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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 DIET & CARE Bunny doesn’t like to eat or drink on her own!

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    • LadyHops
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        I bought my chubby bunny from the RSPCA, desexed and vaccinated and have now had her for over 4 months. She has become quite attached to me and enjoys spending time cuddling with me and playing I had her living outdoors in a very comfortable home made hutch with plenty of straw and hay available and she was very happy.

        A couple of weeks ago I went to let her out and she didn’t budge! I gently pulled her out and placed her on the ground to discover my poor little bun couldn’t hop without falling over! She kept rolling onto her left side and this was immensely stressing her out, causing her to roll more. I picked her up immediately and brought her inside, noticing that she also had gunky eyes and a runny nose. I made an appointment at the vet within the next hour and rushed down there with her where the vet diagnosed her with pasteurella. She was put on Enrotril Oil 2x daily and Doxycyline 2x daily.Her temperature was recorded a little low but nothing else was checked.

        I brought her home and the symptoms worsened that evening, she started to display signs of myxo :'( She had one eye that was now not just gunky, but also weepy and her genitals looked swollen. She looked uncomfortable and I just tried feeding her and making sure she was drinking and I constantly wiped her eyes with warms pads of water. 

        The next morning her eyes were better! Her nose had also cleared up and I was so happy. However, this is when I noticed she hadn’t been pooing. I felt her tummy and she was quite gassy so I bought her some infant simethicone and stayed up into the evening rubbing her tummy. She hadn’t stopped eating but just sort of lightly grazed on veggies and had gone off her normal food (pellets, most of her hay – she didn’t even eat mixed food when I offered it)

        Her tummy made loud gurgling sounds and she ground her teeth all night with me up until 3am rubbing her tummy, and again at 5. I was so worried she wouldn’t make it through the night which is why I comforted her and tried to help relieve her. She hadn’t responded to the simethicone at all, so it was straight back to the vet the next day. 

        This time they administered subq fluids and the vet taught me how to do this at home when I asked. I asked the vet for motility drugs and she didn’t know they existed until she researched it upon me really pushing to administer something to help move things along. I’d been so worried about the other symptoms I hadn’t realized just how long it had been since she had pood. The vet finally prescribed cisapride capsules which I had to break up, divide into 5ths and dissolve to administer. She did her first 6 poo balls a little after this! This confirmed there was no blockage and she picked up from this point, gradually getting better. 

        It’s been quite a few days since this stage and she has immensely improved in the poo department (back to normal) I’m worried though, that she isn’t eating enough or drinking enough. She will usually only drink from a syringe of water even though I have a bottle and bowl set up for her and she won’t really eat unless i push grass and hay in her face. She wont eat her pellets, she won’t eat the oxbow critical care (I’m worried about her aspirating this from a syringe because it all seems to shoot out at once from the pressure, having solids inside), she just nibbles some oaten hay and grass and veggies, but I can feel her spine now!! She used to have a big neck fat bulge but it has turned into skin now

        She is still falling to the side so I think she may have had a stroke rather than pastuerella, but it is not affecting her as much anymore as she is aware of it and moves slower and more carefully. I’m a physiotherapy student at the moment so I can work on rehab but I need her to be eating and drinking of her own accord before I finish my uni break at the end of this week!!

        Sorry This is so long! I wanted to provide the history leading up to this. 


      • Roberta
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          Hi Ladyhops, sounds like you are on my side of the equator… I know several members have dealt with these problems but as many of them are in the US, UK or other countries it will still be early morning for them… So don’t get despondent if it takes a few hours to get a reply.
          Mean while it sounds like you are doing what you can… Is it possible to move her inside so she can be closely monitored ? Is it just her balance or is her head actually tilted ? Have they done any tests and Is it possible to get a second opinion from another rabbit savvy vet in your area ? It concerns me that your vet was not aware of gut motility drugs for rabbits, not that she is a bad vet just that she may not have the full knowledge or experience.


        • Sarita
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            Yes, please bring her inside the house permanently if you haven’t done so yet.

            It sounds as if she is eating some on her own which is good. I’m any wondering about any tests like a culture and sensitivity test or any bloodwork as well.

            I agree that it sounds as if you probably have a good vet but not one with much experience with rabbits. Did the vet give you any critical care to feed her? You might also try pumpkin puree as well to see if that helps any.


          • Roberta
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              Bumping…..


            • Roberta
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                Try to introduce greens high in Vit E too. They help boost the immune system… Failing that get some pure vit E capsules pierce the end and put a couple of drops into the CC.


              • Roberta
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                  How is she doing today ? Any signs of improvement….


                • Roberta
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                    Sarita, Do you think it would be worth suggesting the vet checking for EC ?… I am not to well versed in the symptoms but there seems to be some similarities.


                  • JackRabbit
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                      Roberta — what greens are high in vit E?


