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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Sick bunny

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    • cubiclecowgirl
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        Hi everyone,

        I’m new here and decided to join so I could see if anyone else has gone through this and can shed some light on a sick bunny situation. I have already taken her to the rabbit vet just so you know, and they’re not totally sure what’s going on either. Here’s the scoop: Poppi is a rescue rabbit (friends of mine found her dumped by their work and me being the crazy bunny lady, took her in) so I don’t know her age exactly… can’t really guess other than she seemed “young” when I got her just going by her behavior etc. About 2 weeks ago I noticed she wasn’t moving around in her cage as much (my rabbits live in a massive 3 storey cage in our heated horse barn -which is nicer than a lot of houses- so although they’re not house bunnies they are pretty darn spoiled! have toys, friends in adjoining cages, all are spayed/neutered etc) and then noticed her mouth was crooked. But she was eating and seemed perky so I didn’t worry (plus I’ve been dealing with major health problems myself and a cross-country move coming up in the next month so I have been busier than usual) and just kept an eye on her. Last week I finally had time to get ahold of my friend who is a vet and asked her about it, and she thought it might be infection so we started her on Baytril. I’m not convinced that it is an infection however as she doesn’t look sick. No respiratory signs or any other symptoms. But Baytril won’t hurt so just in case we started her on it. I also made an appointment with the rabbit specialist vet and had her seen there last week. He wasn’t sure whether it was an infection, or possibly a stroke. Her balance is slightly wonky, and her mouth is crooked. That’s about it for symptoms. Otherwise she’s doing the things a normal bunny does, and still eats well, moves around (I moved her to a single level cage that is easier for her and she’s still using her litterpan and seems perky. I’ve also let her out for a bounce in the horse stall and she enjoys that quite a bit) so I’m puzzled. I sent a photo to my usual vet and she thought it might be Horner’s Syndrome. Does anyone have any experience with this? From what I read it seems to affect their eyes and her eyes seem to be fine. The rabbit vet checked her teeth too and they’re good as well. It does seem to be neurological. The rabbit vet added metacam for me to give for 4 days and to continue Baytril. Would adding a steroid help if it is nerve damage? any ideas? I’m including a photo I took of her yesterday so you can see what I mean about the crooked mouth.

         


      • Bam
        Moderator
        16836 posts Send Private Message

          The only thing I know of all your questions is that steroids are often given to prevent loss of nerve-function due to swelling when there is nerve-damage of any kind. If the vet suspects some sort of auto-immune disorder that affects the nervous-system, steroids would also be given, to make the body’s attack on itself less vigorous. (Auto-immune diseases occur when the body’s immune-system can’t tell the difference between self and non-self. As I’m guessing you know, though.)

          Best wishes for your sweet little rabbit! She looks adorable.


        • LittlePuffyTail
          Moderator
          18092 posts Send Private Message

            I don’t know much about this situation, but I’ve seen pictures of bunnies that have had a stroke and they often end up with facial nerve damage, hence the crooked smile. Hard to tell for sure.

            I think there are some members who have had bunnies have seizures/strokes and may be able to comment.

            I agree with Bam. Your little girl is really adorable. I hope all is well with her.


          • Sarita
            Participant
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              I would definitely NOT RECOMMEND STEROIDS – rabbits are very sensitive to these and they are the last thing ever ever to use on a rabbit.

              I think it would be good to have some bloodwork done if you have not so you can see if it is indeed an infection – no need to guess on this. It might also be useful to get a head radiograph.

              My understanding of Horner’s is that this is just a symptom of some disease or trauma so it’s not an actual diagnoses of WHY this occurred, not the actual problem.


            • cubiclecowgirl
              Participant
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                Thank-you for the feedback!
                I wasn’t sure whether steroids would be helpful or not and had read that they can be used for Horner’s syndrome to help nerve damage. I will ask my vet what he thinks about the nerve damage theory later today. It could be a stroke. Could be infection or trauma (trauma seems unlikely as she hasn’t been anywhere that I can think of that she could get hurt… her cage is pretty safe) so I’m not sure about that. It would be good to get bloodwork and a radiograph done but I’m not in a position to spend much money on diagnostics I’m sorry to say. She’ll either get better with minimal treatment or not. I have a lot on my plate right now and a small zoo of animals to take care of, and I just can’t justify spending a lot on a rabbit who may or may not make it even if I do go through all the testing available. I’ve already been down this path with a bunny who had a pasteurella infection a few years back and I racked up big vet bills, slept beside her in the barn and syringe fed her every 2 hrs around the clock, and gave subcutaneous fluids with an IV etc etc only to have to put her down anyway. I love my bunnies but there’s a limit to what I’ll do now. I simply can’t afford it. However, Poppi is perky and acting pretty normal so that’s all good. If she continues on this way, I might not be able to take her when I move (I’m moving thousands of miles away and driving my small animals across the country) but she can stay here at my parents’ farm and they’ll look after her.


              • Bam
                Moderator
                16836 posts Send Private Message

                  Steroids don’t adress the cause of a disease, they minimize the symtoms. Very often our own immune-systems make a slight problem a thousand times worse by over-reacting. I want to stress that I have absolutely no experience when it comes to steroids and bunnies. When my bunny Bam had a reaction to a double vaccine, the vet said what they’d do if it became really serious was to give steroids (cortison), so cortison is apparently sometimes used on rabbits, but luckily Bam came out of it ok, with only a few sores in his ears which were treated with antibiotic cream to prevent secondary infections.

                  Can you see her tongue? If it is pointing to one side, i e the side of the face that isn’t drooping, that would be another sign that it’s a stroke. (That would mean that the muscles on the affected side are lax/without tone, so the tongue would be drawn to the healthy side.)

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              Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Sick bunny