# EMERGENCY !!! (for a bunny) PLEASE HELP URGENT !!!



## Julie (Oct 6, 2007)

my bunny has yellowish diarrhea and also just lost her bunny buddy a day ago ... and now she is "near death" .. barely moving.

I don't know what happened to her buddy (a flemish giant baby bunny the same age) ... before I knew anything was even wrong, she was dead.

As for this bunny that's still alive (but barely) ... she's a giant chinchilla bunny who's 12 weeks old. She seemed fine up until today ... she's next to lifeless ... just laying there in a bunny resting position. When I pick her up she doesn't barely move ... but when I moved around with her in my arms a little - she did kick a bit, but she didn't put up a "BIG" fight. My husband rolled her on her side and she didn't fight him about that either. She looks so pitiful ... her eyes don't look "alive" ... her water froze today and I don't know how long it was froze for (most likely atleast all day) plus I JUST NOW realized she has some yellowish diarrhea on her backend. I didn't see it in her cage (?) and I didn't even see it on her ... but then when my hubby was trying to roll her on her side ... he spotted it then. So is she dehydrated ? Or something else ?

I tried giving her water right away ... she wasn't interested ... unless she's just to weak to accept it. I did syringe a little into her anyway.

I have meds ... Pennicillian, Scour Treatments, etc. but I have mostly livestock meds. I'm used to treating goats, and other livestock ... but never before a bunny. So I don't know if anything I have is safe for her or not ???


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

Maybe you should keep trying to syringe water into her
She might be dehydrated I wouldnt know im not experianced in bunnies sorry 

I hope she pulls through ray:


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## Julie (Oct 6, 2007)

Just so I don't have to double post ... Here's my "original" post on the bunny forum ..

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic ... 40#p547740

(if you can see it without being a member ???)

Thing is, these ppl are "go to the vet" ppl ... they are not "try what you can at home" ppl at all. I'm all for vets, but we just don't have the money to spend ! And I do have meds here ... just not sure what (if any) is safe for bunnies and/or what dosages, etc. So I really really hope that someone with such knowledge can help me out.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Sorry Julie...the only thing I've ever dealt with in rabbits was ear mites and hairballs....sorry you lost her buddy, I don't know what could be wrong :shrug:


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## Laurel_Haven (Oct 20, 2007)

Do you happen to have some Nutri-Drench? If so I would give her a couple of drops of it to help raise her blood sugar level. I have seen it for rabbits and Nutri-Drench is pretty much the same just labeled different for other types of animals. It shouldn't hurt her to give her maybe an ml or little less. That may perk her back up.

I am not at all experienced with rabbits so I can't help much... sorry.

Are these the rabbits you just got?


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

DO NOT GIVE PEN!!!!!!!!!! Pen will kill a rabbit!

Sounds like she might be hypoglycemic and dehydrated. Get some SQ fluids in her - Dextrose - IV would be even better. If there is a vet - get some Baytril injectable from them and get it in her.


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

What is her temp?? is she nibbling at all?

I am sorry about her pen mate. Sounds like you have something weird going on with the bunnies. Were they purchased from the same place?

Sounds like she really REALLY needs a catheter put in for fluids.


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## Sonrise Farm (Sep 18, 2008)

I hope your bunny get's better. . . ray: I don't know anythign, but I will pray.


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## Laurel_Haven (Oct 20, 2007)

I just read that diarrhea in rabbits is very rare and usually a sign of something serious that a vet should be consulted. I know you can't afford one right now so i would start doing some serious research on the internet.
it said diarrhea is usualy caused by these three diseases... Coccidiosis, Tyzzer's Disease, and Mucoid Enteritis so you may want to start with that.

Best of luck with her and I sure do hope you can find the cause and help her quickly. ray:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Julie...I did a search and it says that diarrea in young bunnies is often caused by parasites...cocci mentioned as well as a viral infection...a bit of kaeopectate will solidify the stools but dehydration is usually the killer.

Diarrhea
True diarrhea (unformed, watery feces) is relatively rare in adult rabbits. It can be caused by intestinal parasites, such as coccidia (Eimeria spp.), roundworms, tapeworms, or anything that inflames the intestinal lining. Your rabbit-experienced veterinarian will be able to examine a fecal sample (you should probably provide the vet with a bit both fecal and cecal pellets) to examine them for signs of parasitic infection. 

