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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A What’s happening to our bunnies? (1 died this morning, other very weak)

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    • RickyRabbit
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        Hello all sorry if this is a little long but i’m not sure where to start,

        My girlfriend and I have four bunnies (1 white, 1 black, 1 grey, and 1 broken black).  They are all a little more than 50 days old.  We have had them for a little over a week.  They are extremely active and friendly, expect the broken black one who has always preferred to be alone.  We have grown incredibly fond of them.

        About four day ago the white one began eating a lot, too much, and the next day was bloated and we saw some mucus in its stools.  So we rushed all of them to the vet, where he injected the white one with medicine and gave them all anti-parasitic vaccination.  A day later and lots of tummy massages the white one disinflated and his poop became more dry.  We spent yesterday together has a happy family and everyone seemed to be in good health, very playful and curious.  Again except for the broken black one, who in retrospect was urinating quite a lot.  The black was was especially energetic, even learning how to leap and climb over a meter tall fence (he weighs only 1/2 a pound)!

        The this morning happened… we woke up to find the broken black one dead and the black one in his last stages of life, both covered in urine.  The white one (who was bloated earlier) and grey one seemed to be fine.  We took the black one to the vet where the hydrated him with injections which seemed to help.  The black one is still alive but very very weak, we are giving him 1CC of Pedialyte (a rehydration electrolyte liquid for children) with orally along with water.  He still poops a bit and pees but he hasn’t eaten all day.

        The vet is at a total loss about what happened.  I called the farm where we bought them and he says we needed to put antibiotics in the water like he does, but the vet recommends against it.

        We have no idea what to do and are concerned the same could happen to the other ones, and is there anything else we can do to help nurse the black one back to health?

        More information:  The live on a roofed balcony with plenty of space to run and play.  They only eat rabbit food and hay (both dry and fresh).  Also we live in the Dominican Republic so vets and medicine are limited.  They always have access to water (with a vitamin solution diluted in it).

        Thank you in advance and please let me know if any other information can help identify the problem.


      • Sarita
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          Did the vet test for Coccidia? I would ask the vet to do a fecal test for the other rabbits and if it is coccidia the vet can give you Albon.

          Otherwise, perhaps a necropsy if it isn’t too late is the only other thing you can do.


        • RickyRabbit
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            Thank you Sarita, no he didn’t test them but he supposedly vaccinated them all against Coccidia and other parasites four days ago (in the form of a milky liquid ingested orally).

            Would Coccidia explain sudden dehydration and death over nght?


          • RickyRabbit
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              Thank you Sarita! No the vet did not check for Coccidia, but they were all vaccinated for Coccidia and other parasite four days ago (through a milky white liquid ingested orally).

              Would Coccidia explain the sudden dehydration and death over night?


            • Sarita
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                It could. I think you must be talking about a dewormer and that is not going to cure the coccidia – only a sulpha drug like albon will do that.

                And the stuff they use on these farms is not a vaccine and it’s not effective either.


              • RickyRabbit
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                  The black one, just started screaming and stretching his body out as if it were having cramps. It’s still breathing but I’m not sure what else we can do, I feel horrible. I’ve started to look for albon, is it the same for cats and dogs? Or does it need to be made specifically for rabbits?


                • RickyRabbit
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                    The black one just passed too. I’m taking him back to the vet to see if he can do a necropsy.


                  • Sarita
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                      I’m sorry, perhaps a necropsy will help.


                    • MoveDiagonally
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                        I’m so sorry for your loss!


                      • RickyRabbit
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                          Thank you Movie Diagonally.

                          So I just heard back from the vet saying that the upper part of intestines were clogged up with a black substance (that he thinks is old food built up over several days), and the lower part was completely empty. He says the poop that we were seeing was only coming from the bottom half of the intestines. He also inspected the other dead bunny and said he had the same issue. He said it was probably something about the food we were giving them, and maybe we should try another rabbit food, and grind it up a bit more so it won’t be so big. But what’s weird is that we bought the food at the farm, so it should have been the same food they were already used to.

