My sick little ones

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 7sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 9 months ago by Batzi.

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- 10/03/2017 at 10:18 AM
  Batzi
  Participant
  4 posts
  Dear All.
  
  This is my first post here and i hope i’m in the correct place.
  
  Around 4 months ago we adopted three amazing “little” baby bunnies, they were 9 weeks old at the time and quite big for baby bunnies which is understandable as they are “giant germans” (Deutsche riesen).
  
  About a month after they settled in and everything went well, one of them started to behave really weird, he was constantly scared, running into everything and we did not know what to do, the Vet we took him to said it was simply a panic attack so we placed him in a room of his own (not a cage, a whole room) and made sure to feed him good food, clean his toilet and be very quiet so we will not startle him, he started getting better but then suddenly he started having those attacks again and we noticed before having each “panic attack” that he’s tilting his head upwards and shaking erratically and then jumping like a spring into anything next to him, we wanted to take him to a new Vet and we did but unfortunately it was too late, he has injured himself quite severely and at the Vet he died from a heart attack.
  
  Two months passed and the remaining two bunnies were completely fine until yesterday night when i noticed on the security camera i’ve installed in their room (Thank GOD for that) that they’re startled, both bunnies jumped for no reason, i went down to check with my girlfriend and one of the bunnies was trying to mount the other one, they are both castrated males, as we didn’t want any injury to occur we separated them and we noticed that one of them is suddenly also tilting his head upwards and shaking and breathing heavily.
  
  Thankfully he did not jump like crazy and run scared but he was definitely “off” so we took a taxi to the emergency clinic we took the previous bunny to, the Vet on call checked and he had a very high fever, he also had a few “attacks” there (again, no jumping, just tilting the head upwards and shaking), he is now doing better at the clinic, the fever is lower and he is eating from a syringe and we were told that after finishing the syringe he immediately wants more so that’s a good sign i believe.
  
  My girlfriend and I were wondering if anyone has any ideas as to what might cause it, the Vet seems to think that it’s not e culi as he does not show the symptoms and the bunny that passed away two months ago died from a heart defect that caused brain damage but not e culi (i do not know if this is true, that’s what we were told).
  
  Any ideas would be helpful, we’re doing blood tests tomorrow on the little one (it’s a holiday here today so it’s not possible today) and he is getting treated for the e culi just in case, the one that’s still in the house is fine though he is lonely
  
  Apologies if this is a bit long or confusing, i slept maybe two hours today, i never knew bunnies could be so stressful.
  
  Best Regards.
  
  Tal.
- 10/03/2017 at 1:46 PM
  SaisyDaisy
  Participant
  64 posts
  First of All; Congrats on your new family members! And I’m very sorry for your loss. 2) have you checked for any breed-specific disorders? Mabye that’s what’s happening?
- 10/03/2017 at 3:03 PM
  Batzi
  Participant
  4 posts
  Hey SaisyDaisy.
  
  Thanks for the reply and the congrats given, they are adorable (and my first bunnies, my girlfriend had a couple years ago though), i have never known bunnies would require so much work, we’ve set up an entire room for them with custom made “tunnels” so they can run around and hide (had to be custom as these are not small bunnies)
  I’ve checked and the breed in English would be Giant checkered rabbit, i could not find any breed specific disorders, only that like any other rabbit they can get STD’s and they might suffer from being in a cage, but they have only been indoors with each other since we’ve got them, we got them from a family that do not breed rabbits for sale and they have not been caged , ever, we want them to roam free indoors (we live in an area with a lot of predators, ferrets, weasels, falcons and wolves, i will not let them stay outside).
  And a quick update, the bunny at the clinic is now eating again his normal food (we brought the clinic the stuff he likes from home) and he still gets the medication and the food via syringe but he seems to be much better and the blood tests will be done tomorrow so hopefully we’ll have a definitive answer.
- 10/03/2017 at 5:31 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Oh that’s such a terrifying experience! I’m so sorry!! And yes, I never knew how absolutely stressful it could be to be a bunny owner. But when you get past the illnesses it is all going to be so worth it
  
  Were all of these buns from the same litter? I might be worried about a genetic disorder if the other had a confirmed heart defect.
  