True diarrhea is more common in baby rabbits. One of the most common causes is coccidia, and if you see runny stool in your baby rabbit, you must get him to the vet as soon as possible for treatment. In a baby rabbit, dehydration caused by diarrhea can rapidly result in death. It is wise to consider runny stool in a baby rabbit a true emergency.

. Weaning Too Young
If the bunny suffering from runny stool is a baby, how old is he? If younger than eight weeks, and not nursing, his runny stool problem may be due to his being weaned too young. Many pet stores will (illegally) sell rabbits younger than eight weeks of age (and some as young as four weeks!), because that is when they are still "cute" and more apt to be purchased on a whim. Sadly, many of these babies will succumb to intestinal disorders. 
Unlike most mammals, baby rabbits have a sterile lower intestine until they begin to eat solid food at the age of 3-4 weeks. It is during this time that their intestines are at their most critical phase, and the babies need their mother's milk, which changes pH and provides vital antibodies that help the baby gradually adjust to his changing intestinal environment. Without mother's milk, a baby starting to eat solid food is highly susceptible to enteritis (inflammation of the intestinal lining), which can cause fatal diarrhea. 

At the first sign of runny stool in a baby rabbit, off to the vet! Treatment for diarrhea in baby rabbits will probably include subcutaneous fluid thereapy, and administration of oral probiotics. Lactobacillus acidophilus powder (NOT yogurt, which can make the problem worse) suspended in clean drinking water and carefully administered via syringe seems to help foster a healthy intestinal environment and may even soothe intestinal inflammation. A very small amount of a clay-based product such as Kaopectate can help solidify the stool and stop the cycle. 


2. Intestial Parasites
As mentioned before, coccidial infection is very common in some areas, and some vets will simply treat a baby rabbit's diarrhea as coccidia, even without a fecal test. Common antibiotics used to treat coccidia include Albon and the potentiated sulfas, such as Trimethoprim Sulfa (TMZ) or Bactrim. 
this was taken from the page I found.


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

Every bunny that I saw with this problem was cocci - and it comes on FAST!


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## Julie (Oct 6, 2007)

I'm so overjoyed with all the help you all are offering me ! Being a goat forum ... I never realized how helpful you all would be to me with this situation ... I love you guys so much ! I feel like crying right now ! You touched my heart by stepping up and pouring out your opinions to help my little bunny ... it really means ALOT to me ! :grouphug: 

My bunny is doing SOOO much better just from being in my house near the furnace ! She's now hopping around on her own free will ... before she was barely moving ! (she was and normally is kept in my barn ... but seeing that she's sick, I brought her into the house) what a difference just doing that !!!

I'm talking with a lady on the rabbit forum who's being helpful as well. I'm getting ready to give the fluids sq (as soon as hubby comes up from the barn with my needle/syringe I need to do it). 

I will reply to some of your posts in a minute ... I just wanted to give this quick update.


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## Julie (Oct 6, 2007)

ok - to reply about the chance of coccidiosis ... I've been told by the rabbit breeders, etc. that rabbits have a very sensitive digestion system. They can get diarrhea quick with any food changes, etc.

So - I'm not certain that it's a disease or anything though ... I'm really curious if the scours is a result of overfeeding. They were doing well on their feed and I was gradually giving them more and more ... and then I decided to add more to that yet (in hopes they would really grow like weeds so to speak) ... and was giving them unlimited feed basically. They weren't eating it like hogs though ... it never went empty. And I would check it once a day - it was never empty - I would just add to it to keep the level up. So I may have brought this on myself. And if it is simply food related - I would hate to go medicating her for no reason and possibly cause other problems.

so what do ya think ?


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

What type of fluids are you giving? What is her temp? 

Please make sure and warm the fluids in the microwave to luke warm before giving the fluids - you don't want to make her cold,


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## Julie (Oct 6, 2007)

Oh and ... the diarrhea doesn't smell. I didn't even know she had diarrhea until hubby tried rolling her onto her side (when she was acting really bad ... almost nonresponsive) and he noticed the yellow poo under her butt.


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

kelebek said:


> DO NOT GIVE PEN!!!!!!!!!! Pen will kill a rabbit!
> 
> Sounds like she might be hypoglycemic and dehydrated. Get some SQ fluids in her - Dextrose - IV would be even better. If there is a vet - get some Baytril injectable from them and get it in her.


i've never had pen kill a rabbit.. neither has my friend

sounds like cocci or something real bad

check this site out

[url="http://www.thenaturetrail.co...w.thenaturetrail.com/Holland-L ... arrhea.htm


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Julie...I hope she makes it....too bad about her buddy.

