Young rabbit not eating and very weak - Paw Talk

vickipugh · #1 08-03-2006, 03:16 PM

I feel a bit guilting about posting another question, as I haven't posted for about 5 weeks after you all offered me advice on my last rabbit.

We have a young 8 week old rabbit - had her for about 10 days now. First 5-6 days she was fine, then she starting going off her food. By Monday evening she was very larthargic and cold, so we thought she may have got cold/wet with the rain, so we brought her in-doors, warmed her up and made her up a bed in-doors. That was on Monday night.

We also starting giving her a low dose of Baytril (antibiotic) to clear up any infection she may have picked up.

We thought she was getting better - she's been a lot brighter and more active but has still not been eating her rabbit food or any fresh veg (tried carrot, brocolli, cauliflower). The only thing we have seen her eat is grass, but she has now stopped eating that. In the last few hours, she has gone really weak - she just flops over every time you put her down.

Can anybody please give me some ideas for trying to get her to eat - I am desperate now. Does anybody have any suggestions of things to tempt her with urgently? I have a syringe so can feed her any liquids that way if needed.

Please help - this is the baby of my rabbit that died a few weeks (the father) so I am desperate to keep her alive.

Thanking you in advance

Vicki

***Jade*** · #2 08-03-2006, 03:45 PM

She needs to be seen by a vet.

Additionally, the Baytril is probably hurting at this point, not helping. Baytril is a strong antibiotic and any antibiotic can disrupt the intestinal flora of a rabbit or similar animal. It is also not recommended for young animals, as it has been shown to cause growth issues in dogs. (Another reason you should never self medicate your animals.)

Please, take her to the vet. She probably needs intensive care at this point.

vickipugh · #3 08-03-2006, 03:57 PM

No vet will see her before the morning and I am concerned she won't make it that far if we can't get some food into her, fast.

Also, I'm a bit vary of vets at the moment - my last rabbit Nibbles went to the vet (8 weeks ago) with an absess on his shoulder (routine clean-up required) and ended up with a broken back (happened at the vets somehow) and he never came home again.

But my main concern is Nibblette at the moment and getting her to eat something quickly - that seems the main problem, she's only interested in grass.

Vicki

millie121 · #4 08-03-2006, 04:15 PM

In my area we have emergency vets...it's a bit of a drive (about an hour), but it might be worth looking around to see if you have anything similar to that, because unlike your regular office vets they are open 24-hours a day. In the lab, rabbits get offered kale, apple and pineapple flavored sticks when they go off feed. I don't know if any of that will help or not. I don't know what the time difference is between where you are and here...I hope morning is not too far off where you are.

Good Luck.

vickipugh · #5 08-03-2006, 04:27 PM

Thanks for your advice.

Morning is 12 hours away....

The only emergency vet is not interested in bunnies, I've tried them already. I live out in the sticks too, so I'm also concerned about stressing her out travelling too far.

I'm not sure what 'kale' is?

Can I give her milk of any sort?

Vicki

MeggieQC · #6 08-03-2006, 04:28 PM

Ok if you can;t get to a vet immediatly you will need to force feed her. all you need is a syringe, here are some recipes:

http://www.rabbit.org/care/recipes.html

You might want to try kale also.

When my bunny was sick she loves this stuff, she just hated to be syringe fed

Please keep us posted, I hope she makes it

millie121 · #7 08-03-2006, 06:13 PM

Kale is a dark green veggie, it is often good for stimulating normal eating behavior in rabbits. Here in the US it's readily available in the average grocery store.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kale

I'm glad some other rabbit folks were able to post; I hope some of MeggieQC's recipes can help! Hang in there!

vickipugh · #8 08-04-2006, 05:19 AM

Nibblette passed away while I was reading and responding to messages last night and trying to get help for her.

I also did some research on the net, I think maybe she could have had GI Stasis - the symptons seem the same (having read about it on the net). Not sure and I'll probably never know, but as you can imagine I'm rather upset...

Thanks for your advice though.

Vicki

millie121 · #9 08-04-2006, 08:55 AM

I'm very sorry, RIP little Nibblette.

OreosMommy · #10 08-14-2006, 10:23 PM

I am truely sorry for your loss.

SwC · #11 08-15-2006, 12:17 AM

Sorry for your loss as it's heartbreaking when you know you have tried all you can. Know it's with it's Daddy now across the bridge and in the short time you had him/her that it was very much loved and cared for. Not sure if you have others but I always keep Critical Care for Herbivores in my freezer for those "just in case" times. It's the best for use with one that is not only ill but in cases just to help keep the gi tract on course when dietary issues or antibiotic use comes up. You can get this at Oxbowhay.com or your vet can probably order it for you. I keep a 1 lb container at all times. I give abit routinely to my Prairie dogs weekly just to help keep thier gut level and also to keep them accustomed to the taste.

Millimi · #12 08-15-2006, 11:03 AM

I'm so sorry for your loss!