Bonding with sick bunny

[Weezykins]

I just got my first bunny for about 15 years.her name is misty and just turned 9 weeks. Bonding went well in the first week till we took her to the vet for her immunisations. After which she had a bad reaction and has developed mixy type leasions on her ears(poor thing looks like she has black death). We are having to give her antibiotics twice a day which she does not like. She has now gone from sitting in our lap to hiding in her cage and has no trust left at all. I am worried about the long term effect it will have on our ability to bond with her. Does anyone know if she will get over the stress of all this? Or any way to make it easier on misty.
Many thanks.

[Bam]

Poor little darling.
I think you’ll be able to bond with her just fine, she’s young and young animals are more trusting than adults, plus domesticated animals do tend to somehow “understand” that you are helping them. Even if they are not happy when you distribute medication, cleanse wounds etc, handling does seem to have a desensitizing effect on pets. My bun Yohio that I had to syringe feed 3 times/day for a month became very bonded to me when the ordeal was over -but while it was going on, he HATED it. He clawed and bit and once he even screamed. When it was over it was like the turning of a hand.
As for the sores on the ears, my bunny Bam got that type of reaction from either the myxo or the RVHD-vaccine some years back. The sores healed but it took at least a month.
I hope your little one will soon heal. Which vaccine was she given, do you know?

[Weezykins]

Thank you that’s a big relief. It was nobivac that she was given, our first vet recommended it as we have a high wild rabbit population here. Guess we will choose a different one for her booster next time.

[Aki]

Yes, the  way she acts is completely normal. Some bunnies “forgive” you fast for your “mistreatment” when you give them meds or take them to the vet while other takes a while (my Aki has a very good memory for these things and will look at you distrustfully and run away when you come close for weeks afterwards).

About the vaccination, Nobivac has caused quite a few problems. It’s a “stronger” vaccine than the other as it covers Myxomatosis for a year AND VHD for a year and I know several rabbits who died or had a very severe reaction to it (mostly making a previously cured ailment come back, only worse, or making an underlying problem come to light but worse, and problems of GI stasis). There were several report of pharmacovigilance regarding the product (most vets don’t know about it even though it’s been written in the medication label for two years). So even though of course, a lot of rabbits have no problem with it, I personally refuse it especially since one of my rabbits is not that young anymore. I recommend Dervaximyxo SG33 for myxomatosis and Lapinject (Cunicare depending on what’s available in your country) for VHD. Those two  vaccines have been on the market for a long time and I’ve never met anyone whose rabbit had more than a mild reaction to them. The only thing is that you have to tell the vet that you want those when you call to make the appointment because most vets only have Nobivac in stock these days.

[Bam]

The vaccines my Bam had a reaction to was the old vaccines Cunivak myxo and Cunivac RVHD, not the Nobivac, I haven’t had any problems with Nobivac. Bam actually got the old vaccines again, but the vet choose not to mix them but give them with a two week interval (since we didn’t know which one that had caused the reaction). He didn’t get another reaction. (I didn’t want to opt out of vaccinating him since we have both these diseases in my area and they are a real risk.)

I really can’t say which vaccines are the safest and best, but it’s a good idea to discuss it with your vet.

[Weezykins]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Our poor bunny got very sick and went into gi stasis. Our new vet treated her very quickly and kept her in for a few days to give her a stronger antibiotic. She is all better now and much happier she has started to come and sit on our laps for strokes but is still a little cautious around feeding time so I hope time will help with that. Thank you for the advice on immunisations I will definitely be switching to individual injections next time.

[Author]

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