What To Do If Your Rabbit Stops Eating
I can’t tell you how many times I have read an urgent post in the Facebook rabbit groups from a desperate rabbit owner about their bunny who has stopped eating. It’s a scary situation that can turn deadly, FAST. Full anorexia is a sign of something being very seriously wrong. It should be addressed as soon as possible by a vet who is familiar with rabbits. But since getting in to see the vet can take up to a couple of days (especially during current quarantine orders), you may not have time to wait to take action. There are steps you can take at home that may save your rabbit’s life.
Let me begin by saying that I am NOT a vet. Although I have years of experience with rabbits and have seen many health issues, I cannot give you advice that would be as complete as a vet. A vet has both the tools and training to give you a true diagnosis. I am writing this article in hopes that I can help a few more rabbit owners out there save their pets before it is too late. This does not mean that you should try to self diagnose and treat a pet who is gravely ill by yourself without a vet’s guidance.
The list of issues that can cause sudden onset anorexia in rabbits includes labor, dehydration, fear, malocclusion, GI stasis, an intestinal blockage, pain, a serious illness, and more. We are going to explore each one in turn.
Non-Illness Related Reasons For Not Eating
Labor
Labor is obviously the easiest to rule out. If your rabbit hasn’t had contact with any male rabbits (or is a male) you don’t need to worry. Labor will also be accompanied by other changes in your rabbit such as building a nest (collecting hay in her mouth and moving it all to one spot.) It is completely normal for a healthy rabbit who is in labor to stop eating before giving birth, even for up to half day beforehand. This is not cause for concern. Make sure she has fresh water, a ton of hay, a safe space to make her nest, and plenty of food for when she has completed kindling (giving birth.)
Dehydration
Dehydration is the most common reason a rabbit will stop eating, but obviously a very easy fix! Give your rabbit a fresh BOWL of water. If you are using a water bottle make sure it’s working properly and that the spout is not dirty or blocked. If this is a new pet, the rabbit may not have figured out how to use it yet. Most rabbits prefer a bowl if offered both.
Fear
You should assess if perhaps your rabbit is feeling unsafe for any reason. Is this a new pet to your home? Have you recently changed their living area? Have you introduced a new person or pet to your home? Not eating because of feeling unsafe generally does not last long. You will most likely notice food missing after the rabbit is left alone for a period of time.
If you have ruled out all of these situations, your rabbit may have something more serious going on.
Malocclusion
A normal rabbit has 28 teeth. It has two pairs of incisors which are the sharp, chisel-like teeth at the front of the mouth. In a proper alignment of the incisors, the top teeth will very slightly overlap the bottom incisors in an overbite. A rabbit’s teeth grow continuously throughout their life, but with this proper alignment, the teeth wear themselves down and stay sharp when the rabbit eats the fibrous hay that makes up most of their diet. Dental malocclusion is the condition in which the upper and lower teeth fail to meet in the correct way when the mouth is closed.
Signs of incisor malocclusion include obviously overgrown incisors, both upper and lower. When over-long, the lower incisors tend to protrude from the mouth. Over-long upper incisors may, as they grow, curl round within the mouth and cut into the roof of the mouth. This can lead to drooling and wound infections and the rabbit may be unable to close its mouth properly.
The molars can also cause malocclusion. Overgrown points or sharp spikes that form on the edges of teeth may cut and badly damage the tongue, cheeks, or gums. Overgrown lower molars may form a bridge over and entrap the tongue or hit each other in the back of the mouth, thereby preventing the front of the mouth from closing completely and changing the way the incisors meet. As a result, incisors do not wear down properly and can overgrow.
As the molars continue to grow and are not worn down, they become impacted in the upper and lower jaws, just like impacted wisdom teeth in people. All of this can lead to pain when chewing, the development of sores and abscesses in the mouth, difficulty eating, drooling, pawing at the mouth, problems grooming, and weight loss. You may also notice eye issues when a rabbit is having issues with their teeth. Weepy, red eyes are common when the teeth are impacted or infected.
How to Check Teeth:
With your rabbit either on its back or sitting facing away from you, gently part the lips back into a smile. The four large teeth (two top and two bottom) are the incisor teeth. The top front teeth should come slightly over and in front of the bottom incisors. Check that they are not loose and that the gums are pink and healthy rather than red or purple. An underbite is an early warning sign that your rabbit may be at risk for future malocclusion. See the photos below for a comparison of the desired overbite versus malocclusion.
What to do if your rabbit has malocclusion:
In some cases malocclusion may be remedied by trimming the rabbit’s teeth, so make a vet appointment ASAP. If the rabbit is already full grown or close to it, they will probably need teeth trimming for the rest of their life. The vet may be able to teach you how to do the trimming yourself, or you could look for a local breeder who provides this as a service too. A rabbit’s teeth are more akin to our fingernails since they continue to grow. Teeth trimming does not hurt the rabbit if there is no infection present in the mouth.
Generally, an experienced breeder can tell by three weeks of age or earlier if a rabbit will have genetic malocclusion, and will not allow it to become a future pet. But malocclusion can also develop as the rabbit grows (if the lower jaw grows out too far), or be caused by improper care. Not feeding enough hay or giving the rabbit safe items to chew can cause late onset malocclusion. Make sure you are providing hay to your rabbit at all times and some hardwood sticks or logs for the rabbit to chew on. (We love using fresh cut firewood as the rabbits like to nibble the sharp edges.)
