older rabbit may be sick?

Question
Hi,
My rabbit, Scooter, is a 6 1/2 year-old fixed netherland dwarf.  He was perfectly healthy sunday, and then i was away for a day and when i came home he was sitting in the corner looking sad.  I picked him up and discovered a pee-puddle underneath, which is not like him at all.  He was making a weird smacking sound with his mouth.  Scooter has always been a big piggy who loves snacks, but when i threw the treats into the pen he didn't seem to care.  After a few hours, he ate a few bites of a cracker and some broccoli, but still didn't have any spunk in him.  He was drinking a lot of water.

This morning I woke up to find him munching away at lettuce.  I saw him take a few bites of a cracker and eat some pellet food.  If I hadn't seen his strange behavior last night I would not have thought anything about his behavior this morning.  He wasn't running around, but he wasn't sitting strangely in a corner either.

My main concern is the pee-puddle.  Scooter has never had an accident outside the litterbox in the 5+ years that I have had him, so I am wondering if this is a sign that something really bad is going on, or just a side effect of old age?

I'm hesitant to take him to the vet because I recently took my other rabbit there for GI Stasis and it cost me nearly $300 and I can't afford it again.  If it gets serious, I'll take him, but I'd like to avoid it if at all possible.  So any info you can give me would be extremely helpful.

Here are some factors that should be mentioned:  Last week I changed their food from an alfalfa-based pellet to a timothy-hay pellet.  Scooter had eaten the old food for his whole life, but didn't reject the new food when I switched it.  Recently, both their poops have been larger than usual, but still round and well-formed.  I figured it was the high-fiber diet that caused the size increase.

Scooter had a tooth abscess and surgery for it in 2003.  Last year the vet took a look and said that the abscess was still there but draining into his throat so it didn't seem to be a problem, especially since he was still active and eating a lot.  She said to be careful of depressed behavior because that could be a sign of more tooth problems.
Scooter lived alone for 5+ years, until I bonded him with my new rabbit about a month and a half ago.
2 weeks ago they both got a little constipated.  My other rabbit seemed worse so I brought them to the vet to have her checked out.  She made a fast recovery with pineapple juice, critical care liquid food, and cat laxitives.  I also gave Scooter the juice and laxitives and he completely recovered as well.  But it's hard to tell who's eating what and pooping what because they share a pen.

thank you for your help
Alison


Answer
He may have a bladder infection causing the pee puddle. He would be a little more less willing to eat feeling bad, just like people are. You can give them both an antibiotic that can be purchased at most feed stores called terrymycin. It comes in liquid, crumbles, and injection. It is a strong enough antibiotic to kill most viruses and bacteria, but not so much as to cause overdose and such. If his condtion does become worse, then you should take him to the vet rather than risk death.
Samantha