not drinking U/D March 7th and hopefully last

Sorry to hear both your buns are poorly, I have just read all this. I really wish them well again - is button still biting his sore area? When I had my boy done he wouldn't leave himself alone and we had to have a collar on him to stop him licking/chewing the area and it still took a good few weeks to heal.
Thinking of you all x

No, he seems not to bother the area anymore.

By the way...how strong has to be the peppermint tea?

Have you had any poo or wee yet?

not very strong on the peppermint tea just enough to give it flavour....if you think too strong you can add more water

paws crossed that Button improves

He peed and pooped alright. Tonight he finished his salad and now he is nibbling his pallets...plus I think he had some hay too. He is even less lethargic. He doesn't run as he used to, but he is not sitting all the time sleeping anymore. Whatever it was bothering him seems gone...but I am gonna cross my finger for the next couple of days before saying it is all over. We still give him water through syringe since it seems he was not drinking...we even put a salt lick in his cage to help his thirst.
(Yup I confirm about the hay, I just saw a piece swinging around in his cage while he had in his mouth LMAO).

I would like to thank you all for your precious help and advice. As a new owner I really found your suggestions very helpful. BunnyBoo thank you as well.

I am so very glad he is eating again.

I think that he had some stasis which is so very common and is often a killer. Im sure it is your dedicated care that has brought him through.

I always keep some critical care sachets in the house just in case as my Daisy is prone to bouts of stasis too. Daisy's stasis is either brought on my dental problems or stress.

I would keep a very close eye on him the next few days and make sure he continues to eat and drink, wee and poo properly.

Normally if the poo's become smaller or harder this can be a sign of stasis coming on.

If you ever have any questions please feel free to ask.

We are looking forward to hearing more about bunnyboo and button.

my bunnies dont drink much,but they do have alot of veg which I sprinkle with water to give them extra fluids.

Ok. The problem has gone on too long now. This having to syringe feed him and give him to drink is becoming too frequent. My vet can't find out why so he gave us the phone number of the state university where they have a small clinic for exotic animals. Friday morning is going in for a check. My vet had checked the teeth, but the front ones. The nurse on the phone said they can't say anything without seeing the rabbit. They asked my wife all we do and they said we are treating him the best way possible so they just need to check him personally. They said it can go from molar problem, maybe he bit his tongue or cheek, parasite or even genetic...they will look into it carefully. It is going to be expensive since they charge 45 dollars just for the visit and anything else is extra. For sure there will be anesthesia because even though BunnyBoo is becoming very week...he really doesn't like to let people check his teeth LOL.

Friday hopefully we'll have an answer...please cross your furry paws for BunnyBoo

I hope everything goes well , it must be so frustrating not knowing what is wrong. You sound like you are doing an excellent job though! Good luck for friday Bunnyboo x

Poor Boo.

I am shocked that your vet didnt check his molars. While some buns do have trouble with the front ones - a lot more problems come from the molars.

Good luck at the vets on friday. Please let us know how you get on.

Katie

wow...got out this morning t 9 and I got back home at 1.30 :O

The vet and a student visited BunnyBoo thoroughly for 1 hour (I was in the waiting room). They checked him all over and they found a very healthy bunny and they said a very cute and cuddly one too. BunnyBoo is underweight and that is the main concern now. His molar show a very tiny point (due to the fact he doesn't eat properly), but she said that unless the bunny's pain tolerance is very very low they shouldn't bother him at all. The situation teeth should fix itself as the bunny starts eating again, if not they are going to file them down. The problem is psychological. According to the vet, BunnyBoo (who was the one who wanted to be dominant) after the castration and the loss of testosterone became the victim of the more aggressive Button. In her opinion a bonding is not very likely, but however she said to keep them divided for at least a couple of months. She said to keep them even in different rooms, because just the noise of the steps or the scent of Button can scare him and keep him in alert since he might think an attack is about to come.

The main concern is the diet. My mixed vegetable bowl is perfect, it's the rest that doesn't work. I thought the digging that BunnyBoo does in his pellet bowl was a normal bunny thing. Instead my bunny is freaking picky. He eats only the dried stuff mixed with the pellets and not enough pellets. Apparently even the hay he eats is not enough (even though he always has his cage full with hay). Vet suggested to buy pellet which has nothing mixed into it and to look around because they make flavored pellets and I might find something that meets BunnyBoo's taste. She even suggested to look around and try to find a different kind of hay, maybe he will like the new one better. She told me that when BunnyBoo will fall in his depression again, instead of feeding him baby food (full of sugar), I should grind some pellets and add water to syringe him that mixture. That will get the bunny used to the pellets as well.
She suggested that when I let the bunnies out I place them not in a sunny area because they get heated easy and to make sure that I cover the top of the area where they will stay since here in Oklahoma we have many hawks and they could attack my bunnies.

As last advice she told me to remove the towel from the bottom of their cages. It happened that bunnies chewed the fuzzy of the towels and that can create problems...even very serious.

I think that is it.

This is all brilliant advice. Buns do feed selectively - like us, eating what they like the most rather than what they should be eating,

The hay is the most important thing for the grinding of the teeth and to keep their stomach healthy.
Swapping from a mixed food to a pellet is a very good idea.
Make sure that when you choose one that it has a high fibre content and swap it gradually over a period of about 10 days they dont get an upset stomach.

Grinding down the pellets is also a really good idea for the syringe feeding.

Glad that boo is okay bless him, and there is nothing serious wrong with him. Phew.

