Help for a Stubborn Bun

[BunjaminML]

My bunny hasn’t been eating for 12 hours and my husband and I desperately need to take him to the vet. We’ve never been successful in picking him up since we got him. Either we are too soft and scared to hurt him or he is just THAT GOOD at evasion. We’ve always just used treats to lure him into his carrier in the past, but since he is refusing to eat anything, that trick isn’t doing it. 

Anybody have any tips for us? Is there anything we can administer to our bunny in the meantime to help get him eating again?

[ThorBunny]

If you have infant gas drops, these are safe for buns and often good for stasis if it is caused by gas.

I agree he should go to the vet as soon as possible! Do you have an exercise pen for him? If so, you could get him enclosed in there to limit his space, and follow by herding him into the carrier. In general, you can try to close off escape routes so that the only place he can go is into the carrier. Others might have some more specific suggestions…

[BunjaminML]

Thanks for the tip on infant gas drops!

We did eventually get him in the carrier. The vet gave him some fluids and a couple of shots of…something. And one of those somethings, he gave us pill versions of that we need to feed to the bunny twice a day. Here’s to hoping we will have a healthy (though angry) bun on our hands in no time…

[sarahthegemini]

Fingers crossed he has a speedy recovery! My little boy bun is hard to get in the carrier. He can sense when we need him in there and he avoids it. What we have to do is lure him to a corner which is marginally easier and then we quickly block him with a play pen. Then we put the carrier in the play pen and gradually make the pen smaller. When he gets near to the carrier we gently push his bum in. It’s horrible because he hates being confined and panics but it’s the only way for us at the moment. Our doe on the other hand will go anywhere for food lol. Just a tip for the future

Oh I forgot to add, when my doe has been poorly and refuses food, we have to try and block her and guide her in to the carrier. Not as elaborate as what we have to do for Peanut but still a little stressful! 

[LittlePuffyTail]

Any update?

[BunjaminML]

Hi! Yes! Man, what a weekend for us! The original vet we took him to turned out to be completely useless and ignorant of exotic pet care. After determining GI stasis, he gave Bunji fluids, a shot of antibiotics and another one for motility, and sent us home with more antibiotics. Bunji showed no improvement at all that day. In a panic, my husband called the owner of our rabbit rescue center and told her what is going on and what the vet told us. She was pretty shocked at the treatment we got from him (that he didn’t bother x-raying him, didn’t prescribe motility drugs, and didn’t give us Critical Care). She basically said that he was crap and recommended another place. The second vet took great care of Bunji! He was prescribed 2 kinds of motility drugs, an antibiotic, and Critical Care.

After a stressful couple of days, Bunji seems to be on the mend. He ate a plate of veggies this afternoon and his usual serving of pellets. He is pooping, though the size is still smaller than usual. I’m guessing this will start to go back to normal in time? He’s been eating hay with more and more gusto starting this afternoon (and is actually currently munching away behind me right now). He still isn’t drinking water by himself, but will do so if administered to him with a syringe. The vet did give him subcutaneous fluids yesterday, so it might be possible he still has some of that in him. Also, there is a mysterious puddle of water around his water bowl just now so he’s doing something in there.

We’ve decided not to give him Critical Care tonight since he is back to eating his usual veggies, pellets, and now hay. Not sure if we’re right about this, but our thinking is the Critical Care might ruin his appetite for all the other stuff (selfishly, the feeding process is so stressful for everyone involved, Bunji particularly, and we are just too tired tonight to go through that). We are also skipping the antibiotic too because he hates it. The motility drugs he laps up like candy, so we are continuing to give that to him.

Overall, things are looking up for Bunji. We hope to get him a playmate soon. Because of new job stuff, my husband and I are home less these days. We think this newfound loneliness might have contributed to the stress which induced this episode. Hopefully, having a bunny friend around will improve his demeanor and health.

Thank you all for your help and concern! Bunny communities are great!

[ThorBunny]

Glad to hear he is doing better!

(((Bunji)))

[Moo <3]

Yay for Bunji! I went through a similar situation, and we had to visit 4 different emergency vets before we were able to find a rabbit savvy vet on staff!

So glad that you guys are looking into getting him a friend. Make sure that his illness is cleared up before the bonding starts, as the stress created from the bonding might put him back into the same situation. Best of luck!!

[BunjaminML]

Thanks for the tip on bonding! We were hoping to get it done as soon as possible. We’ll wait a while until Bunji is completely 100% better.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Glad he is feeling better

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