Snow White is hospitalized

[bijoupele]

I don’t even know where to start.  

I got my baby Snow White, a precious white dwarf bunny, from a pet store last Tuesday.  From the moment I met her, I fell in love with her.  We bonded almost immediately.  She was a lap rabbit.  She would always hop in my lap and asked to be petted.  She gave me so many bunny kisses. She even let me pick her up.  She’s an angel.

Earlier today, she was hopping around my computer desk as usual (where I was sitting).  Then she plopped down to her very first relaxed bunny pose (body straight with legs plopped to the right).  She looked very relaxed.  I let her be for a while.  Then I noticed that she hadn’t moved in a while, so I thought she was napping.  So I picked her up and tried to bring her back to her cage so she could sleep properly.  I picked her up, no fuss, as usual.  But after I put her in her cage, I watched her, and noticed that her breathing was rapid.  And she didn’t move for about 10 minutes, which is very unlike her.  I tried to pick her up to examine her, and when I put her back down in her cage, I put her down straight as always, but she struggled.  Then she lied down again, this time with her head to the right.  She didn’t move again for a while.  So I took her out of the cage b/c I know she loved to run around on the tiled floor.  She didn’t move at all.  This really freaked me out.  So I put her back in her cage, and looked up an ER vet for my area.  Luckily I found one about 30 mins., away.  I got a small box ready and put her in there.  That’s when I saw that she couldn’t straighten her body out at all.  And when I laid her down in the box, she kept flipping over to her right, with her legs sticking out.  I tried to pet her and place her upright, but when she moved, she rolled back to her right and landed on her back with her legs sticking up again.  I was crying and freaking out at this point.  

Got to the ER clinic, and after a little waiting, the rabbit vet examined her and pulled me into the exam room.  She said that Snow White was slightly dehydrated, temperature was low, and her heartbeat was slow.  She said she thought Snow White had vestibular disease, but wasn’t sure if it originated from the inner ear or the brain.  She wanted to keep Snow White overnight to feed her fluid, anti-biotics, penicillin, etc., and she’d call me tomorrow morning to let me know Snow White’s status.

I know I’ve only had her for 5 days, but in that time, I’ve come to love her so much, and I know she loves me too.  

What I don’t understand is that it just happened out of nowhere.  Snow White was completely fine (eating her timothy hay & pellets & drinking water normally) until all of the sudden…she wasn’t.  

So I’m sitting here, waiting, praying, & crying as I type this.

I don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t make it.

[jerseygirl]

I’m sorry to hear your experience with a new bunny has gone this way! Sending (((healing vibes))) for Snow White. It’s good there was a rabbit vet to treat her.

There are some things that can cause this sort of thing in rabbits unfortunately. Torticollis known as Head tilt. Also, a common parasite to rabbits can cause some neurological symptoms (Encephalitozoon cuniculi). Also, ear infections can cause loss of balance like you described.
That you got her prompt care it the best thing you could do.

The House Rabbit Society has lots of great info on rabbit care including article in health issues. Well worth a look. http://www.rabbit.org

Keep us posted on you sweet bunny.  It doesn’t matter that you’ve only had her 5 days, we understand how quickly one can fall for these creatures!

[Sarita]

I’m sorry! Healing vibes for Snow White. Please keep us posted.

[bijoupele]

 Thank you guys for the kind words.  

I am happy to report that I just talked to the vet a little while ago, and she said that Snow White is doing very well and that she’s hopping around, eating, pooping as normal, and that I could bring her home today, along with two medications.  I would still need to administer the meds, but the vet said that Snow White didn’t mind taking the meds, and actually liked taking it.  

I can’t begin to describe the relief I felt.  I feel very blessed and truly believe that God is watching over Snow White.

Thank you again for the support!

[bunnyluvr]

So glad to hear that Snow White got to come home. She is adorable! Continued healthy vibes coming her way! ((((((((((((((Snow White))))))))))))

[MayaConsuelo]

So good that your cute bunny is OK! Keep posting progress and checking this site too, since I got my bunny this summer it’s become one of my favorite websites.
Who knows how they cared for the pets in the store you got her from. Most likely she picked up something from the store. What are the meds for?

[Beka27]

This is so scary! I am so glad that you acted quickly! What did the vet say it is, what meds were prescribed?

(((Snow White healing vibes!)))

[bijoupele]

 Snow White is home now.  She’s a bit wobbly, but other than that, normal.  Vet prescribed 2 meds: trimeth sulfa (antibiotic) and panacur suspension (penacillin). I’m not exactly sure what they’re for…I think one is for inner ear infection, and the other one is for a possible e. cunniculi (sp?) infection.  They weren’t able to pinpoint exactly how or why this happened to her, and the vet said that Snow White is too small for them to draw any blood for blood work testing, so to be on the safe side, she gave both meds.  I’ll need to continue her treatment for the next 2 weeks.  I’ll keep posting her progress.

Thanks everyone for all the kind words.  It really means a lot to both of us.

[jerseygirl]

Panacur is an anti parasitic med. Yes, is is often given for the EC (E. Cuniculi) parasite though normally a course of 28 days (?). It wouldn’t be a Penicillin as rabbits cannot have this orally. That has to be injected.
Sometimes it is better to just get on with medicating rather then doing a bunch of tests that  stress her & can have mixed results.

It’s great she’s getting such prompt care in this & wonderful she is home with you. ((((Snow White))))

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m glad to hear everything is okay. She’s so cute.

[Deleted User]

What a happy ending to a bad scare! I hope Snow White mends fast and gets strong!

[RabbitPam]

It does sound like she started out with an infection, probably from where you got her or dormant from earlier, but you did splendidly in getting her to the vet and on the treatments fast. From this point, your vet will be able to watch her for any re-occurrences. When she’s older, blood work will confirm, but in the meantime she is well on her way. If you’re up to it, you might stop by the shop and let them know what happened. The other bunnies there may be ill as well, and they should know.

Keep us posted, hopefully with pictures in the Lounge section, where healthy cute bunnies go to show off!

[Isabelle]

I hope everything continues to go well for you! I dread my bunny ever getting sick, she’s my first bunny (and pet) too.

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

I hope Snow White feels better and the medicine keeps her healthy. Like someone else said, who knows how they cared for her at the pet store you purchased her from? My mom got a rabbit years ago from a pet store and it had diarrhea out of nowhere and then died a couple days later from a heart attack. He had something called “shipping disease” or something to that effect, was what the vet told my mom. They told her it happens when they rabbits are being transferred to the pet store. It’s a shame ;(

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