My Rabbit Has Stopped Eating, What Can I Do?
Rabbits will stop eating for a number of different reasons and it is more common than most people realise. Pain, Surgery, Stress, and or a change in diet are all potential triggers that can cause a rabbit to stop eating. If your rabbit stops eating you need to address it as quickly as possible due to the rabbits gastrointestinal system it is important that he eats regularly and continues to ingest fibre.
Here are our tips for getting your rabbit to eat properly again.
- Always ensure that following surgery or during illness you rabbit has sufficient painkillers and make sure you use them. A rabbit that is in pain will not eat!
- Rabbits are naturally active at dawn and dusk. Try to mimic these conditions for your rabbit. With house rabbits dim the lights, ensure it is quiet and keep the room at the correct temperature (21-23 degrees). Make sure there are no predators within sight or smell (including your pet dog or cat) and ensure that your rabbit is comfortable, clean and dry. Rabbits who feel stressed, dirty or threatened will not eat.
- Anorexic rabbits generally crave Fiber. Offer good quality sweet smelling hay with greens, freshly picked grass, dandelion leaves or your bunnie’s favourite Rabbit food. Getting your rabbit to start eating is the most important thing at this stage.
- Ensure the food is within easy reach of your rabbit.
- Contrary to popular belief rabbits, like most prey animals, do not like being picked up and cuddled if they are unwell. Gentle stroking and talking to your rabbits is more effective and will allow them to feel safe and secure and start to eat.
- Some rabbits will take the elusive first bite if you waft food under their nose. Tickle their nose with a strand of hay or grass to see if you can encourage them to start to nibble, initially you might need to slowly introduce on strand after another to kick start your rabbits appetite
- Don’t overload your rabbits bowl and avoid outfacing them. Small amounts give n often or spread out in several feed bowls is often more effective than on large bowl full given once per day.
- If you rabbit has a companion and it is possible keep them together, the sight of a friend eating and the comfort a companion brings will often be enough to get your bunny eating again.
Lastly Persevere! It can take several days to ge an anorexic rabbit to begin eating again. As long as they are comfortable and not deteriorating then it is worth persisting.
If you Feel that your rabbit has stopped eating you must consult your veterinary surgeon so they can diagnose the problem. In many cases this is the first sign of illness or a deeper problem.
Have Rabbit Must Travel! How can I Help My Rabbit When We Move?
We are often asked at the rabbit hutch shop, “how can i look after my rabbit whilst travelling in the car”, so I thought I would write a few tips for anyone who has to take a rabbit on a long journey.
Some rabbits do travel well, others do not. The only way to find out is to try some short test journeys and see how your rabbit behaves at the end of it. In many cases your rabbit will not be happy at all. Some people tell us that their rabbits travel fine and seem to be very happy when they are on the move. In most cases though, unless your bunny has been on the move from an early age, they will not take to it straight away.
There are a number of things that you can do to make your pets comfortable whilst travelling. Firstly you should get a suitable Rabbit Carrier well in advance. We come across two schools of thought with carriers. Some people go for the largest possible carrier they can, or use a small indoor cage or dog crate. Others prefer to go for a small cosy carrier that is more like your rabbit’s bed or nesting area. For rabbits that have not travelled before or that are nervous we would recommend going for something smaller that will give your rabbit added security.
Get your pet rabbit used to the carrier a couple of days or a week before you travel. Encourage them into it with treats, food and toys. Leave the carrier open and let you rabbit sleep in it if you can. Shut your rabbit in the carrier for short periods of time without moving the carrier.
Once you are ready to travel start with short “test” journeys. Make sure when you put the carrier in the car it is positioned so that it will not be jolted if you have to break hard. Put it behind one of the front seats or use the seat belt to secure it.
On long journeys make sure your rabbit has access to water and food. If you are travelling in warm weather consider draping a damp towl over the carrier and make sure you position the carrier out of direct sunlight.
Finally the most important thing is that you yourself are calm and happy. All pets feed from the emotions of those around them. If you are uptight about the move and anxious about your pet they simply will not settle. If you are very concerned about travelling with your pet consider asking someone else to take your pet on short journeys so you and your pet can get used to the idea.
P.S “Hoppy Holidays”, and remember if you are happy your pets will be happy as well.
Why Does my Rabbit Bite the Bars on our Rabbit Hutch?
Animals including pets will sometimes develop ‘stereotypic’ behaviours. The main one that is seen in rabbit is ‘bar biting’ continued and repetitive biting of the bars or mesh on the rabbit hutch or Rabbit Cage.
These abnormal behaviours generally have no specific goal and are repetitive in nature, more often associated with Zoo Animals, they are a sign of inappropriate physical or social environment. There can be a number of causes of ‘bar biting’ in pet rabbits, boredom is a major cause, but also anticipation (prior to being fed or let out) or simply to get your attention. Reacting to this behaviour will only reinforce it as a way for your rabbit to get attention.
