What do you do when your rabbits is not eating any food?

Answer 1

If your rabbit stops eating or drinking, it needs medical help immediately. If your regular "rabbit-savvy" vet isn't open, you should bring the rabbit to the nearest 24/7 vet. If you have experience in first aid, and you have the necessary supplies, you may be able to take care of the rabbit yourself until your regular vet opens in the morning. Either way, the rabbit needs fluids/hydration, force-feeding, pain medication, and gut motility medication - unless there's an actual gut blockage, in which case the rabbit might need surgery. Never give medication to a rabbit unless you're directed to by a vet, because you could end up making the rabbit even sicker. Many medications safe for humans (including babies), cats, and dogs are not safe for rabbits at all. Many medications that are safe for rabbits under some conditions, are not safe under other conditions, and only vets and very experienced rabbit people can know which is which. See the related questions below for more help and for useful links.

More information:

Your rabbit may be ill, and if it's seriously ill it may be giving up. When a rabbit gives up it will stop eating and drinking until it dies. So if I were you, take it to a vet now!

If your rabbit hasn't eaten in over 12 hours, take it to the vet immediately. There may be some underlying cause, but your rabbit is probably going into stasis, or ileus, where its digestive systems first slows down and then stops. It's hard to get it started again, and the sooner you start, the easier it will be. Make no mistake, if you leave this untreated, your rabbit will die.

It is important to take it to the vet as soon as possible. if it is possible you should try and give the rabbit water to drink to stop it getting dehydrated. when a rabbit stops eating/drinking it can be caused by spurs (spikes) growing on the molar teeth. A vet can burr these down which should sort the problem out.

12 hours is too long to wait. Your rabbit is getting more and more dehydrated. Try giving some baby pedialyte in a plastic eye dropper (glass ones can be bitten and break.) to your rabbit. If you can get some pedialyte in him you can stave off dehydration. Sometimes the pedialyte will stimulate appetite. Put some FRESH aromatic timothy hay in the cage to see if you can tempt the rabbit to eat a little bit, if he does, dry bread, carrot coins, cheerios and an apple slice can be tried also (not all at the same time). If you have mint in your garden or are growing carrots a sprig of mint and or a sprig of carrot top are good for your rabbit and mint will settle a tummy ache. If all of this is unsuccessful take your bunny to the vet, but don't wait 12 hours AND be prepared for a good sized bill.

Answer 2

If your rabbit is not drinking enough water, it's probably because she's sick or the water bottle is broken. On many water bottles, the metal ball at the end can get stuck, preventing your rabbit from drinking. Check your rabbit's water bottle every day to make sure it's working.

Look for other signs of illness in your rabbit (see related question below). If you notice any, go to the vet; if in all other ways your rabbit is fine, try to encourage the bunny to drink more.

Another reason she's not drinking much could be the bottle or bowl you're using isn't clean, or the water isn't fresh. Scrub out the container every two days, or more if you notice any algae or mould growing. Replace the water with fresh, cool water daily, or more if you notice debris in the water (like if you're using a bowl, and there's hair or dust on the surface).

Encourage your rabbit to eat lots of hay. Rabbits who eat lots of hay tend to drink lots of water. Make hay available at all times. Choose hay that smells sweet, looks green, and has no mould on it. Put hay in the litter box. Two or three small piles might encourage your bunny to eat more hay than one big pile. Every day, take out the old hay and replace it.

When you serve your rabbit's daily "salad," really drench the greens in water. That way your bunny will take in more water.

If you've tried all this, talk to your vet about other options. One idea is to put a bit of 100% pure apple juice in the water (no more than 1 part juice to 6 parts water). If you do this, you have to limit the other treat portions, because too much sugar will make a rabbit sick.

Answer 3

If it hasn't eaten for about 6 hours, take it to the vet. If it isn't eating pellets, cook some brown sugar water long enough to melt the sugar and then pour it over the pellets. Wait to cool down and serve. MAKE SURE YOUR RABBIT IS DRINKING AT ALL TIMES.

Answer 4

When a rabbit stops eating and drinking and isn't moving around a lot, that is a clear sign that the rabbit is very sick with an illness called GI stasis (or ileus). GI stasis has many different possible causes (like a gas attack, or dental trouble, or pain from an injury, or a bad diet, or a hairball -- like if your rabbit or a playmate is shedding), but whatever the cause, GI stasis needs to be treated immediately by a "rabbit-savvy" vet or else the rabbit will die a very painful death. At the very least, the rabbit needs immediate hydration (water, electrolytes, subcutaneous fluids), nutrition (force or syringe-feeding), pain medication, and gut motility medication for at least a few days; other treatment might also be required. The vet might also recommend digestive enzymes (like Pineapple Juice, or papaya tablets) or probiotics. Do not try to treat the rabbit at home because without forced nutrition and hydration, and pain medication, it's unlikely the rabbit will recover. Do not try to give the rabbit medicines (like hairball remedies, or pain medication) made for other animals or humans: rabbits are extremely unique and what's safe for dogs, cats, and children could kill your rabbit. See the related questions below for help.

Answer 5

Rabbits get some natural water from the fresh plants they eat (their daily "salad"), so some days you may not see them drinking much from their bowl or bottle, and that's okay.

However, it's important that rabbits stay well-hydrated overall. If your rabbit normally doesn't drink much water, then you'll need to encourage him to drink more.

If your rabbit is suddenly not drinking, or eating, or using the litter, these are signs of illness. Bring your rabbit to a vet who has experience treating rabbits right away.

See the related questions below for more info and helpful links.

Encourage Your Bunny to Drink More Water

• Make sure the water is fresh. If your bunny uses a bowl, rinse it out and replace it with fresh water twice a day, and wash the bowl in hot soapy water every day or two. If your bunny uses a bottle, keep a close eye on it. Depending on where your water comes from, it might grow algae, and you should wash out the bottle with hot soapy water and a brush daily. If there's no algae, and the bottle is always in the shade, wash it out at least once a week.
• Put a pile of hay beside the water. Bunnies that eat a lot of hay tend to drink more water.
• Give your bunny two water sources or more! Especially if your bunny is spending a lot of time hanging out somewhere other than her cage -- put down a temporary bowl just in case she wants a sip. Consider giving your bunny one bowl of water as well as one bottle, for variety.
• Drench your greens. Give your bunny his daily salad nice and wet -- he'll consume more water that way.

Answer 6

give them a treat like a piece of carrot or some fresh carrot tops or clover. (not a lot)

Answer 7

try sommethng like cheerios bread cake just sponge cake nothing else cabbage stuff he hasn't tryed but these arnet something they should always eat just to get them back to eating

Answer 8

Bring it to the vet and put it to sleep.