Any hope for runt?

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This topic has 13sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 10 months ago by Wick & Fable.

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- 06/15/2018 at 5:42 AM
  Kelly
  Participant
  9 posts
  We discovered 3 surprise babies on Tuesday, it was clear straight away one was much smaller than its siblings, we have tried latching it on to mum and shes licking it and its toileting but its never got a round tummy, vet said it would likely die but to try kitten milk replacement. We have weighed it today and its only 0.5oz where as its sibling is 2.3oz. Mum was the runt of her litter and wasnt expected to survive but I don’t know of she was this small.
- 06/15/2018 at 6:15 AM
  Harley&Thumper
  Participant
  444 posts
  Are the parents both dwarfs? If they are it’s possible the little guy is a peanut at which point there’s no hope for the guy .
- 06/15/2018 at 6:19 AM
  Sirius&Luna
  Participant
  2320 posts
  Not many people are experienced with baby buns on this site, so you might be better off finding a site that has breeders to give you advice. I think http://www.rabbitsonline.net/forums is where we normally advise, but hopefully a FL will pop in with more info.
  
  One of my bunnies was the runt of the litter, and is now happy and healthy, but the breeder didn’t attempt to sell him until he was 10 weeks – even then he was tiny.
  
  What breed are the parents? If both parents have the dwarf gene, then you can end up with a ‘peanut’ baby, that gets two copies of the dwarf gene, and will never survive past a few weeks. They often have bigger heads, and misformed back legs. They look signficantly smaller than the other babies. A peanut is different to a runt, runts have a reasonable chance of survival, whereas a peanut will never survive.
  
  All you can do is what you’re doing i think – make sure he feeds from mum, top him up with extra feed if you can, and keep him warm and with his siblings.
- 06/15/2018 at 6:37 AM
  Kelly
  Participant
  9 posts
  They are both mini lops. I cant find anything to say they have the dwarf gene. I’m totally clueless with this because we never expected to have babies to deal with x
- 06/15/2018 at 6:49 AM
  Harley&Thumper
  Participant
  444 posts
  Are you in the US or some other part of the world? Outside of the US I believe mini-lops are considered to be dwarfs and have the dwarf genes. The US wanted to be special and have a different name for lop eared rabbits with the dwarf gene.
- 06/15/2018 at 6:50 AM
  Sirius&Luna
  Participant
  2320 posts
  Mini lops carry the dwarf gene if you’re in America (UK mini lops are not I think… it’s confusing), so it’s possible that it is a peanut.
- 06/15/2018 at 6:55 AM
  Harley&Thumper
  Participant
  444 posts
  I thought Holland Lops are called mini lops outside of the US?
- 06/15/2018 at 6:55 AM
  Kelly
  Participant
  9 posts
  Im in the UK
- 06/15/2018 at 6:57 AM
  Sirius&Luna
  Participant
  2320 posts
  Yeah, I think a UK mini lop is what Americans call a Holland lop.
  
  So hopefully, he’s not a peanut and is just a runt… in which case he has hope
- 06/15/2018 at 7:01 AM
  Sirius&Luna
  Participant
  2320 posts
  Ok, I’m completely confusing myself now. Apparently Holland lops do carry the dwarf gene. But whether a UK mini lop is the same as a Holland lop, I’m not sure.
  
  http://www.thenaturetrail.com/rabbit-genetics/dwarf-gene-dw-falsedwarfs-peanuts/
  
  Either way, it’s semantics, and I think if you keep doing what you’re doing for the little guy, he’ll have the best chance possible.
- 06/15/2018 at 7:01 AM
  Kelly
  Participant
  9 posts
  Its all so confusing because i kept thinking it looks like a peanut but google took me to rabbits online where someone had asked if they carried the gene and was answered with a no, but if we are just calling holland lops by a different name then i guess that means they do
- 06/15/2018 at 7:01 AM
  Kelly
  Participant
  9 posts
  Its all so confusing because i kept thinking it looks like a peanut but google took me to rabbits online where someone had asked if they carried the gene and was answered with a no, but if we are just calling holland lops by a different name then i guess that means they do
- 06/15/2018 at 7:08 AM
  Wick & Fable
  Moderator
  5820 posts
  Just do your best with the tiny baby. If it’s a peanut, it will eventually die unfortunately, but if it’s a runt, it will grow up as usual. There’s no saving a peanut since they do not live very long, so right now, treat it as a runt and keep nurturing it.
  
  The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 06/15/2018 at 7:09 AM
  Wick & Fable
  Moderator
  5820 posts
  Just do your best with the tiny baby. If it’s a peanut, it will eventually die unfortunately, but if it’s a runt, it will grow up as usual. There’s no saving a peanut since they do not live very long, so right now, treat it as a runt and keep nurturing it.
  
  The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
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