GI Stasis and Intestinal Blockages
If your rabbit is experiencing GI stasis, or a more severe intestinal blockage, you will need to take immediate action. Often the rabbit will exhibit normal behavior and then suddenly develop an acute and rapid onset of clinical signs. Rabbits with an intestinal obstruction present severe abdominal pain and as a result will become anorexic, unwilling to move and grind their teeth in pain (bruxism). They will also press their abdomen on the ground, have a bloated and distended abdomen, and cease production of fecal pellets. Not all of these symptoms will present in every case.
What to do if you suspect GI stasis:
If your rabbit has not been eating or drinking for more than half a day, they should immediately be fed recovery food or a feeding formula (not the same as formula made for baby rabbits) made specifically for rabbits. Critical Care is our go to formula and we always have it in on hand just in case. It is suggested by vets to use after surgeries as well. Every rabbit owner should have Critical Care in their rabbit first aid kit along with a syringe for feeding it. Do not wait to order it until you are in a bad situation! Intestinal distress comes on suddenly and can be fatal if you do not get the rabbit’s digestive system moving. Critical care does not contain any medicines that could be detrimental to the rabbit so it is safe to feed, even when unsure of the diagnosis while waiting on your vet visit.
Critical care is super easy to use. You mix the powder with water to make a pudding-like paste. You then fill a syringe and feed your rabbit the paste to keep them fed and hydrated all at once. The package gives you directions by weight so it’s handy to a have a rough idea of your rabbit’s weight ready. You could even stick a note of their weight in your first aid kit. You will feed the rabbit 3-4 portions of the critical care each day that they are unable to eat. We generally notice improvement by the first or second feeding.
If you are having a hard time getting your rabbit to eat the critical care, try wrapping them in a towel like a burrito and syringe feeding them while safely wrapped up.
Having Critical Care on hand could literally save your rabbits life. It is the best product we have found for helping a rabbit to recover from a GI stasis or any other medical emergency that could stop a rabbit from eating. Keep it ready in your rabbit first aid kit instead of waiting until it is too late! Don’t forget to also order a syringe for feeding it to your rabbit.
What caused this?
GI stasis and obstructions can be caused by a variety of situations, but usually have more than one underlying cause. In order to develop an obstruction a concurrent underlying disease, such as dehydration or reduced gut motility must be present. This means that just eating something abnormal or swallowing some of their hair while grooming is not enough to cause a complete obstruction.
When trying to determine what could have contributed to your rabbits stasis or blockage, think about what they could have eaten. The rabbit could have ingested something foreign and synthetic. House rabbits may have access to many items such as small pieces from children’s toys, carpet, cables, plastics and buttons on remote controls, etc. If you use clay clumping cat litter, this can cause a blockage if swallowed. We always suggest using kiln dried pine pellets as litter instead. Feeding them certain seeds or beans can be detrimental as well. Make sure to reference a comprehensive list of rabbit safe foods.
Preventing GI stasis
If your rabbit is molting it could mean they are ingesting more hair than usual and is a very common reason for stasis. It is helpful if you run a comb through your rabbit once a day during their molting to remove the lose hairs. The more hair you brush out for them, the less work their system is having to do. Our favorite grooming tool is the HairBuster Comb for rabbits with all hair lengths. It has a silicone band woven through the teeth of the comb that gently catches the lose hair.
Remember that molting is a normal process for rabbits and will not be the sole reason for any kind of blockage that may happen. There are ways that you can help keep your rabbit’s digestive system working properly. They should be eating high fiber hay, such as timothy hay or orchard grass, as 70 - 80%of their diet. This means they should be nibbling it a lot of day while they’re awake. If your rabbit is not enough hay, you may need to reduce their intake of pellet food. If your rabbit has experienced any kind of illness, diarrhea, or is on medication, it’s smart to supplement with a rabbit probiotic. We use Healthy Gut Probiotics. This is another item that we always have on hand in our rabbit first aid kit.
This is our favorite probiotic formula for rabbits. It’s a powder that is easy to measure and sprinkle on their food. It’s safe for young rabbits and we have never had a rabbit turn their nose up at it so it must taste good too!
Pain and Other Illnesses
Your rabbit could stop eating during intense pain related to other parts of the body. No matter what it ends up being from this list, you should already be calling the vet. You will need their help to reach a diagnosis. Critical care should still be given in the event of other injuries or illnesses. It will keep rabbit nourished and hydrated, but it will not cure the root cause of any of these issues.
Your job is now to take notice of any symptoms or behaviors that your rabbit is expressing. Your vet will thank you for the attention to detail.
Some things to take note of before your vet visit:
Could your rabbit have broken or sprained something? Watch your rabbit closely to asses if they are walking and hopping normally. Could they have damaged one of their legs or back during playtime? Even the happiest binkies can turn dangerous if they can hit their body against a cage or other structure while jumping. *If you are worried about a broken back or limb, try moving them as little and as gently as possible while still getting nourishment in. We use a towel to burrito the rabbit, then syringe feed while they are wrapped safely in the towel.
Look for other signs of common illnesses. Is your rabbit tilting their head? Or falling over as they try to walk? These may be signs of an ear infection or E. cuniculi, a common parasite.
Take a look at their stool. Is their bottom dirty with diarrhea? What do their poops look in their litter box? Do you see any mucous, large clumps, foreign material, etc? Take some of their stool to the vet as a sample.
Are their eyes and respiratory system clear? Take note of red or weepy eyes, a running nose, labored or raspy breathing, sneezing, etc.
Check their genitalia, anus, and scent glands and for abnormal swelling, sores, or any discharge.
Keep your rabbit close until you can get to a vet. It’s important that you can keep them under observation, feed critical care, and encourage them to start nibbling hay and drinking water again if at all possible.
Good luck to you and your bun! I hope this article gives you the confidence you need to act quickly in a dire situation.
