Is my bunny sick???

[Saroja]

 Hi everyone,

 

I’ve had my bunny for almost 2 years now and she’s never been sick (unlike her partner who gets GI stasis at the drop of a hat). Anyway, there has been absolutely no change in her activity levels or appetite – she still races around the house at top speeds and is the first one to the kibble bowl/salad dish twice a day. However, I’ve noticed that she’s had some looser stools for about 2-3 days now (basically, diarrhea… but only overnight, during the day she produces normal looking pellets). In addition, she’s got some crusty looking yellow stuff around her nose. Now, she’s a white bunny, so at first I chalked this up to her nosing around in the hay a little too much but it hasn’t gone away for 48 hrs now.

 

So, my here’s my question for you folks: is my bunny sick? And if so, what should I do? I will obviously take her to the vet’s as soon as possible… but it’s a long weekend here in Canada and everyone is closed. Is there anything I can do for her in the meantime?

 

Thanks so much.

[Sarita]

The loose stools are probably cecals – rabbits rarely get diarrhea. What is her diet?

As for the crusty looking yellow stuff – you may want to get her into the vet to have a look at that. It’s worth it to get this checked out and get an opinion from your vet.

[Beka27]

Have there been changes in her diet? New greens, treats, pellets?

This doesn’t sound like an emergency, but I’d try to get her in when the vet office opens.

[SukiBun]

Are the looser stools staying in the toilet area? I mean if it were cecals she would eat them up and you would hardly notice, considering you have had her for 2 years now. However it is likely it is just cecals, but I wouldn’t want to rule it out getting this looked at too. Is she getting enough hay? What sort do you give her? She may have Stasis, it can give them liquidy or jell-like caecotropes, so she needs to be getting enough hay, pref timothy to help with this.

It could be that there is a problem with the yellow crusty discharge around her nose, it may just be a cold/upper respiratory infection. Check her eyes are not watery too. Are there any lumps around her nose? Could be an abscess….maybe.

I sympathise with you about the vet, as soon as you can, give them a call and describe everything. Hopefully it’s nothing to worry about, but it’s difficult to tell sometimes, especially if she is still energetic and her appetite is okay!

[Saroja]

 Nope, no change in diet. I thought about that when I saw the runny poops but I haven’t introduced any new veggies recently. In addition, my other bunny isn’t sick either nor have they had any sick contacts or been introduced to any new environments.

I scooped up Jazz and took a good look at her nose: there’s so thick white mucus there along with the yellow stains and she’s quite snuffly when stressed out (she hates being picked up). After being released, she settled quite quickly and is now flopped out looking quite content. Go figure. I’ve left a message at the vet’s and we’ll see what they say tomorrow.

Has anyone else had a bunny with an URTI? If that’s what we’re thinking, what kind of treatment should I prepare for?

[Beka27]

Here is a good article about it:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sneezing.html

Your vet may or may not do a culture on the discharge. Sometimes they will just prescribe an antibiotic to see if it works. If it does not work, a culture will be necessary to see what med will be most effective.

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