by the vet and i was advised to give simethicone and laxatone and seems to be doing 150% better. I’m not convinced he didn’t possibly injest cardboard because he really likes to rip it and in sure he eats some. Yes he’s neutered and has been for over a year and a half

[Bam]

If they ingest a bit of cardboard, it’s ok. It is cellulose, i e a type of fiber.

My bunny Yohio had a tooth-trim the other day, he’d stopped eating and the vet felt a mass in his tummy. Nothing that felt cancerous or bad, she deemed it food. When they can’t eat hay like they should, they get tummy problems because their tummies rely on lots of coarse dietary fiber.

Anyway, I kept giving Yohio CC and simethicone, and he pooped out splatches/clots of not very nice very dark sticky poop. He also farted a lot when I gave him tummy massages, I could smell it. (At one time I could even hear it as I’ve written about in another thread.)

When the contents of their intestines doesn’t move through like it should, there can be overgrowth by gut bacteria that release gas, which is very uncomfy for the rabbit. Massages and exercise helps.

If the problem lies with his teeth, which is very likely, the problem should go away in a few days after a grind. But you should ask for some metacam to give him the first few days after if he exhibits pain, because they can be very sore and refuse food for that reason. I syringe-fed Critical Care (CC), but last night he started eating on his own, muching away like a house on fire, so it seems he’s a lot better now.

My Yohio is very alert and active this morning and slept in my bed during the night, which is normal-Yohio-behavior. He had the tooth-prodedure done on Tuesday.

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