Medications/Supplements for rabbits

[Tami]

I was just wondering if we could make a list of medications/supplements (ie: the names), what they are used for, where you purchased (vet or other source) and how much to administer and for how long ?

I would love to have a list to print out so if there are ever any emergencies where our buns might need some help and the vets aren’t in, we can do what is necessary to sustain them until we can get them in to see a vet.

I know Terramycin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic and can be purchased @ any farm supply store and it lasts a long time.  It can be used as a treatment or a preventative.  For a treatment dose, you use 2 tsp./gal water.  A maintenance/preventative dose would be once a week @ 1 tsp./gal water. 

I’ve also given Probios which is a “live culture” that helps the intestine that can be purchased from the above mentioned type of stores.  I give a portion the size of my pinky nail to replace the good flora after administering antibiotics.  It’s great to give as a treat or when they’re going on a trip to keep the gut in check.

Another item I have on hand, which I haven’t had an occasion to use (thank goodness !) is something called Bounce Back.  Again, it can be purchased at any farm supply store.  It’s an electrolyte to be given in times of stress to keep them hydrated if there is ever an issue.  The correct dosage is 2 tsp. per 1/2 cup warm water (1 1/2 tsp. for each 2 lbs. of body weight) to be administered 3-4 x’s daily in a bowl.

Okay………Now, I’ve seen “simethicone”, “metacam”, “critical care” & “petromalt”  and a few others, I believe, mentioned in posts before and would very much like to know where these items can be purchased, what they’re used for, how much to give & how often. 

Better safe, than sorry :o)

Thanks everybun, I mean one

 

[Beka27]

i don’t know much about meds, except that the simethicone is the same stuff as baby gas drops. i’m not sure if the leaders can do that b/c it might be construed as providing medical advice. it’s really best to go to the vet, or an emergency vet if it’s after hours.

[Nicci607]

…as far as I know terramycin will kill a rabbit…???

you should ALWAYS check with your rabbit savvy vet, tho.

 

[Sarita]

I agree with Nicci – any prescribed medications couldn’t be purchased anyway without a vet so it would be unlikely that you would have those on hand anyway and dosages are based on weight.

Critical Care you can purchase by calling Oxbow and it’s a good thing to have on hand when your rabbit won’t eat and you need to provide care before you can get to a vet.

Metacam has to be prescribed by your vet. Not sure about Terramycin and that should be discussed with a vet.

[babybunsmum]

i think a list would be dangerous for me to see because i’d start to think i knew what i needed lol.  now, i realize not every one is as silly as all that, but since you’ll need to goto a vet for the meds anyways… not much need for a list.  plus i think medicine changes so much that it’d be hard to keep track of what was outdated.  my vet recently told me that it had been discovered that rabbits metabolize pain meds much faster than cats or dogs and so they could tolerate quite a bit more per pound of body weight.  i don’t know exactly how recently that was discovered but it just goes to show that adjustements to treatments are always being made as they learn more!

[Tami]

I agree about taking them to a vet first, of course !  But, what does one do when living in a redneck, hillbilly area with absolutely NO rabbit-savy vets ???  It would be nice to know what could be administered in case of an emergency.

The vets around here “don’t do exotics” *sigh*  And Terramycin doesn’t kill rabbits ;o)  There are quite a few people around here that own rabbits……but they don’t house them indoors because they either show or breed them.  A lot of 4h-ers around here and they all give Terramycin when their buns’ immune systems are compromised.  None have died from it…….believe me, I checked around and did my research.  There’s no way I’d EVER jeapordize my babies’ health on what one person says or does !

Most of the people around here use vets that deal with nothing but livestock when something is wrong with their bunnies.  I’ve actually already used the Terramycin on one of my buns for a weepy eye and it cleared right up after two days ! 

Oh well.  I appreciate all your comments.  Was just hoping for some kind of “Emergency List” for those of us who don’t have a rabbit-savy vet to rely on.  I would think that would be a lot better than taking it to a vet who doesn’t have a clue about rabbits and maybe gets it in their head to “operate” (more money…..par for the course around here) putting the bun at greater risk.  Or maybe sending the bun home with a, “I’m sorry.  I can’t help ya.”……..in which case a lot of time would have been wasted and the bun put through more stress from the ride back & forth, poking & prodding, etc.  I just can’t stand the thought of that !!

Thanks anyway guys !