                          Anyways we still have TWO bunnies that are alive and the doctor didn’t really give any advice on how to unclog these rabbits (who probably have the same condition since they all ate together). I’m thinking about giving them some pineapple, and changing the pellets and grinding them up like he said. They seem to be doing really well, but I’m scared about what will happen tonight. The black bunny seemed to be doing great the night before as well… :S


                        • Roberta
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                            Are they getting any hay ? Also try syringing a few drops of water at a time and very gently stroking the tummy downwards…. They are very young and if I read correctly were only 4 weeks old when you got them…


                          • RickyRabbit
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                              They always have access to hay, I try and mix it with the food so that they’ll eat it, but I can’t say how often they do. The white ones still a little bit bloated I was thinking about giving him some Simethicone for the gas. Does anyone have an experience with this?


                            • LBJ10
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                                Oh dear, how awful. I’m so sorry!

                                You can certainly give it to him. It won’t hurt anyway.

                                Is the vet sure it was a blockage? Were the lower intestines inflamed? It would almost make sense that there was still food in the upper intestines and then absent from the lower if the infection was in the lower. The food would hit the lower intestines and then leave the body quickly due to diarrhea. I’m just thinking out loud here since the other symptoms seem consistent with Coccidia. Symptoms appear 4 to 6 days after infection and you are within that time frame (you had them a week, symptoms first showed up 4 days ago). Your bunnies are also young (~7 weeks) and young bunnies are susceptible. Some bunnies react strongly and die pretty quickly. Paralysis comes shortly before death, so that would explain why they were soaked in their own urine.


                              • BinkyBunny
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                                  Roberta brought up a good point about their age–when were they weaned?
                                  Being so young – I wonder if it could be because they were weaned too young that their digestive system hasn’t developed the healthy amount of bacteria to break down pelleted food properly.

                                  I am so sorry this is happening! Many of us here don’t have a lot of experience in baby bunnies (before 8 weeks -which is a healthier age to be weaned).

                                  But in this link, http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/orphan.html, it said this — A domestic rabbit feeds her babies for about 8 weeks, gradually decreasing the frequency of feedings until they lose interest. Baby bunnies will start to nibble on pellets and solid food at about the age of two to three weeks, but this does NOT mean they are ready to be weaned. In fact, it’s even more important that you continue feeding colostrum-enhanced formula to help control the growth of potentially harmful pathogens as the babies introduce new bacteria into their systems.

                                  Now with that said, I don’t know if actually adding some sort of feeding colostrum-enhanced formula would be helpful at this point or make things worse.
                                  Roberta – would you know about this?

                                  I will also message you a link to another resource that may have more experience in this area so you can try and save the ones you have. Please be sure to update us though on how things go.


                                • RickyRabbit
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                                    They are very young, but to clarify we got them when they were about 7 weeks old, and now they are about 8 weeks old. I have no idea how long they had been separated from their mother before we got them. We have already decided we are not going to sleep tonight just keep an eye on them and to periodically massage their bellies.

                                    In response to LBJ10, I am still concerned they have Coccidia as well, but the vet says it would have been covered with the 1-dosis of anti-parasitic medication he gave them, and says he found no evidence of Coccidia in the necropsy. Now that you mention the paralysis, the black one seemed to have his right half of his body immobile before he passed, he tried to walk a few times but it seemed like he couldn’t get that half of his body to move. I can’t mention Coccidia to the vet again because he is getting annoyed with how often I have suggested it.

                                    Can I medicate them Albon anyways? They seem so healthy right now, but I still can’t believe how quickly the other two died…


                                  • RickyRabbit
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                                      Thank you for the resource BB, I am reading it over now.


                                    • Roberta
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                                        Not sure about the formula BB, be interesting to know if they are producing normal cecals… As babies they should be producing extra due to the increased food and nutrition they need at this age.


