Hi, bunny friends: my bunny Toffee Touchstone went to bed behaving normally last night, but this morning as soon as I let him out of his rabbitat he was wobbling and listing to the right. Unfortunately, since it’s Sunday, the regular rabbit vets are all closed. I called the two emergency veterinaries in my area (Upstate New York) and neither care for rabbits. I called Cornell Veterinary College, and a student vet could see him today, but it’s a long drive and cars stress Toffee out. The student I talked to said since he’s eating and drinking some (not as much as normal); and since he peed this morning, ate some of his raspberry bum poops (with a steadying hand), and has pooped one pellet poop so far; then it’s probably okay if he waits to see his regular vet in the morning. But I could use any help/advice/reassurance you have in the meanwhile.
Toffee is probably 8 months to a year old. I got him just over two and a half months ago from a family who didn’t let him out of his rabbitat very much (a Kaytee plastic-bottomed cage, about 4’x2′; they used wood chip bedding, I use CareFresh natural paper bedding and timothy hay), since their dog wanted to eat him. They got him from a pet store around Christmas. He’s either a Holland or mini lop; he weighs just over 4lbs, and has crooked upper incisors that he was just going to get trimmed at the vet for the second time tomorrow! He has a pretty good diet: he has access to timothy hay and a crock of clean water all the time, and loves his kale, bok choy, cilantro, parsley, endive, broccoli, and bananas and apples for treats. He’s also had access to a crock of alfalfa pellets at all times until very recently when I realized they were in fact alfalfa pellets and not timothy pellets; now I just leave them for him at night and when I’m not home until I can find some safe and healthy timothy pellets (which is a struggle right now — the bag I ordered from Amazon may contain peanuts and tree nuts, and I can’t have that around!). He has not been neutered — I was trying to wait until after the semester is over — and he has been spraying pee at me and attempting to eat my arms and feet a lot the lately. But when I took him for his first vet visit at the start of last month, the vet said he was a very healthy bunny, so I’m very worried about him today.
He’s very wobbly and shaky on his paws, and struggling and failing to raise both forepaws to his face to wash. He has moved around, from the family room to the kitchen and into the bathroom where he’s decided to camp out now. He’s eaten maybe five stalks of cilantro and five stalks of parsley run through water to try to get some extra moisture in him. He drank a little bit of plain water, and ate a couple small strands of hay. He nibbled a microscopic bit off the banana I offered him and then wouldn’t touch it, even after I mashed it on my fingers (which really scares me — he loves bananas). I don’t have any access to the Oxbow Critical Care the Cornell student suggested I give him, since none of the pet shops in my area can stock it. He’s been sleeping a lot, which he sometimes does in the morning, mostly bunched up in his bolster-pillow position. He stretched out his right rear paw twice now to clean it, but this last time he stopped midway with his foot sticking out, sat there sleepily, and then finally tucked it back in to sleep some more. He’s been gritting his teeth on and off, but he does that usually, and again his incisors are getting long and need trimming again.
Is there anything I should be doing for him? Should he be warmed, cooled? I have the heat on 66F and he’s decided to sleep on the cool hardwoods near the toilet in the bathroom; I know rabbits prefer 50F-70F. Last night he ate some carrot which he hasn’t eaten since he sampled some maybe two months ago, but other than that his diet has been normal until this morning, and as far as I know he hasn’t gotten into anything weird to eat. Any advice for me or hugs for both of us? — Gia
UPDATE: Toffee seems to be struggling with his front right paw, and it looks like it might be swollen. Maybe he injured himself getting out of the rabbitat? Could this cause his wobbling and lack of appetite/poop?