Mr Mo is scaring me :( U/D He's home

He isn't eating. He was eating his curly kale and carrot tops when I left him at about 7pm, but I just went in to do an evening check and he is refusing pellets, any of his favourite treats, dried herbs. He's not looking particularly 'lethargic' but his tummy is gurgling a lot

What do I do?

I'm going to check on him in a few minutes but if this is yet another stasis bout coming up I just don't know what to do...

He has had them repeatedly now and I cannot work out what is causing them. He gets them whether no veg/daily veg, no pellets/pellets etc. He has been enjoying the 'forage pit' I made for them which is constantly full of hay, dried herbs etc and so is taking in probably more fibre than he's ever been. The only correlation I can make to anything is that they've got a fabric tunnel again. One of them (not sure which) does nibble at this... but if this had been the cause in the past, surely that would have been a blockage which wouldn't have gone with force feeding, gut stimulants etc?

So confused and worried, and to top it all off Willow has a really manky eye

Why oh why do we do this to ourselves?!?!?!

If he was def eating at 7pm I'd be inclined to give him some time. Get him moving around as much as you can and persevere with trying to get him to eat.

Do you have plantain in? It was the little fuzzy bits in those bags that got Junior eating when he was being a monkey.

Or banana?

I just went to check on him and he's had some curly kale, dried herbs and nibbled on a shreddie.

I don't know if I instantly go into panic mode the minute he won't eat, but especially when he is refusing his favourites, that's when things get really scary!

I've taken the fabric tunnel out just-in-case and think I'll just leave him be for the night now. He doesn't like people in his face!!

I'll ring up the vets tomorrow and book them in for a nail trim, teeth check, all round health check etc.

I know what you mean. When somebun isn't eating in my house I have to talk myself down from freaking out

That was a long assed 3 hours when Junior wouldn't war a few weeks back.

Glad Mr Mo is eating again. Let us know how he is tomorrow

They certainly know how to get hoomins worried. I hope he is back to normal tommorow or the vet has a idea. Fabric tunnels chewed to bits sounds familiar. That is why a certain bun in this house has to got only wood in reach. Supportive hugs to you and please keep us posted.

How is he this morning?

I had a similar thing with Annie this week. I syringe fed her and got her moving about and fed her grass and she came out of it. Can you get done grass from somewhere?

Mo is fine this morning. He took his shreddie eagerly, and has eaten some hay and pellets. I did notice some tiny poops but I'm hoping that's a good sign of things starting up again and not getting worse...

I will go out and pick him some grass for his greens later Katie - it's one of his favourites.

Are you sure its not hair related?
We used to have mega issues with one bun when he was moulting and i think it was the ingestion of too much hair. A piece of dried pineapple usually sorted him right out so might be something to think about.

That's not something I had thought about Amelia - but it would make sense with him being such a fluff ball! Also, Willow is moulting loads at the moment.

I don't know if I'm 'looking' for problems now. He is fine this evening still - eating treats, veggies and nibbling hay. He's active as well.

I'd really like to see him tuck into a big pile of hay and he's not which is what's making me still a bit worried. However, he is nibbling hay and has never been a massive hay eater.

He's booked in to the vets for Monday afternoon.

I though fur too. Bruce is having stringy hairy poos at the moment thanks to his mamouth moult. I tend to give a little metacam when I suspect a problem as I often think Bruce stops eating because he is a little uncomfortable and then the lack of food intake makes everything worse.

I am glad he is eating again hun, they do love to worry us.

Hugs
JOxx

Oh I don't know what to think, I have just got 'a feeling'.

He's not not eating, but he's not eating with as much gusto as usual - although I say that, when I get treats down etc he is interested and comes over/noses about. He just doesn't seem keen to actually EAT them. He just nibbles. The same with hay, he is keen to have a nice fresh pile but then just bites the strands in half rather than actually eating it. This to me is all screaming teeth? It's like something in his mouth is hurting him.

I sat in the chinchillas side for about 10 minutes tonight and watched him. He was continually flopping etc and I can't tell if he was settling for the night or uncomfortable. He did have some pellets prior to that which he was excited for, but again, only ate a few of those and left them...

The only things he really seems to be enjoying are veggies.

So I'm really stuck with what to do. He is so easily stressed I'd rather avoid a vet trip if I could, and since he is still eating and active I'm not immediately thinking 'vet'. I am going to go out tomorrow and try and find some pineapple juice for him. Do you think if I rang my vets and explained what was happening they'd let me go and pick up some pain relief for him? I just wonder if, like Cheryl said, he is in any pain be it teeth and/or tummy, it's stopping him from eating properly.

