[YEA]  01/10/2009: Jessi from Fairfield, IA: "It's a serious matter if a rabbit stops eating. They need constant roughage going through them, or they'll die. If your rabbit loses its appetite and its poop pellets get small and dry or stop coming, it is a sign of wool block. Some readers here call it "constipation," but that's not what it really is.

[01/05/2009: Joyce from Arcadia, CA, USA writes: "I WILL TRY THE PUMPKIN FOR MY SAD CONSTIPATED BUNNY. I HOPE IT WORKS."]

It's actually much like hairballs in cats, only since bunnies can't vomit, the fur can get stuck inside their gut and actually kill them. You have to get the gastric track moving again as soon as you see this problem start. If your bunny stops pooping, or if her pellets are starting to look small and dry, that's a sign she's blocking up. Lack of appetite is another symptom.

My vet, who is a rabbit specialist, has me keep a product called "Critical Care" on hand for wool block emergencies. This is even better than the pumpkin treatment. I get my Critical Care from my vet but you can probably get it online or at your pet food store, especially if you ask for it. You mix a little of this stuff with water, suck it up into a big syringe (one about the size of your middle finger, being sure to remove the needle and toss it in the trash before you work with the bunny!). Then you put the plastic tip of the syringe into the side of the bunny's mouth and VERY SLOWLY squeeze out a little at a time. They will like this and swallow it, if you don't disperse it too fast. Wait a few seconds between each dispersal. Only give about a couple teaspoons for each dose, then wait about three hours and do it again.

Pumpkin can be fed the same way if your bunny has wool block. Make sure you use pure 100% canned pumpkin NOT canned pumpkin PIE filling, which has spices in it and could hurt your bun! I've found the Critical Care quickly eliminates wool block (you give it 4 to 6 times a day until they start eating and pooping normally again). I used to do the pumpkin treatment until I found the Critical Care, and pumpkin worked pretty well, but failed to work with one bunny who I almost lost to wool block on account of "pumpkin failure." I brought her to the vet in time (you've only got a couple of days to save them if they stop eating), who gave her Critical Care, and the bun was fine in just a couple of hours. Believe me, this stuff is AMAZING.

The vet said my buns get wool block because I wasn't feeding them exactly right. In my case, it was too many vegetables. Now that I'm feeding the right diet and giving them more exercise, they've been doing fine. (Exercise and plenty of water are important for maintaining intestinal motility - the constant movement through of food. So is brushing them when they're shedding.)

Right diet for a rabbit means unlimited quantities of timothy hay (or orchard grass) always available to the rabbit (you can get this at a pet store but ordering it online is much cheaper. In some parts of the country, feed stores sell timothy.) You also have to feed about a half cup of fresh vegies a day for a medium-sized rabbit (3/4 to 1 cup a day for a giant breed). Certain vegies, though, will kill bunnies if fed over time, so choose from the "safe vegie list": green pepper, collard greens, swiss chard, parsley (a little), cucumber (a little), cilantro, endive, mustard greens, lettuce (NOT iceberg), carrots (only a small slice a few times a week), broccoli (only a tiny flowerette a couple times a week), certain weeds including dandelions, chickweed and plantain (if not subject to exhaust fumes from cars). Visit www.rabbit.org for the full list of diet do's and don'ts. You can supplement this diet with a bit of daily timothy pellets, available from Oxbow (NOT alfalfa pellets - these are only for babies, and fed long enough they can kill an adult).

Make sure your bun has unlimited access to water - a crock is ideal for most bunnies, as they can then drink all they want. I put 3 drops of vinegar in my rabbits' water, and now they love drinking.

