A very skiny rabbit

[ilovetegocalderon]

Do you have a photo?

 

[jasptobes]

HelloDribbles,

I'm wondering what your bunnie's poop looks like. Is it small and dry?Or possibly nonexistent? If she has a gastrointestinal blockage causedby ingested fur (it is shedding season) or a bacterial inflammation,she won't have much of an appetite. If she hasen't passed fecal pelletsfor over a day, please don't delay in taking her to the vet. Is shedrinking water, at least? I would measure what's in her bowl or bottledaily.

Critical Care given through a syringe is the way to go for a bunny whowon't eat (coupled with Petromalt - a laxative that helps get thehairballs out - I reside in the US, so they may call it something elsethere), but she may need fluids also. I assume that you don't have afeeding syringe handy - who would? - maybe try the following from aspoon.

If it will be a bit of time before you can get to the vet, you cantempt your little one with baby food - banana, squash, peaches, pears.In small quantities. It will keep her gastrointestinal tract working,which is very important.

I've been there with rescued rabbits, and if I can't answer your questions I'll find someone who can.

Best of luck

Lisa

[email protected]

 

[Dribbles]

the poops are small round and slightly wet, ihave been wetting the cucumber and putting a table-spoon of oats on thecucumber. She still eats but doesent seem to be getting any heavier.

 

[jasptobes]

Do the poops look like a cluster of grapes? Ifthey do, and are dark brown and mushy they're probably cecotropes...thesemi-digested feces that rabbits recycle (munch) to get their supply ofvitamin B.

Does the bunny have any hard round poop, as well?

The oats are a good idea, but cucumbers have a lot of water and notmuch fiber or nutritional content, relatively. I would again try squashor pumpkin baby food if you can't find Critical Care powder.

 

[Haley]

Dribbles,

what type of hay and pellets are you feeding? Is she eating them?

 

[Dribbles]

its recycled hay but we used to get a bay of hayfrom pets at home, the pellets i cant tell you about as mum put them ina ice cream tub and threw out the packaging

 

[Pipp]

I'm not a big fan of everbody reallylimiting pellets unless the bunnies aren't eating a lot of hay and theyneed encouragement to do so, or they're chubby, or you're mostlyfeeding them veggies.I also prefer that my bunniesare if anything just a touch chubby, I like just a bit of a buffer incase they stop eating.

I would gage how much they seem to wantat a feeding (justonce a day) andgive them that, but withno leftoversallowed.The rest of the day it's hay andveggies.

I actually only give mine a the small, recommended amount of pellets,but that's with HUGE bunnies salads with multiple veggies.HUGE bunny salads.

I'm not sure that cucumber is a great veggie, though. Are yougiving them a good variety? Lots of dark green things and one ortwoother coloured choices? I also don't agree thatyou should avoid broccoli and cauliflower, just make sure it'sintroduced slowly and it doesn't give anybunny gas. (All fiveof mine are fine with both). And carrots are fine, just not aton of them.

I also don't see anything wrong with alfalfapellets,especially if they're eatinga lot of Timothy hay.And alfalfa hay isn't that bad, if it comes down to alfalfa or nothing,I'd go with the alfalfa, especially with the bunnies being under a yearold. Timothy Hay and Timothy Pellets were initiallybeing hawked because 'less active' bunnies need higherfiberthan what's available, and a lower proteinrate. If you have a young bunny who eats lots ofhay, anyway, or an older bunny that's not overweight and/or and scootsaround the house a lot, you don'tneedto worry.

I agree that a vet should check them out. There could be other things going on with them.

The vet maywant to know the type of hay and brand of pellets, too, can you call the place you got it from and ask?



sas

 

[JimD]

Hi Dribbles,

You'll need to decide if the bun is at risk of surviving due to hercondition. If there's a possibility of an underlaying reason, then youmight want to have her checked out by a vet.

I would keep feeding her separately.
Give her as much hay and water as she wants.
I don't give unlimited pellets. 1 ounce per pound of the buns normal weight is ok.
Keep feeding her the same food.
Try to find out what kind of feed it is, because you'll want to keep the buns on a consistent diet.
You may want to gradually switch over to a better quality feed if necessary.
All of my buns get 1/2 teaspoon of rolled oats every day.

You could also add extra alfalfa into her diet, especially if she isand older bun. Elderbuns sometimes have a harder time keeping on weightand adding alfalfa can help. Alfalfa cubes are great for thisuse....easy to measure, dispense, and monitor. Protein tolerance can bean issue so keep and eye on her poops in case they start to get soft ormushy.

