How Long Can Bunnies Go Without Food?

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Bunnies are wonderful creatures that are very easy to keep as pets. Whether they exist in the wild or stay with you, you just want their safety, health, and general wellness to be kept intact.

Naturally, both young and old bunnies are very devouring when it comes to feeding. This voraciousness is a natural way of satisfying their daily dietary requirements. Because of their grazing nature, they know what plants and foods are good for their digestive system.

Bunnies have digestive systems that are very responsive to alterations in both feeding unwanted foods and not eating any food at all for a long time.

On that, the question of how long they can go without food may come to the fore. On the extreme, bunnies can go for about 2-4 days without food. If you own or keep one, it is generally not a good idea and practice to let it stay for that long before you feed it.

It is important that you know that without availability and access to food for more than 12 hours, bunnies are very susceptible to various levels of digestive problems. A common digestive problem that arises due to improper feeding or lack of feeding is Gastrointestinal stasis. This is capable of killing your bunny very fast.

I know you are interested in knowing more about bunnies. Read on to find out more!

Signs That Your Bunny Is Starving

Because bunnies are generally voracious eaters and constantly want to eat, observing the signs of starvation would not be a hard task. Bunnies eat about 2-3% of their body weight daily in food. A shift in reduction of either the access to food or the feeding habit and pattern will make your bunny starve.

When your bunny is starving, it creates awareness by chewing and biting on its cage. Other times, it tends to be chewing on different objects in the cage. It can become increasingly restless and engage in excessive grooming.

Another good sign of knowing your bunny is starving is by observing its excrement. An inconsistent, fluid and soft waste are suggestive of not just starvation but also of a digestive issue.

What To Do When Your Bunny Is Starving

Generally, bunnies love to eat and when it is not readily available to them, they starve. Always keep in mind that you should not out of desperation and worry feed them any food such as meat that may be injurious to them.

Bunnies are herbivores and should be maintained and fed solely on fresh plants and vegetables. After observing that your bunny is starving, it is quite helpful to give it fresh hay, which is considered an important bunny diet. Because fresh hay is rich in fiber, it enables quicker digestion and speedily returns your bunny to being happy. Fresh hays are readily available in farms and pet stores for quick grabs.

As a good alternative, you can get fresh green leafy vegetables. Carrots and carrot tops, lettuce, parsley, celery, and broccoli leaves can also be added.

Also, as an option, you can feed your bunny pellets. Just ensure that the pellets are fresh, the same in size and shape, and high in fibers to help in digestion for the short time.

Signs That Your Bunny Is Dehydrated

Just as they love eating, bunnies love to drink good amounts of water as well. When, for whatever reason, they do not get water in the right amounts or they do not get water at all, dehydration sets in.

A major sign of dehydration is deep urine color. It is very obvious to notice that the urine is now deeper in color than it normally is. With the addition of the smell of ammonia, it is unmissable.

Another sign is rumpled and/or tight skin. With a little pull of the neck skin backward, you should know whether it is suffering from dehydration or not. If the skin takes a few seconds to return back to its normal state, then your bunny is dehydrated.

Other common signs of dehydration are loss of appetite, sluggishness, and fever. Your bunny will most likely not eat and will be followed by sluggishness because of its low energy levels to eat.

What To Do When Your Bunny Is Dehydrated

It is very important that you know the reason for your bunny’s dehydration. If the reason is due to diarrhea, it is suggestive of a gastrointestinal problem and needs to be attended to immediately. Diarrhea is very harmful to your bunny’s health and it may lead to death if it is left unattended on time.

On the other hand, dehydration can be caused by a lack of water access to your bunny or unclean water that discourages your bunny from drinking.

Ensure that you regularly change your bunny’s drinking water and provide a constant water supply. In changing the bad-smelling water, your bunny is encouraged to drink more water and it will happily thank you for it!