Luckily the way to prevent or reduce this problem is the same no matter what the cause. Firstly provide your rabbit with a companion, preferably another rabbit. Secondly ensure that they have sufficient room to live and excercise, thirdly provide plenty of toys to keep them occupied and finaly try not to react to this type of behaviour!
10 Step Plan to Litter Training Success with Your Pet Rabbit.
Always start training in the area, room or hutch, that you intend to put your litter tray in. Initially confine your rabbit to this area.- Place yoru rabbits litter tray in a corner of the hutch or cage. Initially half fill the bottom with non clumping litter and place a layre your rabbits dirty bedding over the top. i.e. some straw or shavings your rabbit has done the toilet on. The idea is to encourage your rabbit to use the litter tray and make a gradual transition from bedding to litter. High sided corner litter trays with a low front are best.
- Some rabbits are quick to train and others, particularly young rabbits take a little longer. Remember to use the same rabbit litter all the time so you rabbit gets used to it and recognises it as the place to go! Do not change litter too often and always put some the old litter back to act as a marker for your rabbit.
- Be patient and work with your rabbits abilities. It is better to train your rabbit properly now than to try and correct a partially or poorly trained rabbit.
- If your rabbit has a relapse, confine him to the hutch or training area again. Be sure to mop up any mistakes and put them back into the tray.
- Be prepared to consider other problems, if training is taking a long time or your pet has a major relapse. Dental problems, bladder infections and many other health issues can result in your pet having accidents. It is not always simply a training problem
- Carefully consider the type of litter that you are going to use, a non-clumping type is best. Once you start using a particular type of litter avoid changing the litter, if you do change the type of litter you use this change should be introduced slowly by mixing the litters together and gradually moving over from on to another.
- Use a lukewarm solution of biological washing powder to clean up any accidents. Never use bleach or anything that contains ammonia as this smells like urine and will only encourage your rabbit to keep using that spot. Baby wipes are great for cleaning up accidents on furniture. When you clean out your litter tray use warm water and spray with anti-bacterial pet spray or pop it out in the sun to dry.
- Keep your litter tray in a quiet place in your house or in a quiet corner of your hutch.
- It is relatively easy to train rabbits that live in a hutch to use a litter tray and it does make cleaning out the hutch much quicker!
Why Does my Rabbit Keep Chewing my Rabbit Hutch?
In the wild rabbits spend most of their time foraging for food and grazing. Most of the things that rabbits eat are of low nutritional value so they have to eat and graze constantly to keep their energy levels up.
Many pet owners fail to provide enough of this low energy food for rabbits to chew and gnaw upon.
Rabbits teeth grow constantly and they have to gnaw and graze constantly to prevent them from becoming overgrown and very pain full. If you pet rabbit does not have sufficient materials to chew they will turn to their Rabbit Hutch. The wooden frame is ideal for them to chew on.
This can be very frustrating and expensive for owners because a determined rabbit can destroy a rabbit hutch in a matter of weeks or at best months.
Excessive chewing can also be a problem if your rabbit hutch just is not big enough. Rabbits are very active in the wild and must have sufficient room to stand on their back legs and run around. Pet rabbits should have daily access to a large run and should not be kept in small hutches.
Finally excessive chewing can be caused by shear boredom. Rabbits, like all pets need plenty of things to do and lots of opportunity to play and excercise If they are constantly kept locked away in a small hutch little wonder they try to eat their way out!
Fortunately as pet owners there is a lot that we can do to prevent this problem.
- Ensure that your rabbit has plenty of room to exercise and play
- Make sure your rabbit hutch and run is big enough for you rabbit
- Spend time with your pets every day ideally provide a separate run or playpen for them to exercise in.
- Change your rabbits diet, add more carrots, hay, wooden blocks and chew toys
- Stuff hay into hay mangers or cardboard Tubes (toilet roll tubes) to keep your rabbit happy and busy longer.
- Provide toys for your rabbits, hide treats around their hutch so they can forage for them.
Once you have tried all these you should have eliminated your chewing problem and should only ever need to buy one quality rabbit hutch and run.
Why Wont My Rabbits Use all of Their Hutch and Run?
We are often asked this question. Many people do the right thing and buy a Large Rabbit Hutch and Run, only to find that there rabbit does not use most of it, particularly the run section.
Rabbits are prey species and despite domestication still maintain many of their wild behaviours, one of which is their response to potential dange
r. For all prey species such as rabbits it is essential that they have somewhere to flee to if they feel threatened. In the wild this would be deep undergrowth, a burrow, under a log, in a hedgerow or other hiding place. Rabbits are naturally cautious of wide open spaces that lack hiding places to hide in if they feel threatened.