We always had those hopper type feeders for our rabbits, they got refreshed daily but we never had a rabbit completely eat all that was in them, winter time we even gave them half ears of corn to chew on and never had an issue...it might be a no-no to do that but we had some really nice sized freezer rabbits. Hope she is doing better.


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

Giving Pen will cause the skin to become necrotic at the injection site, which leads to infection and can kill the rabbits. I used to work for a vet that did rabbits (most wont touch them) and that is what he told me. We ALWAYS used baytril


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

are there two kinds of pen?

cause my friends mom has been doing rabbits for 45 + years and she's never had that problem


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## Amos (Oct 2, 2008)

It does sound like parasites, it can kill a rabbit within hours, from my expirience. We've only had it happen twice, and it they died before we caught it, so I'm not sure what to reccommend for you. Sorry.. I hope she pulls through though. The NutriDrench sounds like a good idea to me though, to perk her up and keep her eating/drinking. Dehydration doesn't occure in rabbit too often, and I think it would take about a half week without water for it to really occure.


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## deenak (Oct 10, 2007)

It might be too cold in the barn for babies. I had to move mine to the garage where it was warmer when they were babies. We have two sets of water bottles because their water always freezes. I take fresh ones out in the morning and in the evening. The lady at the feed store keeps a birdbath heater in her rabbits water but I am afraid that the goats would chew on the cord so I haven't tried that idea. Also I only feed ours in the morning and in the evening about 3/4 cup each and I will give them some hay at night. Hope your little one feels better.


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## Laurel_Haven (Oct 20, 2007)

I was just wondering how the bunny was doing this morning? I am hoping she pulled through the night and is up hopping around being a happy bunny again. :dance:


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

I'm a bit late to getting to this...but there is something called "bene-bac" that can help with rabbit diarrhea...depending on the cause of it. 
Sometimes rabbits get the runs when their intestinal flora gets out of whack--which can happen from overeating. Everyone's right when they say rabbits get dehydrated easily and can go down hill fast so definitely be sure to get some fluids in her...

I know Pen. kills guinea pigs, however, I have never heard of it hurting a rabbit...but you never know, I guess. I would stay away from antibiotics unless you're sure they're needed. They can make diarrhea worse sometimes.

But, anyway, bene-bac is pretty inexpensive and I have used it with good results in both rabbits and guinea pigs. It has saved quite a few lives here...so I thought I'd let you know. I sure hope your bunny gets better...sorry you lost the other one :sigh:


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## Laurel_Haven (Oct 20, 2007)

Any news at all on this bunny??? :?


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## dobe627 (Oct 16, 2007)

Julie, my heart goes out to you. Julie posted on the rabbit forum that her little bun skittles has hopped over the rainbow bridge. I know she is really upset, hope she doesn't get mad I let you all know. 
Big hug to you JULIE :hug: Cathy


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## Amos (Oct 2, 2008)

I'm sorry to hear that Julie, its hard when you loose those cute guys..

The other day I was cleaning my room, and I found a book I never knew I had.

'Rabbit Health in the 21st Century Second Edition, by Kathy Smith'

 Coccidia:

Coccidia are parasites that are commonly found in rabbits but only occasionally cause disease. Many rabbits are "carriers" and their immune system keeps the parasite under control. When they are stressed or their immune system is compromised, an overgrowth of the parasite may cause symptoms that include diarrhea and/or inability to maintain weight.

The presence of this parasite can often (but not always) be detected by having your rabbit veterinarian perform a fecal exam (sometimes called a fecal float). If coccidia are present in the fecals of a symtomatic rabbit, your veterinarian will most likely prescribe a 10-day treatment with Albon suspension. After the treatment, your veterinarian may want to repeat a fecal exam to conform that the parasite has been eliminated.

Most species of coccidia are confined to the intestinal tract and only cause serious problem if severe diarrhea is left undiagnosed and untreated. However, there is a species that   *attacks the liver, and this form of coccidia can be fatal, *  especially in young rabbits.

Coccidia are highly contagious. If a symptomatic rabbit shares a litter-box or play area with other rabbits, your veterinarian may want to treat all the rabbits in the group or atleast to a fecal float on all.

I'm sure you knew most of this before, but I thought it was interesting enough. 
I think it could have been the stress of moving and change of whether that affected your rabbit.
But don't give up on bunnies, things happen..


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

Just curious what the status is with the bunny - I hope that he made it


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