Mary Allen
Rabbits with inappetence are part of everyday life in the veterinary practice. If no adequate cause can be found in the oral cavity, such as problems with the teeth (a dental disease in rabbits). This is how the digestive tract is searched for. Even the X-ray image often does not result in a diagnosis.
If there is significant gas accumulation in the stomach, an X-ray with contrast media is recommended (larger amounts lead to plaster-like deposits in the intestine and thus to new problems). This can often be used to diagnose bezoar formation. In captivity, rabbits have a lot of time. They bridge boredom by extensive cleaning. If rabbits are kept in groups, this can become a real “folk sport” of mutual licking and grooming. Thus, bezoars can be present in several members of such groups, even if only one animal shows inappetence.
All images are from the same patient. The picture below shows what size bezoars can get: 80% of the stomach was filled with hair. Notice how tight the portion is on the right in the tweezers! Adequate therapy for all bezoars: gastrotomy and foreign body removal.