                    • MoveDiagonally
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                        Roberta — what greens are high in vit E?

                        Spinach is a good source of vitamin E.


                      • Roberta
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                          Kale, spinach, chard, capsicum (bell pepper), parsley, basil, asparagus, broccoli, oregano and cilantro… Most greens contain some vit E but some have much higher quantities…


                        • LadyHops
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                            Hi everyone thanks for your replies,
                            I moved her into my bedroom the first day I found her falling over, she does have a slight head tilt along with the falling but its noticeable over the entire left side of her body
                            She’s been eating lots of leafy green veggies now and shes tasted some of her pellets of her own accord thankfully! But she’s far from eating her normal amount.
                            The vet did give me some critical care for her but she hates it! It’s difficult to syringe feed it to her as well because it gets lumpy and cloggs up inside. She’s definitely improving now though and shes finished the antibiotics course she was given. Her poos are quite normal now as well so I can focus a lot more on the tilting now.
                            I don’t really think there are any bunny savvy vets in the area :/ which is why I did all my research and took it to them.
                            Sorry I thought I’d get a message to tell me when this had been approved lol, I only just signed up so I haven’t checked back until now, I’ve been very preoccupied with my bun.
                            Shes had some kale, spinach, parsley, endives and celery bought especially for her, a few other things from the fridge as well and of course some carrots because she loves them. I tried to give her banana as a treat but oddly she doesn’t like it! She will go for apple though. I’m worried about her not getting enough fibre now though if she only goes for the veg but I’m extremely glad she’s eating more.


                          • Roberta
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                              It might be an idea to see your vet and get a further course of the antibiotics…. Glad to hear she is eating more…. I’m not really up on head tilt, EC or pasturella so hopefully the others will chime in…


                            • Roberta
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                                The House Rabbit Society has a very good list of bunny savvy vets, I also found some on the Bunspace vet search… Sometimes just googling for exotic vets in your area will bring results.


                              • Roberta
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                                  Actually Ladyhops, what state/city are you in maybe one of us already knows or has a vet in close proximity or at least one that your vet can contact for information.


                                • LadyHops
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                                    Tuggerah, NSW, 2259 (Central Coast Au)
                                    I am glad she’s doing quite a bit better but it would be good to get another opinion.
                                    She’s just stretched out on the floor now all comfy and looking up at me for attension It’s so nice to see her calm and not in pain and grinding her teeth


                                  • LadyHops
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                                      on researching the vet I went to their description includes: “We also treat a variety of exotic pets (including birds, ferrets, guinea pigs, rats, mice and rabbits)” – They do treat yes, but they don’t seem very rabbit savvy


                                    • LadyHops
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                                        on researching the vet I went to their description includes: “We also treat a variety of exotic pets (including birds, ferrets, guinea pigs, rats, mice and rabbits)” – They do treat yes, but they don’t seem very rabbit savvy


                                      • Roberta
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                                          Hmmm…. The Tuggerah Vet Practice looks to be the best in the area unless you wanted to travel to Gosford or Newcastle (The one in Wyong does reptiles but I noticed none of them own bunnies), it might be worth checking them out so you know if there is someone for back up and emergencies… I know the area relatively well round Woywoy, Terrigal, Toowoon Bay, The Entrance, Empire Bay and Long Jetty but I can’t say I ever needed to see any vets in the area.


                                        • Roberta
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                                            I’ll do some poking about on the weekend


                                          • Roberta
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                                              Maybe try a few different hays to, some buns can be fussy… They really need it for thier teeth and tummies. But until then veg and pellets is good given the circumstances.


                                            • LadyHops
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                                                It’s been a little while now and she started drinking on her own again, I remodeled her hutch to make it safer and padded the entire thing with hay so its comfy, stable and she can nibble as well
                                                She was only on the antibiotics given for 1 week and it did help, she was left with a slight head tilt but it didn’t interfere with her daily activities.
                                                yesterday afternoon though I took her outside for a hop on the grass and when I brought her back so started rolling into her food bowls and tipped up the water. Her right eye starting bulging and it was as if all of the muscles on her left side were contracting and pulling her into a much larger head tilt. She settled down last night and can hop fine but has very noticeable nystagmus. I rushed her to the vets this morning and they sold me the entire bottle of enrotril to keep her on indefinitely until she improves which I’m pleased about because it did seem to help last time.
                                                My question is she was also combined with doxycyline last time, is this a necessity. The vet said enrotril was the most important and that’s the one I wanted to buy because it did help her improve, however since it is much worse this time should she be on anything else with the enrotril?
                                                Thanks everyone! And thankyou for your support and help when she started to get sick.
                                                She now has a little friend to look after her as well who she’s bonded with since I’ve started this semester back at uni just to keep her company and she uses him as support to lay on when she feels like shes going to fall over, it’s so cute

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                                            Forum DIET & CARE Bunny doesn’t like to eat or drink on her own!