wont eat

Question
My daughters rabbit is 2 years old. He is a very lovable bunny. My daughter noticed that he was not eating. We waited. It is now the third day of not eating. He is drinking his water. I noticed the other night that the inside of his ears were very warm. That has gone away. Other than not eating he seems to be normal. Could this be the change in weather? We had a few extremely hot days and no air conditioner. Now the air works and it is back to normal temps in the house.
I have made a vet appt , but was wondering what it could be.

Answer
He could have a fur block (hairball).  He could have an infection or virus, and with his ears being warm he could have a fever or even a problem with his teeth or an absess in his mouth.

You did the best thing you can do by getting him an appointment.  In the meantime see if you can get him to eat even some hay or papaya pills, they are sold in health food stores such as GNC.  Rabbits love them because they taste like treats to them.  You can try to get him to drink some pineapple juice but they generally don't like to drink that.  If he does have a fur ball it could help him break it up on his own.  Rabbits that won't eat will sometimes eat rolled oats they love the taste of those too.  Sometimes if my rabbits are picky or stop eating for a day I put a handful of rolled oats in their food and they usually will eat a little bit.  I just really think your little guy is sick but without lab tests and X-rays it is almost impossible to tell.  3 days is just way to long to go without eating.

I would call the vet back and tell them it is a real emergency.  Depending on when your appointment is.  Perhaps they could get you in faster.  When rabbits stop eating they don't last long.  The good thing is that he is drinking and you can even slip a small amount of the pure pineapple juice or some pedialyte in his water.  If you put to much in and he notices the difference and wont drink then take it away immediately and give him back his regular water.

Please be aware that whatever it is could cost a lot of money to have him fixed.  If it is a complete blockage they may need to do surgery.  If it is something as simple as an infection (way to many to mention) then they may be able to treat him with medicine.

I will pray for your little bunny.  Please let me know how he does.

Thank you

Pam

(If a vet ever tries to give your rabbit amoxycillin find another vet.  That means the vet is clueless)