 

[Dribbles]

i was going to take her to the vet but now idefinatly am trying to get her in the next few days as i think she mayhave some sort of infection as her urine is coming out gloopy withyellow and white colouring i hope theres nothing seriously wrong

 

[JimD]

My first thought would be UTI. However, thick white urine could also be an indication of too much calcium in the buns diet.
Try to get to the vet asap for a check-up and some antibiotics if needed.

Keep track of how much water she's drinking.
Don't let her get dehydrated.
You might try giving her some cranberry juice.

 

[Dribbles]

the problem is the two sisters are together so icant measure how much she drinks or poos i only noticed this because ihad just cleared them out and she was crouched in the corner and whenshe moved it was there.

She spends alot of time in the bedroom part where you cant see in she isnt active she is so docile she lets you pick her up

One of the other rabbits that is on its own has diarea. What could this be?

 

[Dribbles]

right i have just set up the spare hutch, i haveput the cat bowl with the two sides in one side with food the otherwith water, i have given her unlimited hay aswell i also put acardboard tube in there for her. Is there anything else i should do.

Where i have seperated them they are already making noises to eachother so i am going to put them together at night and in the morningsplit the up again.


but when i put them back together wont the other rabbit be teritorail?

 

[naturestee]

Yes, if you separate her you would need torebond her with the others before allowing them to live togetheragain. But if you're having trouble getting enough food intoher because the others take it or if you need to keep closer track ofher food and potty habits, it is best to separate her.

If her urine is suddenly thicker than normal, it could be a urinarytract infection. Those can cause bladder sludge.I'm glad you're taking her to a vet.

As for the other rabbit with diarrhea, that could be a lot ofthings. Is it cecals or fecals? Maybe he'ssensitive to something you're feeding him? He might also havea coccidia infection or another parasite problem. You shouldprobably take him in to the vet too, and bring a sample with you.

 

[Dribbles]

The problem i have is:

the vet i use (pdsa) only let you have three animals on there records,i have my brothers cat on there, and two of our dogs which we no longerhave, and the dogs are going to take 6months to be cleared of therecords.

So as i have that problem and we dont have much money i cant get themto a private vet or to the vet i already use (pdsa which only runs ondonations)

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[Haley]

Dribbles, you really need to get these rabbitsto the vet. Please speak with your parents if you cant affordit. Maybe you could offer to work it off by doing chores or pay themback gradually.

We really cant know what is wrong with your bunnies. It could be anynumber of infections that is causing the clouded urine and thediarrhea. Please get them to a vet as soon as possible.

 

[jasptobes]

Just a thought, Dribbles: given your vetsituation, would you give a thought to seeking advice and/or freetreatment from a veterinary school? I live in the US (where this isdone quite a bit, at least to my experience), but I know there's a veryreputable program at the University of London. Perhaps your mum couldcontact a compassionate administrator or faculty member at:

The Royal Veterinary College
University of London
Royal College Street
London NW1 0TU
ENGLAND
Telephone: 020 7468 5000
Fax: 020 7388 2342

There are so many possible causes for your bunnies' symptoms. I thinkthat all of the suggestions you've been given have been excellent, andvery sound(and based on both research and first-handexperience from the kind rabbit lovers on this forum). In absoluteagreement with them, though, you may need to have cultures or othertests done to confirm a diagnosis so that you can start the most directtreatment plan.

Don't lose heart, Dribbles.

 

[Haley]

How are they doing today Dribbles?

 

[Dribbles]

Honey has been putting on weight slowly butsteadily fingers crossed, dribbles seems ok now her poos are in avariety sometimes in clusters (like grapes) and at other times itsdiarea. I will try my hardest to get her to the vet (thanks haley andjasptobes) keep your fingers crossed for the three girls.

 

[Haley]

the ones that are like little grape clusters arececotropes. Those are the ones the bunnies are supposed to eat. Ifyoure seeing lots of those around, theres probably something wrong thebunnies diet. Diahrea can also be caused by a poor diet.

Have you read through the feeding link that Naturestee just created? Itmight be something as simple as changing their veggies/pellets etc.

 

[jasptobes]

No need to ask, Dribbles - I'm keeping myfingers and toes crossed. I'm glad to hear that your littlle guys seemto be doing a bit better - maybe one other thing I would do is removetheir fresh veggies (especially the watery ones) for a bit until theystart making firm round poop, or you can get them to a vet, and offermore pellets and hay. For the time being, I think you want to get themto eat as many concentrated calories as they can.

Another idea, for what it's worth - are they drinking out of a bottle,or a bowl? It may be time to sterilize their water source with Very hotwater and a good detergent scrub, after which you rinse about ten timesmore than you think you need to. It can't hurt.

Sending all of my good wishes to you and your little guys