Baby Alkibiades is in critical condition

[Alki3030]

Edited by Bam: 

Asking for money directly is against the BB forum rules. If members have ideas about how to raise funds for vet bills, make payment plans etc, you are very welcome to reply to this. 

Baby Alki (Alkibiades) was born in October and is currently about five and a half weeks of age. He was the only surviving baby of a surprise litter and, due to difficulties at first with his mother’s young age and lack of experience, we had to coax him into suckling by hand and handled him a lot in the early days, constantly worried he would not survive. However, once his mother starting suckling him he grew very fast and became a healthy little bunny. His mother, in spite of her inexperience, was extremely attentive and caring, and they grew to be very close, often found curled up next to each other or sitting close by.



A few days back, he seemed a little unwell and we took him to the vets for a checkup. He ha a lack of fibre in the diet, and so his droppings were very hard and hurting his bottom. We were given a formula for him to increase fibre and sent home, and over time he appeared to recover. 



However, yesterday (30 Nov) he seemed quite unwell and weak. He was wetting himself and began to smell unclean. He was rushed to the vet, who took a blood sample and his temperature. His temperature was 2 degrees (C) below what it should be and he was very low in glucose. He was given a glucose injection (which he screamed through) and then some pain relief. We were asked if we wanted to take him to the hospital or nurse him at home. Obviously, we took him to the hospital, as he was in a critical condition. If we had taken him home, he would not be alive still. 



However, the vet at the animal hospital said there was a chance he may not make it through the night. The estimated cost for 24 hours stay was £600-£800, and, according to the contract we had to sign, if we could not make this payment within 14 days of finishing treatment, they would rehome him. 



This morning, we finally managed to get through to the vet who said he was in a very poor condition still, even going to the point of asking us whether or not we would like him to be resuscitated should his heart give out. As things stand, we are told he has a 50/50 chance. 



Even if he does survive, we are unlikely to be able to afford the vet bill. At the rate things are going, it is going to cost even more, as he will be in for longer than 24 hours. Naturally, it is better for him to be rehomed than left to die, and that is a risk I am absolutely willing to take.  However, we obviously want to be able to bring him home to his mum, who seems upset and worried about his absence (she used to be a skittish rabbit, but having Alki about really calmed her down. Since he was admitted to hospital, she has been jittery and worried again. It is heartbreaking to watch). 



We are students and have extremely limited funds (even more so due to us living in central London). We are going to be emptying our savings in an attempt to pay his bills as it is, but are very worried about our ability to care for his mother and our other bunny, let alone our own living costs, with bills like this to pay. 



Thank you so much for reading through this. 

[Bunny House]

I know how expensive care is. One of my buns costed $10,000 and even then he still didn’t make it out alive. You can always ask the vet for a payment plan or start a go fund me to help raise funds. Bunnies are very expensive and people who own them should know before they get them that it can costs thousands just for one hospitalization.

[Bunny House]

I do have to add one thing, this is nature. Survival of the fittest, even at this age. You can do all you can but he still might not survive. You have to decide what to do, since he is so young, he might have complications from the medical issues he is having, and with further treatment that is taken.

[Asriel and Bombur]

I’m sorry for your poor little baby. Like BH has said, crowd funding sites are a good place to start. I don’t know what country you’re in, but some have this thing called Care Credit that will let you pay in monthly installments. Maybe you can even talk to the vet about monthly installments?

If you weren’t planning on breeding the mom and you have a non-neutered male bunny, please keep them separate as babies will continue to happen, and it could stress her out. You also want to make sure only the mom is with the baby.

Sending you both all the good vibes in the world <3 

[BinkyBunny]

I am so sorry as well for the troubles.  How challenging and heartbreaking.  It looks like you are doing everything you can. You have been given some good advice as for as suggestion on how to raise funds. Did the vet say what was wrong? ( I am sorry if I missed that). 

I agree with A&B to be sure to separate the male. For the safety of the babies as well as the female can get pregnant just 24 hours after giving birth. Yikes!

BH — I wanted to address this statement: “Bunnies are very expensive and people who own them should know before they get them that it can costs thousands just for one hospitalization.”    Yes this is true.  Are you meaning this as an overall warning for people reading this, otherwise, if this is directed at the OP, it can be mistaken for a “rubbing it in” tone.  I know in the format, things can be taken in all ways (positive or negative so it’s good to be aware of this.  

I think  even those who have prepared, would never think $5,000-10,000.   Most  don’t have that kind of money on hand to spend right away.  And if you don’t have $5,000 o or $10,000 saved up, I don’t think that should prevent someone from getting a bunny.  Especially a rescue bunny that needs a forever home.  But having a financial pet plan in place is important. Saving what you can, know if you can borrow from a parent or loved one who could help out with a loan, or get a credit card just for this type of situation are some planning options. It definitely is heartbreaking to figure it out afterward, and I am sorry you are going through that.    

A&B mentioned Care Credit — and that is a good option.  I relied on that many times!  Just note that not all vets take it. 

I have also been able to make payments to an emergency vet.  

The go fund me is another option for sure — you did try that here and we do not allow it on this site, but use your own social media pages to spread the word.   

Wishing you all the best.   Keep us updated. 

[Bunny House]

BB, it is a general statement. I know there are some people on here that get so surprised at the cost of rabbit care, they think it’s alot to spend on a bun, which I agree, it’s overpriced but they are classified as exotics, and many can spend $2000 in one trip with a sickly bun. This is for whoever finds the thread while they are searching for a similar topic online. Having at least $1000 on hand is safe for any animal you own because many vets don’t take payment plans anymore so they want direct payment and one test could be $300, like an X-ray, or CT, not including the visit itself or any treatment plan.

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