Again today I've seen diddy little poops. It's hard to tell whose is whose but judging by the other stuff I'd say they're his...

This is all so stressful. Added to that whenever I ask my mum for a lift to the vets (especially when she's at work) I get an earful. She doesn't understand the urgency of getting them to a vet ASAP when they stop eating. And she just says the vets advise that 'because they want the money'

He's not good this morning - pay down looking uncomfortable and refusing any food.

I will ring the vets when they open and ask to bring him down to them. They know the drill with this. We all do

Do you have metacam at home? If not I think it would be good to ask for some for these situations.

He's going up to the vet in half an hour. They're going to keep him in for treatment and observation. Will keep you all updated x

Thinking of you hunni xx

Thanks Katie.

It is his teeth. He's having a dental. The vet is now confident from looking at records to diagnose him as a 'dental bun'. He's not very well at all bless him. He hasn't eaten for over 7 hours and now he's going under. So nervous

I don't know what I'm going to do. I cannot sustain the cost of dentals every 12 weeks.

I hope Mr Mo is okay (assuming the dental is over).
Yes, dentals can soon run up a giant amount in bills. It's a nightmare. Loll was a dental bun during his last year and needed ops every month because he was also suffering from arthritis and that affected his appetite which meant less hay consumption to help wear the spurs down. I used to hand feed him the choisest hay stalks every few hours to encourage him.
I can sympathise on all fronts.

You've had him a while without too much problem teeth wise so there is no indication to suggest that he will need 12 monthly dentals. Bruce has gone more than a year without a dental but the year before that we were practically living at the vets. So dentals don't always follow a predictable pattern. Some years we have to go every 12 weeks and some times it is twice yearly, its always a surprise when Bruce suddenly stops eating. But having that metacam at home is so important as it will buy us up to a week maintaining diet whilst we wait for the right vet.

I hope he is ok hun and is now out of the other side of his operation. Is there no doubt at all that he will have t have treatment every 12 weeks, I can just imagine what that will cost? Will your vet let you pay a little over time at least for this op or are you all right for this one? Top up and healing vibes on their way and everything crossed love. Please keep us updated.

Hugs
JO xx

Cheryl, there's a clear pattern forming for loss of appetite due to needing dentals around every 3 months or so.

Jo, I can manage this time but I can't sustain it

He's home and has nibbled at some treats. Had a big dental - his teeth were in a bad way. He's had pain relief and I now have Metacam for emergencies.

Just to let everyone know, he's back to normal pretty much this morning. He's eating everything, including hay, and I've seen poops!

I want to be happy and I am that he is ok for now, but I am so so worried about what the future holds. There is no way I can sustain the cost of this number of dentals for any long-term period of time - I only work part time at the mo on minimum wage whilst I'm still at Uni

Glad Mr Mo is back to normal now.

Grass is as good, if not better than hay for keeping pesky molars in check. Are you able to add grass to his diet. I also know somebody who swears that this hay has made a huge difference to her rabbit needing less dentals. I have bought some of this - BJ and Rosie love it but Gabe and Spring are not overly bothere.

http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/Products/NC0240/oxbow-orchard-grass

I don't know what else to suggest apart from trying to put some money aside each week. All of my four, plus Hollie have had more than one dental each but the amount of time between is variable.

I can definitely add grass into his diet - they have a 'grassy patch' planted in the garden just for them. The trouble is, there were tulip bulbs in the soil at the time my step-dad planted it, and now it's sprouting up with loads of tulip stems everywhere, which I obviously don't want to give to them. Any ideas?

I may start buying a bag of that Oxbow Orchard Grass then. I would have to feed it sparingly though as that's quite pricey!

Im glad to hear he is back safe and sound and munching away.

The grass can definately make a difference. My charlie needs dentals every 6-8 weeks, but I have taken away half of their herbs and replaced it with TONS of grass and last time I got an extra 3 weeks. (Might not sound much but if it increases the time between dentals by a third - this could mean dentals are every 4 months for you rather than 3). It requires loads of grass though.

There is an allyway behind my house that is overgrown this time of year so I go out once a day, fill a massive collander full, wash it and put it in their run for them so they always have a supply....

Are there any school fields near to you or childrens playing fields? This is a good place to get some because its not treated and there will be plenty of it.

We also grow large trays of grass for the buns to put into their run (we have about 8 on the go at any one time - but ordinary grass seed is very cheap so once you have outlaid for the initial trays then it works out really cost effective).