Many rabbit owners who buy large exercise runs or rabbit hutches with large runs attached are often disappointed by their pet’s lack of enthusiasm. Try to look at the space from the rabbits point of view. Make sure you have plenty of hiding places, tunnels, pipes, or rabbit houses spread out over the entire space so your rabbit does not feel threatened. Rabbits need places to hide and particularly in new environments can remain cautious for quite some time.
Providing your pet rabbit with the larges exercise and living space as possible is the right thing to do and with a little thought you can ensure that your pet gets maximum use out the the space and lives a happy healthy life.
Why Does My Rabbit Keep Digging and What can I do About it?
Digging is a natural behaviour for rabbits. In the wild it is necessary for survival to create a place to live. Rabbits will also dig small bolt holes, often only a few inches deep, to duck into if they feel threatened.
This behaviour in pet rabbits can be a real problem for pet owners. Particularly if your rabbits have large Rabbit hutch and Run with constant access to the run through the day. This is the ideal set up to keep your rabbits happy and healthy but is not practical if your rabbit digs out whilst you’re not around.
Many people ask us if wire mesh can be added to the base of rabbit runs to prevent them from digging. Although this is a widespread practice it is not recommended by the RSPCA and other animal welfare groups as it can cause damage to your rabbit’s feet.
The recommendation is to place the rabbit hutch or run onto a solid base, either concrete or paving slabs, you can then use hay/straw as bedding and add toys and tunnels to further improve your rabbit’s environment.
Consider a large run or playpen for your rabbit where you can let your rabbit run free and play with them, you should not however leave your rabbit in an open toped playpen unsupervised. Cats, dogs Foxes or even birds of prey are a common problem even in town centres throughout the UK.
Finally and most importantly give your pets plenty to do and play with. Rabbits that are bored and have little stimulation will dig simply so they have something to do.
Pet Rabbits – The Five Important things Part Five
Healthy Happy Rabbits Part Five, “Health and Welfare”
Make sure your rabbit is protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease
Facts
- Rabbits feel pain in the same way as other mammals, including people.
- Rabbits are not good at showing outward signs of pain so may be suffering a great deal before anything is noticed. A change in the way a rabbit normally behaves can be an early sign it is ill or in pain. If a rabbit is not eating or is more quiet than usual it is highly likely to be ill or in pain. Read more about rabbits’ behaviour.
- Rabbits are vulnerable to many infectious diseases and other illnesses, especially dental disease. They can catch deadly infectious diseases from wild rabbits.
- Pet Rabbits that are stressed are much more likely to become ill.
- Un-neutered female rabbits are at a high risk of developing cancer of the womb, and un-neutered rabbits are more likely to fight if kept together.
- Some breeds of rabbit have been selected for exaggerated physical features which can cause them to suffer and reduce their quality of life.
- Certain breeds are particularly prone to inherited disorders and diseases.
- A rabbit which can be easily identified (e.g. via a microchip) is more likely to be reunited with its owner if lost and to receive prompt veterinary care if injured.
Things you should do
- Get your rabbit neutered, unless it is intended for breeding and provisions have been made to care for both parents and offspring. Before allowing rabbits to breed, seek the advice of your vet to ensure they are suitable for breeding in terms of their health and personalities.
- Before deciding to buy a rabbit, make sure you find out what health and behaviour problems it has, or may be prone to, how it has been bred and how it has been cared for. Always check with a vet if you are unsure about anything.
- Feeding your rabbit a correct diet of mainly hay and/or grass will help prevent a lot of common diseases such as dental and gut disease. Check that your rabbit is eating every day and that it is passing plenty of dry droppings. If your rabbit’s eating or drinking habits change or the number of droppings gets less or stops, talk to your vet straight away as it could be seriously ill.
- Check your rabbit for signs of illness or injury every day, and make sure this is done by someone else if you are away. In warm weather you should check the fur and skin around your rabbit’s rear end and tail area twice a day, as urine staining or droppings that are stuck will attract flies, which can lay eggs and cause ‘flystrike’, which is often fatal. Read more about identifying flystrike and how to prevent flystrike in pets.
- Front teeth and nails should be checked at least once a week as these can grow quickly. Only a vet should correct overgrown or misaligned teeth.
- Take your rabbit for a routine health check at your vets at least once each year.
- Get your rabbit vaccinated regularly against myxomatosis and Viral Haemmorhagic Disease (VHD), as advised by your vet.
- Prevent your rabbit having contact with wild rabbits or areas where wild rabbits have been.
- Give your rabbit treatment for external and internal parasites (e.g. fleas and worms) as necessary, as advised by your vet.