Sending nose rubs for boo and button and hugs for you x x

I am sending lots of cuddles, you are doing a fantastic job love.

Jo xx

Hmmmm now that I know the problem was all psychological it should be fine right? Wrong...
There hasn't been an official grooming yet, but it seems the 2 bunnies decided to live together without a real dominant. They spend the whole day in the same room and sometimes they even eat in the same spot (now I regularly spread food on the floor instead of bowls). I haven't seen any biting going on in almost 2 days now.

But the little picky guy is getting to a dangerous point, in fact even his feces started to become much smaller in size and his stomach growls. His "pickiness" reached the top. Even from the mixed food now he eats only certain things. Before he used to avoid only the pellets, not he avoids also some fruit and corn and other things. Of the fresh salad I make them he seems to be eating only the parsley and slowly during the night maybe the rest (unless Button sneaks in his cage during the day and helps him eating). He doesn't even seem eating much hay or grass...
As soon as my wife comes back home from work I think I will syringe him some pellets and if things won't change will have to start doing daily forever

I dont understand what can be causing this. He obviously seems more comfortable with button now. Very strange indeed.

I know that the vet couldnt find anything but I am wondering if he could be in some kind of pain.

It might be an idea to telephone the university and ask if you can try some pain killer on a trial. This would be just in case there is something hurting him that they cant see. If the pain killer works then you will know that there is something wrong. If it doesnt make a difference then you know that he is okay.

The reason I am telling you this is because of this -

About 18 months ago daisy stopped eating. I took him to the vets over and over again and they couldnt find anything wrong with him. I then took him to an amazing specialist who said that he had an infection in his jaw that could only be seen on Xray but it was very painful. He immediately put daisy on pain killers and antibiotics. Within a couple of days the pain killer had started to work and he was eating again.

I think this is worth a try.

The fact is that he keeps going to the pile of food and muzzles it around. He is really picking what he likes. I think he turned into a junk food addicted and I can't seem to find a way out.

I see what you are saying...but this is what daisy used to do....he would run over to the food, push it about and then not eat it. Its because he wanted to eat it, but couldnt. He just chose the bits that would hurt the least.

Obviously you know your bun, but It just might help eliminate it rather than anything else.

I will try then thank you.

Good luck, this is such a mystery.

Please give them both a cuddle from me.

Also, Im really really glad that the two of them are getting on now! What a fantastic result. You must be very pleased.

I am happy...but there is still lots to do. For now they are not killing one another, but when one sees the other in in cage a war starts LOL. But everyday I get a little bit more accomplished for sure I feel happier.
(for sure=not a kid toy)

It's such a worry, this. I have no experience of tooth spurs, but from what I've learned on here, they are best filed down, as they are sharp and eating itself is painful. If he doesn't eat enough hay, then the spur won't go down, so you are in a cunnundrum - he won't eat enough because he's most likely in pain, but eating will help to get rid of the spur, although, this isn't always the case.
Hard foods will be painful, so you could soak the pellets in warm water, leave them to cool, then give them. If they aren't painful to eat, he'll most likely eat them. The fact that he's loosing weight could indicate that he is in pain. Ask your vet about a 'non-steroidal anti-inflammatory 'pain relief. In the UK, it's called 'metacam' and is used for cats and dogs.
Rabbits in pain are on dodgy territory, as the first indicator is anorexia, then poos getting smaller. This could ultimately lead to a gut stasis, and this is serious.

He is most likely eating just the food that is easy to eat. Even hay will be abrasive.

As for the cage territory, males continue to produce small amounts of testosterone through their adrenal glands, even after castration, this could be producing a territorial behaviour. Could you camp down in the same room as then overnight and leave them free? You'll be there is any fights break out, and can stop them. It may be that them living free in the room is a solution?

Alternatively, take the top of the cage off, and just have one cage base as a toilet/feeding/water area. If you wash the base in biological washing powder solution 1:10, this will de-scent it from the bunnies, and hopefully remove the territorial issue.

Just some suggestions, keep us posted.

Today I will call the vet and yes I was already thinking about asking her to file the molars down.
I am always in the same room with them, but I work overnight so I really can't spend the night with them.
All day long they are out and in the same room. I spread their food in a wide area in front of their cages (I finally ended up placing the cages next to each other again, thing that seems to have helped alot). They "almost" don't fight out of their cages anymore. BunnyBoo spends most of the day walking behind Button who now ignores him (he used to be the one attacking). BunnyBoo would like to be dominant, but I guess he just doesn't know how LOL because all he does is getting close to Button and lowers his head as if the other one is gonna groom out of pure generosity LOL. Button sniffs the other guy a couple times then either they sit next each other or Button walks away...very seldom now he bites BunnyBoo's nose...I guess only when the nose gets too much under his belly.
I guess they guys are working their way out of the fighting situation on their own and I decided not to do anything (unless a big fight starts). Soon I will finish the big condo and place all the food and water in there so they will have to start eating in the same cage (now neutral ground). After all they already eat next each other on the floor...maybe they push each other out of the way a few times, but no teeth involved.

All in all I am fine with the lack of fight so their bonding is not my concern anymore. For now all I want is for BunnyBoo to eat decently.

Ok, Monday morning BunnyBoo will go in for a set of X-rays and to have his molars filed down. I will keep you updated...

I hope it goes well for him, sending vibes for BunnyBoo

Massive Vibes for Bunnyboo. I really hope this wil get to the bottom of the problem, for boo and for you.

Bunnyboo is very lucky to have you. x

Will be thinking of him, let us know how he gets on.

Katie x