Gelp! Ahe doesn’t eat!

[Catalin]

This morning, Fatty didn’t come for food. Yesterday she had a lot of hay and greens, but now she won’t even take her favourite foods, like Queen Anne’s Lace root. My grandpa took her out from the litter box she was hiding, and now she’s hiding behind it. I also noticed some redish pee. I want to take her to the vet, but she won’t come out. What can I do? Take her out against her will? Whar do you think? Coccidiosis? Help!!!

[joea64]

Is she pooping at all?

[Catalin]

I don’t know. She’s with another rabbir in there. Now she hid in the litter bix. She layed down and she still doesn’t eat. I’ll head to the vet office in about an hour. I hope it isn’t because of the new hay.

[asha]

i think u should wait until she come out of her box.then u take her outside.she will feel fresh.

[Catalin]

Just came from the vet. She has coccidiosis and vitamine lack. Because she stayed in the dirty litter, she smells awful. How can I remove the smell? I have some basil amd mint in the garden. Would rubbing them on the fur be ok?

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By asha on 8/28/2017 3:56 AM

i think u should wait until she come out of her box.then u take her outside.she will feel fresh.

Sorry but this is poor advice. If your bun isn’t eating, making them ‘feel fresh’ isn’t going to help.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Catalin on 8/28/2017 5:54 AM

Just came from the vet. She has coccidiosis and vitamine lack. Because she stayed in the dirty litter, she smells awful. How can I remove the smell? I have some basil amd mint in the garden. Would rubbing them on the fur be ok?

I would just let her clean herself. 

[joea64]

See this page at MediRabbit for a thorough explanation of what coccidiosis is and how to treat it: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Protozoal_diseases/Cocc_en.htm (WARNING: graphic pictures)

First of all, follow your vet’s instructions carefully regarding any drugs or medications prescribed for Fatty. What you need to do on your own part is establish a strict hygiene regimen going forward. Clean out that litterbox thoroughly, if you haven’t already done it, and establish a regimen to make sure that it stays clean. You may have to remove soiled hay and used litter every day. Anything else that Fatty has been in contact with needs to be either cleaned thoroughly if possible, or thrown away if not. I noticed that you have another rabbit – he/she needs to also be vet-checked for coccidiosis ASAP because they might also have contracted it if they’ve been living in the same environment. The bunnies’ cage, particularly the floor, needs to be cleaned thoroughly, according to this site, http://bananasforbunnies.org/?page_id=921 , a 10% ammonia solution is recommended but the cleaned surface needs to be cleaned/rinsed off of all traces of ammonia before allowing your buns back into the habitat.

This is a very serious condition but with good care and a bit of luck Fatty can come back from it. Good luck and keep us posted!

[Deleted User]

Posted By asha on 8/28/2017 3:56 AM

i think u should wait until she come out of her box.then u take her outside.she will feel fresh.

This is not very sound advice. If a rabbit does not eat or poop for 6-12 hours this is very serious, as even that small amount of time can make them quite ill. It isn’t like with humans, you don’t just let their illness “pass”. Any time a rabbit is even suspected of being ill, they should be evaluated by a vet ASAP.

[joea64]

Posted By BunNoob on 8/28/2017 7:11 AM

Posted By asha on 8/28/2017 3:56 AM

i think u should wait until she come out of her box.then u take her outside.she will feel fresh.

This is not very sound advice. If a rabbit does not eat or poop for 6-12 hours this is very serious, as even that small amount of time can make them quite ill. It isn’t like with humans, you don’t just let their illness “pass”. Any time a rabbit is even suspected of being ill, they should be evaluated by a vet ASAP.

I agree. This is why rabbits always need to have some hay nearby, so they can nibble at it and forage for the tasty pieces between their main meals. If there’s one thing I’m establishing as an invariant part of the daily care routine for Panda and Fernando, it’s to refresh their hay twice per day, along with their water, so there’s always something there for them to eat and drink.

Just taking a rabbit outside won’t help if they’re experiencing GI issues, either. In fact, if by “outside” is meant literally outside, that’s a very bad idea as bunnies can be exposed to parasites, including the ones that cause coccidosis, by being outdoors – another reason why most people here strongly advocate keeping buns indoors at all times except when necessary.

[Catalin]

I give her some medicine with a needleless syringe in her mouth. I’ll take her to the vet tommorow for shot and ask the vet about Patch, the other bun.

[joea64]

Posted By Catalin on 8/28/2017 7:41 AM

I give her some medicine with a needleless syringe in her mouth. I’ll take her to the vet tommorow for shot and ask the vet about Patch, the other bun.

