Precautions to take after sick bunny?

[Megan & Jackson]

Hello all!

I’ve recently become a mother of an 8-week-old lionhead bunny. He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen 

However, not too long ago, I was also a mother to a female lionhead who tragically became sick with a horrible case of diarrhea, and passed within 15 hours. I was heartbroken to say the least.

I’ve cleaned all the cages, water bottles, cups, etc. multiple times with bleach and washed down everything real well. However, I am a little cautious to let my new baby boy run around my room in the places my female bunny did, in fear that maybe he will get sick from her? What can I do to help prevent this?

[Bam]

First of all, congrats to your new bunny!!!

I don’t think there’s much else to do than what you’ve already done: Clean everything. Bleach will kill most bad things. I’m guessing you did the cleaning a while ago, so there’s no bleach left your new bun can ingest? You can use vinegar and water as a bunny safe disinfectant. All toys should be washed and all fabric – but you’ve probably done that already.

I wish you the best of luck with your new bunny!

[Sarita]

I suspect your first rabbit had coccidia. It is a good idea to have any rabbit you get a visit to the vet and a fecal test to check for coccidia. Coccidia can be treated.

[Megan & Jackson]

Yes, all of the previous items like cages and water bottles and stuff were wiped down and washed off multiple times. My main concern was the area (my room) that I let her run around in. How exactly do I clean that for my new little guy? Any ideas?

[Bam]

From what I find, coccidia is spread via the feces. The oocysts can survive in moist environments for a long time, but indoors climate is seldom very moist. I think it would be enough to clean the floor and surfaces within reach. Coccidia is common in many species of pets (but they are species-specific, so dog-coccidia doesn’t infect rabbits and vice versa) and there may be outbreaks in shelters, but they don’t have to fumigate the whole place to get rid of it, thorough hygiene is enough. Fecal contamination is what you want to avoid, i e the new rabbit shouldn’t get into contact with poop from the sick rabbit. The risk of that seems low to me seeing that you’ve done lots of thorough cleaning already.
There is a rabbit safe disinfectant called Virkon-S that is used in horse- stables, it can be bought in small satchets, it’s not expensive. You could try and get some of that if it’d make you feel more safe.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m sorry for you loss.

Do you have a bunny savvy vet? If not, and you are in US, we may be able to help you find one.

[Megan & Jackson]

Thank you all for the advice! And I do have a bunny friendly vet

[Author]

Messages