Depressed Doe?

AmberLops

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Hey everyone!
I have a 3 month old Holland Lop doe who seems depressed.
She lies down all day even when I pet her she doesn't get up, she always has her eyes closed, she doesn't come up to the door to see me anymore...she looks like a dead rabbit in the cage :(
She's been acting that way for the past week or so and I can't figure out why! She lives with 2 of her littermates and they all get along really well....they've never fought and no one is pushing her around.
They are a very laid-back bunch.
She's not sick...no signs of illness besides the depression.
Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this?
 

Ridgetop

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I would remove her and put her into a cage by herself. If she is getting sick, you want her away from the others. If she is unhappy being with the others, she may perk up alone. Most rabbits, particularly does, usually don't like being housed with other does. 3 months is really the maximum age I let my rabbit litters stay together. After that age they don't seem to grow as well when housed together.

I would separate her into her own cage and see what happens. That way you can also keep an eye on her feed and water intake. If you have an automatic watering system can you remove the drinking valve and use a crock to check the amount of water she drinks? If you can monitor her individual feed and water intake it might give you a better idea of what is wrong. You will also be able to monitor her stool production. If you use hanging cages spread a thick layer of newspaper over the manure pit under her new cage to monitor her pee and poop.
 

AmberLops

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I'll try that. I was worried that putting her in her own cage alone might make her more depressed ?
I've honestly never had a litter that got along past 10 weeks, so it's nice to see that they can :lol:
All my rabbits have crocks for water and whenever i'm in the rabbitry I see her drinking water with the others.
Her and her siblings are in a stacker cage with a tray. I clean it everyday and I've been looking for signs of loose stool among other things and haven't noticed anything 'off' :hu
I'll put her in her own cage today though and see if that helps.
 

AmberLops

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I put Sydney in her own cage and I put her outside thinking it might help to be somewhere 'new'...but she is still depressed. This is what she's like for 90% of the day...and I know it's hot outside but none of the other rabbits are acting like this.
becfac582fa9e9b45886bcc32e077c2c.jpg
 

Stephine

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I put Sydney in her own cage and I put her outside thinking it might help to be somewhere 'new'...but she is still depressed. This is what she's like for 90% of the day...and I know it's hot outside but none of the other rabbits are acting like this.View attachment 63851
Oh gosh, she is adorable!
I find this alarming. You say she is not sick, because you see no signs of illness, but I would argue that lying around with her eyes closed that much is itself a symptom. I would take her to the vet for blood tests and xray or whatever diagnostics they recommend, she clearly is not well.
 

AmberLops

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She is actually doing better today. I went out this morning to feed her and she was greeting me at the cage door, she ate a whole lot and she's hopping around!
Being a vet tech I look for symptoms like diarrhea, loss of appetite, discharge from eyes/nose, coughing, sneezing and that kind of thing. This just looks like depression to me but i'm keeping a close eye on her.
The clinics around me don't do bloodwork for rabbits. I called around and the closest one that will is over 3 hours away and I just can't do that. As long as she's improving i'm happy :fl
 

YourRabbitGirl

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Hey everyone!
I have a 3 month old Holland Lop doe who seems depressed.
She lies down all day even when I pet her she doesn't get up, she always has her eyes closed, she doesn't come up to the door to see me anymore...she looks like a dead rabbit in the cage :(
She's been acting that way for the past week or so and I can't figure out why! She lives with 2 of her littermates and they all get along really well....they've never fought and no one is pushing her around.
They are a very laid-back bunch.
She's not sick...no signs of illness besides the depression.
Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this?
Its sad to hear that a beautiful thing is experiencing such a dilemma? I hope you can do something about it, like visiting a VET or whatnot.
 

Ridgetop

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I would separate the rabbits. Are the others in the cag acting differently? The others may not be allowing her to eat.
 

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