bunny depression

Question
I have two rabbits, a netherlands dwarf named pete, and antother (im not sure his breed) named leon..pete was a very lovable rabbit, always liked to snuggle and never went far from me.Someone asked me to take leon in, and hes just the opposite of pete..all over the place, into everything, and doesent like to be held.I keep them in separate cages, in different rooms.Ive tried to get the two to bond, but Leon keeps trying to hump pete, so i shoo him. Ive actually stopped spending time with them together, now i take them out separately, Leon keeps going over to petes cage and acts like hes actually trying to get inside. Pete has become very depressed, exteremely inactive, and has stopped eating and drinking. He just sits in his little house all day in the same spot, and hes definately lost weight. I have no clue what to do..have you ever seen anything like this before?

Answer
UPDATE

Hi Megan,

I am very sorry to hear about your little guy pete.  He knows you did your best to get him there in time.  If you still want me to help with why he was acting the way he was, go over my prior questions and post a follow-up.

I am in the Milwaukee area myself.  I would imagine you were heading to the Emergency vet on Silver Spring and about 21st street.  They're pretty good.

I do want to mention that at the first sign of a deviation from a rabbit's normal appetite, start watching them VERY carefully.  Generally it's a sign something is wrong and anything with not eating/drinking/no output is extremely serious and if it lasts for more than 12 hours and you can't fix it on your own in 24 hours, get them in to the vet/emergency vet.  If it's more than 12 hours plus bad symptoms like being unstable/passing out, appearing weak, no movement, don't wait for 24 hours, get them in right away.

Again, I am very sorry for you loss.  I hope you guys are Christians, as you will someday be reunited with your little Pete again.

END UPDATE


Hi Megan,

you will need to get back to me with more information.

Give me the background on pete and leon.  How old are they, how long you had pete, did pete lose some of the house now that leon has room, are you spending less time with pete?

Further, give me some info on how pete and leon were getting along when you tried to bond them.  What was pete's reaction to leon?  Was he putting up with the mounting?  Did he seem like he didn't mind having leon around?

Also, was pete always a solo rabbit or did he lose a mate recently?

Finally, cna you tell me of any other changes in the house that could have impacted on pete in any way?  Routine changes for him, for you, etc.

If you can give me the above info I can give a better reply.  

In the meantime if he is not eating and drinking you need to get him to a vet and looked at because he may need to be given sub-q fluids to prevent dehydration and gi stasis (gut shutdown) that can kill him.

Thanks, Lee