Irregular Behaviour.

Question
QUESTION: We have gone through a lot with my rabbit, at my best guess I believe him to be about 3 years. He is a male, lionhead rabbit. First, he quit eating. We took him to the vet and he had a GI Stasis, we had to force feed him for probably three weeks before he began eating again. The second time, (this was about four or five months ago) we noticed his eye was really runny, and it seemed quite out of place, so we took him to the vet, and discovered his molars had overgrown, hitting the roof of his mouth, so he had to be put out while they burred his teeth down. After that, he was on antibiotics, along with a pain medication and we had to force feed him for a few weeks until he began eating by himself. In August, just over two months after the first surgery we noticed his eye again, and realized his teeth had probably grown up again. And they had. So he was put out for yet another molar burring, but this time we didn't have to force feed, he began eating regularly right away.

It's probably only been a month since that last surgery, so I'm not concerned about that being the problem this time.
But I went to fill his food bowl, give him more hay and change his water this morning, and he gets a little treat everytime I do this. On most mornings he gets excited as soon as I open the cage and take out his bowls, this morning however, he just sat in his corner, I didn't think much of it, until when I went to give him his treat he didn't react at all. Usually he freaks out, while I put his food bowl down and proceeded to open the treat bag, then I can barely get my hand in the cage before he's all over me sniffing for that treat. This morning, he didn't budge. Just sat in his corner, I even put the treat up in front of his nose, he didn't react at all, and wouldn't take the treat. I left it in his food bowl, hoping he'd eat it during the day, but when I returned from school, it was still sitting on top of his food and he hadn't eaten anything, period.
I also washed him some kale (his favorite) and put it in his cage, he hasn't touched it.
Usually when I pick him up to let him loose, he makes me chase him a bit before I can pick him up, but today he just remained in his corner and let me scoop him up. Then I noticed he has urine all over his fur. Usually he does his business in a specific corner, but today it's as though he's not even moving.

I'm a little bit concerned at the moment, is this concern enough for a trip to the vet? Any help you could provide would be wonderful!
Thank you.

Also, on a side note. We were told by the vet because of his molars growing that he's going to have to have surgery every two months. What concerns me the most is that everytime this happens, he has to be put out. Isn't being put under by anesthetic every two months going to shorten his life span? I can't see at as a good thing in my eyes.

ANSWER: Dear Alex,

Your bunny's behavior suggests he is very ill and you should consider this a potentially life-threatening emergency.  Please read this immediately:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sickbun.html

for instructions on taking his temperature and what to do if it's abnormal.  

A very high fever or systemic infection can sometimes cause a rabbit to urinate without care for the litterbox, and if this is the case, your bunny is in grave danger.  Please get him to the vet *immediately*.  His chronic dental problems may have resulted in infection that has gone into his bloodstream, and this is very, very serious.  

Once he's well again, we can address his dental problems, but for now I don't want to waste a moment in telling you to get him to the vet!

Dana


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: (We're currently working on getting into the vet asap)

He does seem tiny bit better today though. He appears to have eaten his treat from last night, and he took one this morning, though he only ate about half of it. He's been nibbling on kale, and today when I got home the other half of the treat was gone, and he's eaten a few nibbles of food. Certainly not as much as normal though. He is moving more than yesterday though, and he seems to be heading to the corner to go to the bathroom. But I still think his behavior is abnormal, he does a lot of flopping, rather than just sprawling out. And I've noticed lately some of his poop comes out quite mushy and all sort of attached.

I really don't trust myself to take his temperature, we don't have a proper thermometer either.

Answer
Dear Alex,

I'm glad he's acting a bit better, but don't be lulled into complacency.  A bunny can rally even when he's very sick, and I don't want you to lose your friend.

The mushy stool is possibly due to a condition called cecal dysbiosis, which is often secondary to other problems.  You can read about this and its causes here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

He may be very gassy, and even a gentle tummy massage with some pediatric simethicone drops down his tummy might really make him feel better.  Use the instructions here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

But do get him to the vet very quickly.  He may need antibiotics, and if he has a high fever he needs them SOON.  Dental problems are a *classic* cause of GI slowdown and other problems, and lionheads are notorious for them.  I wouldn't be surprised if this is at the root of his chronic problems.

Good luck,
Dana