                                      • RickyRabbit
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                                          So I’ve been doing some reading, and somehow I keep wondering about Coccidia, the inflamation of the upper intestines seam to be consistent with some of the sketches that can be found here: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Protozoal_diseases/Cocc_en.htm

                                          Although they were full of a black substance and didn’t look like the intestines in the photograph below the sketch. Also they haven’t had any diarrhea.

                                          I managed to find some Toltrazuril in a product called Coxycox. Has anyone used it as a Coccidia treatment? Are there dangerous secondary effects I should consider?


                                        • LongEaredLions
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                                            I don’t have much to say but I am sorry you lost your bunnies


                                          • RickyRabbit
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                                              Thank you. We just really really want these bunnies to survive the night, and hopefully into adulthood. We are staying up with them tonight, and it seems like they don’t want to sleep. The white one learned how to climb up my leg to see what I am doing on the computer, again they are so lively right now, I still can’t wrap my head around that sudden change that occurred in the others.


                                            • Roberta
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                                                Sometimes it just happens, and so quickly we can’t do anything… I have a family here I am fostering, I got the Mum and Bubs when they were about 10 hrs old… I lost two over the first few days… They just didn’t thrive, it happens when Mum has had a rough start like Pandora… About 3 weeks later when I thought all was well one more died for no apparent reason, one minute fine then gone…. When babies come from an unknown source, and that can include breeders, you just don’t know what they are bringing with them… I knew mine had had a bad start and there may be problems so there was some expectation but you can’t always know, what a breeder tells you and what the actual history is may be two very different things.. You reacted well getting them to the vet quickly and that is more often than not the difference between survival or death. Hang in there, you are doing your best and I am keeping you and the babies in my thoughts.


                                              • RickyRabbit
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                                                  Thanks for the kind words Roberta. So far so good with the bunnies, I think they’re going to be okay for now. The only thing that has seemed out of the ordinary tonight is that the white bunny took a long time to fall asleep because he would start sneezing everytime he would relax and it would wake him up, but he finally seems to have settled down. We are going to keep our eyes on him for next few hours just in case.


                                                • jerseygirl
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                                                    I’m sorry for your loss. How awful to see.

                                                    Do you have the name of the anti parasitic they were all given?

                                                    Toltrazuril is very effective against coccidia and medication time is shorter then other traditional anti coccidial drugs.
                                                    But please check if there are any drug interactions since they’ve already had something recently.


                                                  • Beka27
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                                                      I am so sorry that you have lost two of your bunnies… That is very sad. Do you know if they’re all from the same litter? I’m also wondering if it could have been some type of genetic abnormality in the intestine that wasn’t allowing stuff to pass? The food/feces could have been getting stopped up for weeks, eventually leading to toxicity. I’m not a vet, but just a thought…


                                                    • LittlePuffyTail
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                                                        I’m sorry I can’t offer any advice that was not already given, but I would like to pass along my condolences on the loss of your baby buns.

                                                        ((((Binky Free Little Babies))))))


                                                      • RickyRabbit
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                                                          Thank you guys so much!  It’s been 24hrs since the others passed, and so I think these two are going to be okay for now.  Still keeping a close eye on them.  I ended up them the Toltrazuril this morning just in case, as well as some pineapple. Here’s a picture of the bunnies! http://i.imgur.com/rVmFN3Vl.jpg?1


                                                        • LongEaredLions
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                                                            Aww, your two are adorable!


                                                          • BinkyBunny
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                                                              Op, I misunderstood how old they were.

                                                              They are adorable – so cute!!!

                                                              Glad to hear the other two are doing okay so far.


                                                            • Sindri
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                                                                Glad these 2 are doing good. I am sorry to hear of the loss of the others.


                                                              • calipa_st
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                                                                  so sorry for your loss… What food (other than hay) are you feeding them?


                                                                • frogprincess
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                                                                    I am sorry for your loss. I went thru a similar issue with my Mini Rex. I hope the other 2 will be ok and bring you joy . Hang in there!

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                                                                Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A What’s happening to our bunnies? (1 died this morning, other very weak)