It is well known that rabbits are active and curious animals, who cannot sit still for long, even if their cage is small. They love to get out of it to play or interact with their keepers. For this reason, if you notice that your rabbit is less active or even not moving, start to worry because surely something is happening to it.
Continue reading this article on our site to find out why your rabbit isn't moving but is breathing, as well as what to do to help to have the same energy and vitality as always.
Why isn't my rabbit moving?
A rabbit stops moving can be due to multiple causes The first thing we can think of when a rabbit has stopped moving is that suffers from a serious illness, but this is not always true, since immobility can also be explained by environmental situations, circumstances of the moment or accidents. In general, when a rabbit stops moving but is still breathing, it is due to causes such as the following:
- Trauma.
- Advanced age.
- Paralysis.
- Stress.
- Heatstroke.
- Hypothermia.
- Anorexia due to illness.
In any case, the important thing is to go to the exotics vet, because the causes are multiple and the consequences can be very serious, so acting quickly is essential to ensure that our rabbit recovers.
Injuries
Traumas, accidents, falls from a great height or attacks from other animals can prevent our rabbit from moving due to the impact and possible internal damageBones can often be broken and the animal experiences so much pain that it is unable to move. Therefore, if you suspect that your rabbit is in any of the situations mentioned, take it urgently to the vet, as it surely needs a quick stabilization, since its life is in danger.
Advanced age
As occurs in all living organisms, as the years go by the structures age and suffer damage, such as osteoarthritis or wear, and, in addition, there is a less vitality and energy, which can manifest itself in less movement and, ultimately, in the rabbit spending more hours of the day static and motionless.
Keep in mind that aging is progressive If you see that your older rabbit has changed its behavior from one day to the next, it may be going through something else, regardless of age. In this article you can discover which are the most common diseases of rabbits.
Paralysis
Rabbits can suffer from paralysis of different origins which explains why they breathe but do not move. These paralyzes can be prevented by ensuring that their spine is not damaged, they do not fall or hit, offering a balanced diet and deworming regularly as indicated by the veterinarian. The paralyzes that affect rabbits are:
- Neurological paralysis: when the rabbit suffers a spinal injurythat affects the spinal cord or the peripheral nerves of the extremities, may present paresis or paralysis, in addition to other neurological signs. Pasteurella multocida is a bacterium that can cause encephalitis in rabbits and secondary paralysis.
- Nutritional paralysis: if our rabbit does not eat a varied and balanced diet that ensures it obtains all the nutrients it needs in its correct proportions to guarantee your well-being, he alth and quality of life, you may have mineral or vitamin deficiencies such as those of the B complex, which causes paralysis. In our article on the amount of daily food for rabbits we explain how a balanced diet should be for this species.
- Parasitic paralysis: parasites that affect rabbits, such as Encephalitozoon cuniculi or Toxoplasma gondii, can cause them to lose mobility in their hind legs, so they can hardly move. Parasitized rabbits generally have a weak immune system, do not follow a proper diet and are not frequently dewormed. In addition to loss of mobility, the rabbit may show a bulging, sore and hard abdomen.
Stress
Although cats are par excellence the animals that we consider most sensitive to stress, we must also be very careful with rabbits and avoid any unnecessary stress. Thus, if you have noticed that your rabbit, in addition to reducing its movement, has begun to show compulsive behaviors, such as moving its ears or scratching, it may be stress. In this article we help you recognize 5 signs of stress in rabbits.
To prevent this situation, the recommendation is to play with him and establish and maintain an affective bond, which is what will allow the rabbit feels safe and happy by your side. You should also avoid noise, shouting, and frequent changes in routine, food, or environment at home.
Heatstroke
Extreme temperatures can raise the body temperature of our rabbits and cause heat stroke. Rabbits suffer when the ambient temperature exceeds 28 ºC and they are at the limit between 21-27. The high environmental temperature can make the rabbit stretched out, static, dehydrated and lethargic, in addition to presenting more serious signs such as:
- Red ears.
- Hypersalivation.
- Panting.
- Weakness.
- Disorientation.
- Tremors.
- Seizures.
- Shock.
- Death.
We can avoid heat stroke by adopting measures such as those explained in the article How to cool down a rabbit?
Hypothermia
On some occasions you will notice that "my rabbit is not moving and is cold", since, although it is less frequent, rabbits can also suffer from low temperatures, hence the importance of maintaining a temperature perfect environment. Thus, very cold temperatures cause hypothermia and damage to the body of rabbits, if their body temperature falls below 36 ºC In these cases they will show the following clinical signs:
- Heart rate slows.
- Mydriasis.
- Disorientation.
- Lethargy.
- Dry Skin.
- Cold ears.
- Immobility.
- Fainting.
- Collapse.
- Shock.
- Death.
Anorexia due to illness
A debilitating and/or painful internal illness activates the mechanisms of the acute phase, presenting loss of appetite or anorexia as a sign of malaise. This situation in rabbits causes weakness, depression and low energy, which leads the animals to be weak and not move. A multitude of problems and illnesses can make your rabbit stop eating. We highlight:
- Dental malocclusion.
- Myxomatosis.
- Hemorrhagic disease.
- Pneumonia.
- Parasitosis.
- Pasteurellosis.
- Enterotoxemia.
- Gastrointestinal disorders.
- Tumors.
- Coccidiosis.
Therefore, if in addition to immobility and loss of appetite you see that the rabbit shows other signs of illness, such as weakness, weight loss, swelling, lumps, diarrhea, respiratory distress, cough, fever, runny nose, etc. it may indicate that it has some disease that needs the diagnosis and treatment of the veterinarian.