- Only use medicines that have been specifically recommended for your rabbit by a vet. Some medicines used for other animals can be very dangerous to rabbits.
- Ensure your rabbit’s coat is kept in good condition by grooming it regularly. If you are unsure how to groom it properly seek advice from a pet care specialist.
- Make sure your rabbit can be identified, ideally via a microchip (ask your vet for advice), so it can be treated quickly if injured or returned to you if lost.
- Consider taking out pet insurance to ensure your rabbit is covered if it needs veterinary treatment
Pet Rabbits – The Five Important things Part Four
Healthy Happy Rabbits Part Four, “Company”
Make sure your rabbit has appropriate company
Facts
- Rabbits are naturally sociable and normally prefer to be with another rabbit.
- A rabbit can develop abnormal behaviour and may suffer if it is left without company and has nothing to do for long periods of time.
- Rabbits kept together will naturally form a ‘pecking order’ with some animals being more dominant than others. A rabbit can be bullied and may suffer if it cannot get away from other rabbits that it doesn’t like.
- Rabbits that are brought up together will usually always get on with each other, but if introduced for the first time as adults they may fight.
- Neutering reduces the likelihood of fighting in both male and female rabbits.
- Rabbits that are well handled by people from a young age can learn to see humans as friends and companions.
- Rabbits that receive little handling at an early age, or rough handling at any age, may find human contact distressing. This can be expressed as fearfulness, escape behaviour and aggression.
- Rabbits will usually be scared of cats and dogs because they are natural predators, but if introduced to them carefully early in life can develop friendships.
Things you should do
- Keep your rabbit with at least one other friendly rabbit, unless advised otherwise by a vet or clinical animal behaviourist. A good combination is a neutered male and a neutered female, or neutered littermates of the same sex.
- Get your rabbit neutered, unless it is intended for breeding and provisions have been made to care for both parents and offspring.
- Handle your rabbit every day from an early age. Rabbits which live indoors can see humans as important companions. If your rabbit has to be kept on its own for some reason you must provide it with companionship by interacting with it every day.
- Make sure your rabbit has places it can go to get away from companions if it wants to and that there are enough resources (e.g. shelter, food, water, hiding places) for all your rabbits at all times large rabbit hutches with multiple sleeping areas are ideal.
- Introduce new rabbits gradually and under supervision, preferably in a space that is new to both rabbits. Seek advice from a clinical animal behaviourist if you are unsure or have problems.
- When you are away make sure your rabbit is cared for by a responsible person.
- Never leave your rabbit unsupervised with another animal or person who may (deliberately or accidentally) harm or frighten it. Never leave your rabbit unsupervised with a cat or dog, even if you know they are good friends.
Pet Rabbits – The Five Important things Part Three.
Healthy Happy Rabbits Part Three, “Behaviour”
Make sure your rabbit is able to behave normally
Facts
- Rabbits are highly social, playful and inquisitive animals and need to interact and play with other friendly rabbits. Many can enjoy interacting with people.
- Rabbits are active animals and need regular opportunities to exercise.
- Rabbits are most active in the morning and late afternoon. This is when they like to graze, forage for food and be sociable.
- Scent is an important means of communication for a rabbit.
- A rabbit must be able to avoid things that scare it. Rabbits are a prey species and must be able to hide in a secure place, away from the sight and smell of predators (e.g. foxes, cats, dogs, ferrets and birds of prey).
- The way a rabbit behaves will depend on its age, personality and past experiences.
- If your rabbit changes its behaviour, it could be distressed, bored, ill or injured.
- Rabbits that are frightened or in pain may change their behaviour or develop unwanted habits e.g. aggression or hiding.
- Signs that your rabbit may be suffering from stress or fear can include hiding, chewing cage bars, over-grooming, altered feeding or toileting habits, over-drinking or playing with the water bottle, sitting hunched, reluctance to move, and repeated circling of its enclosure.
Things you should do
- Make sure your rabbit can access all the things that it needs (space, food, water,safe hiding places, companion rabbit(s), toilet area(s) and toys) at all times.
- Provide your rabbit with safe toys to play with and chew, and regular opportunities to play with people or other friendly rabbits.
- Make sure your rabbit has constant access to safe hiding places where it can escape if it feels afraid.
- Make sure your rabbit has opportunities to exercise every day to stay fit and healthy in a large enclosure or Rabbit Run.
- Provide your rabbit with suitable materials that allow digging behaviour and areas to mark its territory with chin secretions, urine and droppings.
- Be observant. If your rabbit’s behaviour changes or it shows regular signs of stress or fear, seek advice from a vet or a clinical animal behaviourist.
- Never shout at or punish your rabbit, it is very unlikely to understand and can become more nervous or scared. If your rabbit’s behaviour becomes an ongoing problem, seek expert advice.