The Daisy Incident
Last night, Daisy was not herself. When dinnertime rolled around, she didn’t eat any of her food. No matter what we tried to give her, she’d sniff it and then hop away.
When bunnies don’t eat, it’s a pretty big deal. For them to not have food in their system is very problematic, and potentially life-threatening. We’ve seen the “not eating” behavior before, and know that it’s potentially the start of gastro-intestinal stasis.
We have a few meds in stock, to help with moments like this. Some GasX for infants, as well as some >Laxatone (disclaimer: affiliate link). Usually, the bunnies can’t get enough of the Laxatone, but Dasiy didn’t care for it at all.
Liz tried picking her up, and massaging her stomach. But it didn’t seem to improve Daisy’s hunger. So we just let her be, and kept tabs on her for a few hours.
She ran around a little bit, here and there, and also hid out in a few places.
When it got to be 8:30 or so, Liz decided it was time to throw her into a burrito and force her to eat some Critical Care.
The burrito is generally for holding the rabbits still (so we can clip their nails). Tonight though, we wanted to make sure Daisy got some nutrition, since she didn’t touch any of her dinner. Critical Care was the easiest way.
A closeup of Miss Daisy.
The good news is that, later in the evening, Daisy started to eat a little of the Laxatone we offered. It wasn’t a ton, but it was an encouraging sign. Not much interest in any other foods, though.
// Edit: Happy to report that the following morning, Daisy was eating her breakfast “like a champ” (according to Liz). It’s a big relief to see her interested again in food, but we’ll have to keep close tabs on her in the coming days. And make sure she’s still eating well/enough.
Related:
Bunny Burritos!
Home From the Vet, and the Baxter Bunny Burrito
Edit from the bun mom: Force feeding the buns during stasis is important. They have a blockage that is gas & hair balls so they stop eating as they’re uncomfortable.
But… the only thing that helps get rid of the blockage is gas-x coupled with more fibrous foods. So as stressful as it is on me (and Daisy) I have to make sure she keeps eating to get rid of the blockage as well as keeping her system from shutting down.
Paws crossed she continues to eat like a champ!
Liz (April 25, 2017 at 3:35 pm)How is Daisy doing? I hope, she continued eating and it was just a short incident?
M. (May 6, 2017 at 4:32 am)It was a momentary thing that passed, and she was back to normal the next day. She’s back to her normal self, and has been fine ever since. Thanks for asking!
avoision (May 6, 2017 at 3:21 pm)