Why Is My Rabbit Not Eating?

No. If hay is untouched and the litter tray has been empty for around 12 hours, phone a vet even if they still look “just quiet”. Rabbits hide pain; stillness is not reassurance. Skip this page and travel if they are hunched, grinding their teeth, or the belly feels tight.

This is the owner-question page. The condition it usually names is rabbit gut stasis (ileus). Use the out-of-hours directory if your usual clinic is closed, and confirm they see rabbits before you drive.

Rabbits depend on constant fibre movement. When chewing stops, motility slows, gas accumulates and pain makes them even less likely to eat. That cycle is why UK charities treat reduced droppings as a red flag the same day, not after a weekend of “monitoring”.

An empty tray for 12 hours matters even if they nibbled a herb at dawn. Count faecal pellets, not optimism.

None of these is a reason to wait:

• Dental disease — spurs and overgrown crowns make hay painful. See overgrown teeth
• Stress — fireworks, dogs at the run, travel, a new house, loss of a bonded partner
• Diet — too many pellets or mix, not enough hay
• Pain from surgery, flystrike, gas, or another illness
• Heat without shade in a UK summer. Rabbit summer care
• Gut stasis already underway — the not-eating is the emergency

We do not invent a percentage split of causes. Your vet still has to look in the mouth and feel the abdomen.

1. Phone the vet — describe species, when they last ate, when you last saw droppings, and any toxin, heat or surgery
2. Offer hay and water — do not withhold “to see if they get hungry”
3. Keep them warm and quiet — a carrier with familiar hay for the journey
4. Do not syringe-feed unless that vet has just instructed you
5. Do not give human painkillers, another pet's antibiotics, or leftover motility drugs from a previous rabbit

If you find maggots or a wet, soiled rear, say flystrike on the phone. That is its own emergency: flystrike.

Use the symptom checker only as language — then still call.

Expect pain relief, fluids, motility treatment if appropriate, and a hunt for the cause — especially teeth. Some rabbits stay in for syringe feeding and monitoring. Ask for a written estimate when they are stable enough for that conversation; in a genuine emergency the team treats first. Typical UK fee bands sit on how much a vet costs — they are not tonight's invoice.

Register with a rabbit-savvy practice before you need one. Rabbit-friendly filter shows clinics that publish that they see rabbits; still confirm on the call. RCVS Find a Vet is the legal register.

A bright dog that skips one meal can often wait for a same-day slot. A rabbit that skips hay cannot borrow that rule. Their gut is designed to keep moving fibre; once it slows, gas and pain make the next mouthful less likely. That is why this site’s dog appetite guide and this page give different clocks. If you keep both species, do not mix the waiting times.

If they are eating some pellets but no hay, that is not “at least they’re eating” — hay is the fibre that keeps motility going. Phone with that detail. The gut stasis page explains what the clinic is treating; this page is what you do before you arrive.

Anyone already looking at a hunched rabbit and an empty tray — you need a phone, not another paragraph. Also skip “wait and see” if they are a baby, recently spayed or castrated, or you know they ate something they should not have. Prevention for next time — hay-first diet, vaccinations, dental checks — lives on the gut stasis and rabbit care guides. Tonight is the clinic.