 

Coming to you live, from Hicksville *sigh*

[babybunsmum]

oh that must suck tami!  to live far away from good vet advice.  i do see how a list like that would be helpful.  actually, i used this forum to report meds my buns were prescribed to get a feel for if my vet seemed to be current.  it was a relief to find that info out so i kinda know what you mean. 

i was at the vet yesterday (not my normal vet but a specialist vet at a well-known vetrinary university) and when the vet prescribed metacam for my bun he said he’d give me a lot so i’d have some on hand and of course told me the correct amount to give daily for my buns weight.  so i guess there are *some* meds where even vets trust pet-owners with. 

i’m glad to now have some metacam on hand and now i always have ovol (canadian brand name for simethicone) for gas.  i think there’s an emerg kit list some where that may even include these meds.

[bunnytowne]

I hvae some ear mite stuff on hand  and some ivermectin I think is called for the eyes if infected I have some left over. and simethicone and an iodine that doenst’ stain to flush wounds just in case  the above meds for eye and mites I got from a vet and one of the vets said to hang onto it jsut in case. I hear where you are coming from. with a list. also as stated earlier we have to get these meds from a vet anyways we can’t just go buy them. ahhh tough living in hicksville I know I hear you. I am lucky a rabbit savy vet is just down the street. since I moved. yes 4H ers do have some knowledge  ohh revolution can be used on buns for fleas/furr mites. advantage has been used on 2 of my buns as a precaution from a cat I had for 2 days til terrified cotton and laith so cat had to go. and cat had been outdoors too. he snuck out the door anyway b4 I could find him a home.  frontline will kill a bun and that ohh pink stuff antibiotics I forget what is called and  I think things that end in mycin will kill them please correct me if I am wrong. oh and that pink antibiotics will kill them too I jsut cna’t remember the name of it. well I am repeating myself          anyway

[Sarita]

It’s amoxicillin that will kill them. There are other antibiotics that come in a pink liquid though like SMZ TMP that are perfectly safe for rabbits, my vet gives it to me all the time.

[Aina067]

I have done some research on this. here is a list; and I found out about Terramycin, that eye ointment is safe for use in pet bunnies, and the powder/liquid form is mostly used for “livestock” [meat] rabbits…

 

anyway, here’s the list:

 

Here is a list of antibiotics that have been reported dangerous for use or fatal for rabbits. Please print it and store it in a safe place, show it to your vet in case he wants to give your rabbit antibiotics.

 

Name of antibiotic

Effect

 

Ampicillin	40 to 100% fatal enteritis, dependent on dosage
Amoxicillin	Diarrhea after oral administration.
Cephalexin	Diarrhea after oral administration. Injection of cephalosporin has proven safe.
Clindamycin	50 to 100% fatal enteritis, dependent on dosage
Erythromycin	Diarrhea
Lincomycin	33 to 100% fatal enteritis, dependent on dosage
Minocycline	Reduction of growth rate
Penicillin	Acute and/or chronic enteritis (diarrhea) after oral administration. Injection of cephalosporin has proven safe.
Spectinomycin	Diarrhea
Spiramycin	Nervousness
Tilmicosin	Fatal adverse reaction has been observed. The reaction seems rabbit dependent and it is advised to do a test dose of 5 mg/kg before doubling dosage.
Tylosin	Diarrhea
Vancomycin	Acute toxicity with 100% mortality

 

 

sorry, the table don’t match. couldn’t get it fixed, tho!! sorry!!

hope, this is of help.

 

 

 

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Well not quite meds, but here are some things I keep around, that probably anybody could have

Polysporin/Neosporin _for superficial wounds-(not the “plus” kind-contains a pain killer that’s not good for bunnies)

Preperation H-(quite embarassed to buy this) you can put this on irritated hocks. Note that if the skin is broken they should be seen by a vet!

Semethicone/baby gas medication/Ovol-> For giving during times of gas-know the signs of gas, administer 0.25-0.5 cc for a 3-5lb rabbit (at least
that’s the dose I use).

Vet wrap-for wrapping sore hocks

Corn starch-for dirty bums or nails that were trimmed too far and bled.

Syringes for force feeding.

Critical care-force feeding

Peroxide -for cleaning superficial wounds (before applying neosporin)

Pedialyte-for times when they are not eating properly-watch the experiation date, keep refridgerated-they like the grape flavour

[Scarlet_Rose]

I just wanted to add my 2 cents here, it is best not to treat the rabbit yourself but rather get the advice of a rabbit savvy vet.  There are emergency kits you can put together and we’ve got a great discussion on that. But here is some advice/warnings on alternative medicine pet mads you can find online: http://www.coloradohrs.com/articles/medical_buyer_beware.asp

Here are the discussions on emergency kits/emergency preparedness:

Emergency Kits: (both for rabbit health emergency and for Disaster preparation for our rabbits)

https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=2&postid=15369&view=topic

https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=1&postid=24389&view=topic

Emergency Preparedness:

https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=1&tpage=1&view=topic&postid=17363#17382

Hope this helps!

 

 

[Author]

Messages