sick bunny….advice please

[Lo]

Hi guys,

I think one of my girls is sick.  She’s been hiding since late afternoon. I got her to come out a little while ago, but she quickly found a new hiding spot.  She ate one small rasin that I offered but not the second.  I’ve separated her from her mate into a small cage in my room with lots of water and hay and a little food. At first she put a little effort into getting out but is now laying down again in the litter box. I’m going to wait until morning and see if she poops/pees and if not take her in to the vet. 

any advice in the meantime? this is my first bunny-sickness experience so I’m a little freaked

 

thanks

[Scarlet_Rose]

Oh dear loisme. I am very sorry to hear that your girl is sick. What you did was great, noticing it right off and getting her in a space by hersulf so you can moniter her food intake. However, keeping her near her room-mate may help her pull through this. I have had cases where my two refused a treat and were feeling a bit off. You might want to try cuddling with her and giving her a tummy massage. If she is not getting a lot of fluid, try some pedialyte. If she is flat out refusing to eat, you may need to syringe feed some wetted pellets (i wet mine with the pedilyte but you can use water). Or, what I’ve done is take some canned pumpkin and water it down a little with the pedialyte and force with a feeding syringe.  If you happen to have some acidophilus on hand, put some in the food too.

Also, do a go look over her body to see any signs of scratches or trauma, fleas, ticks and so on. Do a good look over her living area, is there something she may have gotten into? Is she shedding a lot?  How much cardboard or paper has she ingested? Is she eating hay at all?

[Lo]

thanks Scarlet, maybe I will move the small cage back into the bunny room. I tried a tummy massage a few minutes ago and put a dish of water in instead of the water bottle. She ate another tiny rasin but gave up again after that. I can’t find anything that she could have gotten into today but I’m thinking I will give the emerg vet a call now to see what they thing. If it wasn’t for the eating I would just think she was super comfortable b/c she keep laying down all stretched out

[Scarlet_Rose]

Loisme,  here are some links to info on GI stasis, which is a possibility for your girl, but a vet will be able to help diagnose this for sure.  don’t panic, I am not saying that your girl has stasis for sure, but these will provide with some guidlines and help you both through this illness.

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

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=484

http://www.rabbitcare.org/ileus.pdf

 

[Scarlet_Rose]

You’re welcome Lois, my two have done this to me before and it was because they were in a “funk” and it was not stasis. It scared me half out of my wits and after hauling Bonsai up to the vet two times, I found out he just gets that way when the weather has changed.

I don’t think it is a bad idea to give the vet a call. have you tried anything like a sprig of parsely? Someone on this board suggested batting them lightly near the mouth with it to get them to eat it (a sort of enticement or eating out of annoyance). Do you have any fresh mint on hand?

This does not sound a lot like stasis to me as there is not hunching and your bun is stretched out limo-style.  Is there any grinding of teeth?

[TARM]

I don’t have any advice but I’m sending you some healing vibes…

[rabbitsmba]

Follow Scarlet Rose’s advice and get to a bunny-savvy vet as soon as you can. We are all sending healing vibes and please do keep us posted.

[Lo]

i think things are looking up. no fever and we were able to get a bit of water and a few wet pellets down. She’s still in a small cage so I can monitor the litter box but is back in the bunny room so they can be together. when I talked to the vet they didn’t sound too concerned and so we’ve decided to wait until morning and re-evaluate.

thanks everyone, I will update in the morning

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Sorry to hear shes not feeling well….Do you have anything else to offer her that she likes, maybe parsley or romaine?

Did you try syringe feeding wet pellets? Please keep us posted!! **VIBES**

[Beka27]

i hope everything is okay!

[MooBunnay]

How is she doing today loisme? Have you seen any poops, and has she been eating any pellets or veg? I have noticed that when one of my bunnies is not feeling well he also sits in his litterbox, which is odd because he never sits there unless he does not feel well. Usually if I can get him up and moving around a bit he will start to feel better.

Can your bunny see her mate from where she is? She would probably be more comfortable if he was around to keep her company, so try to keep them near each other. I generally do not separate mine when one is not feeling well, unless the mate is harassing her. Others may have other opinions on this though – personally I prefer to keep them together because I think they comfort each other, but there may be benefits to keeping them separate.

Let us know how things are going over there!

[Lo]

hi everyone,
thanks for the concern I really appreciate it! we’re back from the vet – couldn’t find anything wrong except for maybe a little gas. We opted against x-rays for now and are trying some critical care and something else (I’ll find the name later) that should get things moving. We had a little tiny poop before the vets (which of course ended up all over me when we went to leave) so i’m hopefull things are on their way back to normal

my only issue now is how the heck I’m supposed to get all this critical care into her! we’re both covered in it after my first attempt (only 1/2 of the 25mL they suggested be given 4 X per day). hopefully round two goes a little more smoothly

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Are you using a syringe? I bunny burrito them and put it in sideways through the cheek and squeeze a little at a time, so they have a chance to swallow. You can mix it with some baby food (pumpkin/carrot/banana) and it might make her gobble it up!

[Scarlet_Rose]

I am glad to hear that things are looking up.  Poor thing (and poor you!).  Something to keep in mind is simethicone (anti-gas treatment).  Here is a link to a previous discussion on it:

Simethicone:

https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=1&postid=55577&view=topic

 

[Lo]

thanks kokanee we’re about to try round two in a little bit – I attempted syringe feeding some pumpkin this morning and she seemed indifferent, but turns out my other girl LOVES it!

Simethicone was suggested by the vet also, and he gave me a doseage but said to hold off unless I felt her belly was bloating or getting hard. I’ll see how these two things go for tonight and add simethicone tomorrow evening if we’re not seing results.

so stressfull! I think I’m completly turned off being a human mommy now

[MimzMum]

lolz…Let me tell you from experience, being a human mommy is MUCH easier! ^_^
Glad to hear she is doing better. Everyone else has given you wonderful suggestions, so I’ll just send along further healing vibes! ((((((loisme & bunny)))))))

[RabbitPam]

https://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/forumid/2/postid/68983/view/topic/Default.aspx

I just saw this thread. Hope she’s better today.

{{{{{{{{{{Healing vibes}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Above is the link to K&K’s post “Bunny burrito-how to video!!” It’s excellent, and may help with the syringe feeding. Definitely from the side of the mouth is much, much easier as well.

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