In case anyone reading this has a pet bunny living in a cage, please know that buns can easily be litterbox-trained and make wonderful house pets. I have house bunnies living happily alongside my two house cats. You have to introduce them to each other gradually, of course. All sorts of tips on how to make your rabbit a successful house bunny are available on www.rabbit.org, the website of the nonprofit organization called House Rabbit Society. If it weren't for them, my buns would have been dead by now. I made so many mistakes at first, having no one to show me. I have six precious buns, and I've had 5 of them for six years. Most buns only live a year as pets, studies show, because owners make mistakes with their diet or other errors with these delicate creatures. It's very easy to keep bunnies if you're taught how to do it, and very easy to lose them if you're not. Check out that website and also the chat room "Etherbun." Between those two places, you'll find all the info you need. There are some snotty people on Etherbun, though. Don't let them hurt your feelings if one of them gets nasty. Just visit there for your bunnies, learn what you can for their sake, and don't let the bullies get to you.

Jessi"

12/10/2008: Nancy from Wonder Lake, IL. USA: "Recently my 9 year old rabbit has a ear infection, I took him to the vet he prescribed antibiotics.,no cure so far just started with antibiotics."

[YEA]  01/06/2009: Dottie from Boca Raton, Florida: "For my Rabbits I take 4 capsules of Echinacea to one gallon of water and boil cool and refrigerator each day i put 1/4 cup in there drinking bottle water fill with fillter water boost their immune function."

11/28/2010: Carolv from West Babylon, Ny, Usa: "Just wanted to share this with everyone. My Rabbit ( Boo) had a runny eye which was red and irritated. I had ruled out that it did not have sniffles. Boo showed no signs of it. I looked on this website and read about the wonders of apple cider vinegar and put some which was diluted with water on the back of his neck. This worked wonders as Boo's temperament started to come back to his perky self. However his eye was not clearing up. So I began flushing out his eye with some warm water with baking soda and sea salt. I did this twice a day.

I then purchased "NFZ Puffer" which is made to clear eye infections in rabbits. The NFZ caused a fungal infection in the rabbits eye. I noticed a white cloudy fungus on the eye. I stopped using the NFZ Puffer and just flushed out the eye as I had been doing. I then used some "Tea Tree Oil"- one drop into a tablespoon of mineral oil and dabbed a little just under his eye which has cleared up the fungal infection along with all the redness. I do hope that this helps others who have animals with fungal infections of the eye. Better that antibiotics which can cause major problems in rabbits due to their digestive system."

06/06/2010: Tina from Toledo, Ohio, Usa replies: "Try activated charcoal water in its eyes."

11/15/2011: Ashley from Storm Lake, Ia, Usa replies: "My 11-year-old miniature rex rabbit BreiiBreii has a bad eye infection, and has swelling near the eye. The vet thinks it's either glaucoma or a cyst. He gave bunny a shot to help with the swelling, and gave us some antibiotic ointment to apply near the eye, but it seems that bunny is going blind in that eye.

Anyone have a similar problem with their rabbit, and how did you treat it?

He was eating fine before he went to the vet, but now seems to be decreasing his intake. He's had blockages before, and we used the syringe technique with pumpkin puree, pineapple juice and gatorade. Would it be best to give him fruit juices (like apple and pineapple, his favorites) to get some fluids in him as he is not eating as much as he normally does?

It seems to me when rabbits stop eating it's very serious and usually means they are quite ill.

Any help would be great! Thank you."

11/22/2011: Vanillaspices from Whitman, Ma replies: "Hi I use to bred, sell, and show rabbits a long time ago. Have you tried bag balm? All the breeders out there know when their rabbits get injuried like a fly nests in their belly we all use bag balm. It has natural healing minerals and stuff in it to heal the wound and if the animal licks it they won't get sick.

Also you want to make sure that if they are not eating they are getting electrolytes. The last thing you need is for them to get dehydrated. We use to use a little gatorade mixed in the water just a teaspoon or two in a bowl of water every few hours until they were drinking normally. Also I would consider allowing the animal to have a few snacks that it likes just be aware not to over do it because it could get in the habit to refuse to go back to not eating any normal grain and too much electrolytes (from water and favorite treats) can make it have diarrhea. But a good balance is the key!"

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