Need help with sick bunny

[kalamity]

Hi! 

I have been using this forum as a reference for a while but this is the first time I’ve posted.

My rabbit has been making a weird noise while breathing for a week and a half or so, i was gonna go to the vets next week (i was sadly very short on money and couldn’t go sooner)

Then, two days ago her poop turned mushy and soft. Yesterday I noticed her tummy was kind of hard, and she seemed very tired and inactive compared to usual. I noticed she’d peed all over herself and the floor and she never does that. She also didn’t seem to eat much. This morning she’d peed on a chair and there was runny poop on the floor…

I called the vet this morning and have an appointment for tomorrow night, but I was wondering how i could help her until then.

I’ve quarantined her to a cage and since then she has eaten a bit of hay, but no pellets and she doesn’t seem to have drunk any water either. She hasn’t pooped either. 

Honestly i’m trying to seem calm but i’m kind of freaking out? Help?

[Mikey]

You need to syringe feed and syringe water her. Is her tummy hard or is it also making bubbley noises?

[vanessa]

If you don’t already have critical care, take pellets, crush them, blend with water till it will go through a syringe. She needs the same amount of water througha syringe – as she would normally drink herself. If you don’t have benebac, I would use any probiotic you happen to have. 50million units of peobiotic cultures per 5lb body weight is the typical benebac doseage. If she doesnt’ take kindly to being syringe fed, wrap her up in a towel. You could also try offering her favorite veggies. But definitely syringe syriunge syringe.

[Chelsea]

I’m so sorry, and I wish I could help more, but my experience is pretty limited with this kind of situation. I agree with Mikey though, you need to try to get food and water in her. This is a good time of year to find pureed pumpkin, and you can mix it ground of pellets or critical care if you have it. Water it down enough to get it in a syringe, and inject it slowly a bit by bit into the side of her mouth. If there is any kind of green she normally really likes I would try that too. Cilantro is a good one for lots of bunnies.

[Bam]

You do need a vet for this. Don’t wait. Keep her warm. That’s important. Her tummy could be full of gas or fluids and that can put pressure on the lungs. Handle her with extreme care.

[Vienna Blue in France]

I’m lucky ot have a vets, who as soon as you say “sick bunny” say “come immediately, we’ll fit you in”, rather than come back in 48 hrs !!

Go to the vets ASAP, and sit in the waiting room until they take you.

Good luck – and please let us know how you get on.

[vanessa]

Not all receptionists at a bunny vet – understand what constitutes an emergency. My vet (and most if not all vets), accept emergencies first. I would tell the receptionist this is a bunny emergency.

[kalamity]

Thank you everyone for your answers! I did manage to get her to eat a bit but she wouldn’t drink.

After some gaz medication / simethicone (thanks internet) and a tummy massage she did start drinking again.

In the end once i made it to the vets she’d actually started getting better, and the vet told me to watch her for the next few days because while she was a bit bloated she was digesting and she didn’t seem to be in any pain and she was well hydrated and pooping again. (She even pooped on the vets table)

I’ve kept her isolated in a cage for the moment so i can make sure she eats and poops, but she’s eaten some hay, some greens and some pellets! I feel very lucky to be honest…

[Bam]

I’m so glad to hear this!! Great job!!!
It’s good you keep her confined so you can keep track of input and output, but you should let her out a couple of times per day for a good run. Physical exercise helps a lot with gas and bowel movement.

[vanessa]

Glad to hear 🙂

[Vienna Blue in France]

Yay – that is good news…..

[Author]

Messages