Sick baby Holland Lop

[StachesMommy]

Hello, (sorry if this is too long…)

 I got a 7 week old baby Holland lop Friday.  When I received him I noticed he had some eye crusties around the corner of his eyes the right one being worse than the left.  I checked his ears, nose, mouth… his nostrils seemed to be yellowish in color (he’s mostly all white) and his ears had a bit of dandruff.  I was a little concerned and worried that he may be in bad health so I asked the pet store owner questions about his health.  He assured me that he was fine and make sure I give him unlimited hay, baby rabbit pellets, and water…  I’ve had a rabbit before so I wasn’t comfortable with the baby lop’s eye situation because my Dutch rabbit always had clean eyes but I trusted him and went home. (I’ve only had one pet rabbit for about 7 years so I’m not so rabbit savvy…. so I figured he knew more about rabbits than I)  Yesterday I noticed his right eye was matted even more and looked terrible.  The white inner eyelid (?) was showing and looked swollen… from the frontal view I can see it clearly bulgy out a bit so I had called my local vet and the vet who sees rabbits is away and no other vets around me treat small animals!  Naturally I panicked and called the petstore owner to see if he has a store vet available.  He told me to bring him in to the store so he could look at him.  I packed up and went and he assured me that it’s probably some hay that got into his eyes in the process of moving and that’s why his eye is irritated.  He was eating, drinking, pooping fine and his poops looked normal so he told me to take him home and to call him if he gets worse…  Last night he was eating his hay and trying to relax but couldn’t.  He would flop then jump up to a hunch position very fast.  I may be wrong, but doesn’t that mean he is uncomfortable?? He must have done that at least 7 times… I stayed up as late as I could to watch him.  He pooped a decent amount too and eventually I fell asleep.  Fast forward to this morning poor baby is hunched up in a corner grinding his teeth! The grinding is loud, I am pretty sure he is in pain.  He hasn’t touched his pellets or hay it looks like because I measured everything before sleeping to make sure I can tell if he ate or not.  I do not see much poop pellets either.  I see a handful that’s about it.  I fed him some water through a syringe to try to keep him hydrated and his ears feel cold.  What could be causing him so much pain???  The pet store opens in about 10 minutes so I am waiting to call the guy.  Honestly, I have no respect for him I do not think he knows what the heck he is talking about.  He told me that the grinding was him just being silly… when I asked him if yesterday’s grinding could be due to pain or happiness because he was flopping all day yesterday so it was hard for me to tell… Should I take the baby lop to a local animal emergency hospital? There’s one about an hour and half away from me.  I’m afraid if the pet store guy takes my bunny in to give me a replacement he will just let this baby die in pain without giving him proper care.

[Mimsy]

I really think you need to bring the baby to a vet. None of that sounds right. I had my baby at a young age too and she ate like a little horse and pooped constantly. Just the not eating/pooping enough is enough to worry me. Combine that with the eyes and dander I think he really needs medical care.

Good luck and please update on him.

[StachesMommy]

Hi Mimsy,
Thanks for your advice. I really appreciate it. I was also wondering… when you got your baby was she super skinny?? Stache (for mustache cause he has a mustache lol) is SUPER BONEY! I mean, I literally feel every single bone in his body. He is estimated at 7-8 weeks old max. When I pet him and glide my hand down his head to tail I feel everything. His little neck bone and spine. It’s very angular and protruding. Are baby rabbits naturally thin? I’ve never had a rabbit this young. My other bunny was already 5 months old when I got her and she was pretty meaty. And I’ve decided to take the drive and take him in to be seen. I just hope they have someone who knows about rabbits there.

Thanks.

[Mimsy]

I got Willow when she was really too young at 6 weeks and she was really skinny. I free fed alfalfa and she is growing like a weed, still a little skinny to me, but I no longer feel all her little bones. she is a little over 4 months now and is going in for her exam next week, so I’ll let you know what the vet says about her weight.

This was my first too, my only other I had was an adult when I got him, at a little over a year and he was definately a little pudgy if anything.

if you have any rabbit specific rescues in your area you might t ry calling them to see if they can recommend a vet.

[StachesMommy]

Oh I see.  Okay, yes please do let me know.  Thank you so much.  I am taking him at 1… so fingers crossed! (most of the offices here are closed because it’s a Sunday)

[Bam]

He definitely needs a vet.
Sending you many, many vibes, keep us updated.

[StachesMommy]

Thank you Bam and Mimsy…

Update: The vet there really didn’t know how to care for rabbits She didn’t know what was wrong with him… She thinks he may have conjunctivitus and she said he’s dehydrated so she gave him a shot on top of his back that acts sort of like a camel hunch. He has water there… It’s supposed to help keep him hydrated. I ended up taking him to the petstore owner, he said he would look after him and his store vet will be in shortly. So… I am just sitting here…. hoping that he will pull through. It really isn’t looking good though because when I went to say good bye… he went limp in my hands… He felt extremely weak.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I really hope your little is okay.

[StachesMommy]

Aww thank you guys for your support. You guys are amazing. I haven’t heard back yet so we will see… Only time will tell.

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