  The other things that pop into my mind are viral infections, such as myxoma or viral hemorrhagic disease. Being that I live in the U.S and my bunnies never go outside, I unfortunately don’t know much about either. I know there’s a vaccine for either one or both, and that it’s most prevalent in outdoor bunnies and in certain areas of the world. But I know that they can progress rapidly and I think are always fatal. I truly hope that isn’t the case! But maybe ask your vet if they think that could be a cause.
  
  Otherwise I don’t have much to add, sorry! Hope everything works out just fine!
- 10/04/2017 at 6:23 AM
  joea64
  Participant
  1423 posts
  Whenever I read posts like this, I remember how extraordinarily fortunate – indeed, blessed – that I am to have adopted two such healthy, vital young buns as Panda and Fernando, which doesn’t mean that I don’t jump at anything that seems a little out of the ordinary. Hope everything works out OK!
- 10/04/2017 at 3:08 PM
  Batzi
  Participant
  4 posts
  Quick update here and a question to anyone who might be online.
  We have received news from the Vet that the bunny is giving a very good impression and he is eating the stuff we brought them (he really doesn’t like hay that much, but the fresh greens and pallets he eats a lot of) and that we can basically come and pick him up, however, the results for the blood tests will only arrive tomorrow morning (we live in Germany, it’s quite late here now)
  After a discussion with my girlfriend we agreed to leave him at the clinic tonight as well just to play it safe and make sure that he’s ok and if they find out something in the blood tests that’s not the e cuniculi they can give him the correct medication right away (he’s getting medication for e cuniculi just to be certain)
  We are not certain we made the right choice as we’re sure he would feel better here, also his brother seems lonely without him and it’s sad to see (we give him a lot of attention and let him run around the house so he seems fine but it’s still sad)
  What would you have done? leave him over night or pick him up?
  
  oh, and joea64, the bunny at the clinic now is called Panda as well, he’s adorable, keeps licking everyone me and my girlfriend to try and bribe us for more food. his brother (Balu) on the other hand is quite a pushy little bun, shoving us around and biting if we don’t move, still adorable though.
- 10/04/2017 at 4:01 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  It’s wonderful that he seems to be doing better! Glad to hear some good news.
  
  I think you made the right choice, it’s the choice I would have made. While I’m sure he would be more comfortable at home, there won’t be much that you could do if he has another episode in the night. For peace of mind, I think it’s best that he remain at the vet in case emergency intervention is needed. At least you know he’s safe and in capable hands.
- 10/07/2017 at 3:35 AM
  Batzi
  Participant
  4 posts
  Hey Everyone.
  Quick update and another question here.
  So we’ve got Panda back home now and his brother is now really active and running around happily while Panda behaving a bit more restrained, we assume it’s probably due to the stress but could it be the medication as well?
  He’s coming out of their room much less then he used to before the trip to the Vet and when he does he’s hesitant but what concerns me is that he’s really not so active, he’s got a few minutes once an hour or so where he runs around and he eats normally and his poop is perfect and he drinks a lot of water (more then before actually) but most of the time he’s on the ground either on his side or loafing and resting and he seems nearly catatonic, even when there’s a noise he doesn’t move his ears at all.
  The medication he’s on is encrobacdin and panacur (or something like that).
  We also have the blood test results and while the doctor says everything seems fine i’m not certain and there’s a (very!!) high value of CK , is there anyone here whom i can consult with on the blood tests?
  
  Thanks for all the help and wishful thoughts, we’re stressed out here but we’re thinking he’s getting better and it’s a relief to just have him home with his brother.
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