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my new bunny wont eat or drink

22 9:49:28

Question
i just got a bunny and he/she wont eat or drink and if im not mistaken he/she hasnt pooped eiter. i dont know if they took her away from the mom too soon or if im doing something wrong. iv had a rabbit b4 and never had any problems. is it because shes in a new house and hasnt gotten use to it yet or is there a real problem going on?

Answer
Hi Krysta

How long has bunny been not eating or drinking? Has she eaten anything since? Any rabbit who is uninterested in food and water and isn't pooping or peeing constitutes an emergency. A rabbits system can begin to shut down in as little as 24 hours without food. A rabbit needs to eat every 4-6 hours to sustain themselves or they become susceptible to bloat (gastrointestinal upset from eating poisonous substances or from anorexia for whatever reason).
Do you have a photo of your new bunny? It may help me identify the age.
However, rabbits do sometimes take some time to adjust to a new home. Is it possible that she might be sneaking pellets while the house is quiet? I suggest putting in 20 pellets into her dish so you can count them and verify if she infact is eating or not. If she still hasn't eaten up to this point I would call the breeder or the store and suggest they take the rabbit back and explain the situation. The best thing possible would be to return the rabbit to the Mother rabbit if that is the suspected problem. I am going to warn you that going to the vet is optimally what the breeder should do. Should you choose to do this yourself, because she does need to go to determine what is wrong... it will likely be expensive. That is the reason I mentioned returning the rabbit as most stores have a health guarantee or 3-14 days. You may even be able arrange with them for them to pay the bill since you adopted a sick animal.
There is one more thing I will suggest and that is to dampen a wash cloth and gently clean the rabbit with it. The Mother rabbit will do this to her young and then wipe the rabbits genitalia as the Mother would also do this to stimulate the bunny into pooping and peeing. See if this works. If it does, then your bunny is absolutely too young. If the store refuses to return or pay or you decide to take him to the vet yourself, one other thing they might suggest is syringe feeding kitten milk. You can buy it at usually any pet store. It is the closest thing to rabbit milk that you will find. Hold it up to his mouth and allow it to lap it up. You don't want to squirt it directly in his mouth because it could go down his windpipe. Just let him lick it.
You can quicken the process of turning to solids as well by syringe feeding pellets that soaked in water. They turn into a mush and the baby may be able to eat this in combination with the milk. I do recommend consulting a vet to rule out diseases or other defects such as bloat, which usually needs to be treated by a vet.
I hope this helps. Let me know if I can help you further...
A.