Good. Do you have Critical Care on hand? You might need to feed her with that at some point if she’s having difficulty eating regular food.

[Catalin]

What is Critical Care?

[Catalin]

Just googled it. I don’t think I can find it in Romania

[joea64]

OK, then you’ll probably need to find some suitable mushed baby food to feed your bun if that becomes necessary, or mash up pellets. I don’t remember offhand but I think there are suggestions here on BinkyBunny as well as on other sites such as the House Rabbit Society’s.

[Deleted User]

You can mash pellets with water to form a baby food consistency “mash” that can be syringe fed. Just make sure that it isn’t too clumpy, because you don’t want to clog the syringe and then force out too much at once- that can choke your bun. try to aim the syringe at the back of the teeth, toward the front of the mouth. You don’t want to aim straight back to their throat because of choking hazard. Maybe mash up some banana or use some pumpkin pulp to make the pellet mash more enticing. Hope you get her eating!

If possible, can you separate the buns so you can see if she is pooping? It will be important to monitor and be able to determine that it’s her pooping and not the other bun.

[Catalin]

Sorry, I can’t separate then. I don’t know, she doesn’t eat or drink and if I try to give her the medicine she bites me. And the gloves don’t work

[Deleted User]

I mean, you really need to put in a lot of effort here. We don’t have much information to try and give you suggestions off of.

So you went to the vet and she was diagnosed with coccidiosis? You were given medicine to give her, so you HAVE to give it to her. You can’t just let her alone because she doesn’t want the medicine. It is important that you get her eating, have you tried to make a pellet mash yet? What have you tried so far to get her to take the medicine? Have you tried putting it on a piece of fruit or something? You said you were supposed to bring her to the vet for a shot, when is that to be done?

Is there no way you can just put her in a small room like the bathroom? You really need to see if your rabbit is pooping, it’s actually crucial that you monitor poops since you have said she isn’t eating. If she stops pooping entirely, you absolutely need to know- that is an emergency.

Excuse me if I am misunderstanding, but it doesn’t seem as if you are trying very hard to help her. If she continues not eating she could very well get GI stasis… on top of the coccidiosis… and you will have a terribly ill bunny on your hands…

[Catalin]

I almost finished the medicine for today. A few minutes ago she started eating again!! Right after I gave her some medicine and put her back in the cage she started munching on some pellets. I have to go the vet tommorow. She’s way better than she was this morning. Besides she started eating, she is not that lethargic anymore.

[Deleted User]

Keep giving the medicine and check back with the vet.

Glad to hear she is doing better. If you can keep an eye on her and try to determine if she’s pooping.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Catalin on 8/28/2017 11:28 AM

I almost finished the medicine for today. A few minutes ago she started eating again!! Right after I gave her some medicine and put her back in the cage she started munching on some pellets. I have to go the vet tommorow. She’s way better than she was this morning. Besides she started eating, she is not that lethargic anymore.

That’s really great news but have you managed to spot whether she’s pooping? If you can’t separate them, clean out the litter tray/s and monitor her whenever she goes in the tray. If your other bun hops in the litter box and poops, take the poops out afterwards or move them to a back corner of the tray or something. That way there’s no confusion over who’s done what. That’s what I’ve done in the past with Buttercup. You have to be very vigilant tho. If you see poops and you’re unsure who they belong too, it’s best to assume the worse rather than assume she’s all better. So definitely stay vigilant!

[Catalin]

I finished the medicine. Tommorow, first thing in the morning, I’ll check the litter how you told me, because now is too late.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Catalin on 8/28/2017 1:35 PM

I finished the medicine. Tommorow, first thing in the morning, I’ll check the litter how you told me, because now is too late.

Well you really need to know if she’s pooping now. If she hasn’t pooped so far, and you wait til morning then it could be very dangerous for her.

[Catalin]

Just came home from the vet. The doctor agreed she is way better. I will have to go tommorow again for the same antibiotics shot. She is eating and behaving just like before. I’ll let you know what else happens

[Bam]

I’m glad she’s better

[joea64]

Good news! I assume she’s pooping more or less normally now in addition to returning to normal eating and activity?

[Catalin]

I think. I was staying near the cage wainting for some poop. I went grab some mint from the garden and when I came back, there were several small dropings . I assume they were her because they were so small, maybe because she didn’t eat that much

[Catalin]

The vet says she’s ok. I have to put some vitamines in their water just to to be sure

[Author]

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