diagnosis - ???

[SheShe]

Hi all , am new, will introduce myself a bit later - now I have an emergancy.

This is an email I recieved from a friend - Boris is a young adult,spaded rex - he was born in my barn but was a super runt - so I gavehim to my friend as a pet. He now weights 5 lbs - 2.4 kilosat around 150 days old. His parents weighted 3 kilos asadults - I bought his parents from the same place and I suspect theywere very inbred. She says he poops and eat normal - he is avery nice pet bunny - sociable, gentel,smart.

"I am still afraid Boris is not well. He has tons of energy in the morning
for about an hour, comes running out of the cage and across the yard like a
happy little kid. And then he collapses....as he is doing now (8:15 a.m.).
He will jus lay in the dirt totally prone, and if I pick him up, he either
just is a dishrag, or he starts to shake. No temperature...and he eats,
drinks and poops ok, but he seems to be weak alot of the time. He is also
very small....maybe three pounds...and not gaining weight. I am not sure
whats wrong, but it seems something is. I am also not sure the vet would
know what to do, and besides, Boris shakes so badly when we go, I'm afraid
he'll have a heart attack.. When I pick him up it's like he's saying "mommy,
I feel awful"...but then he'll hop off happily and collapse twenty minutes
later. I dunno....maybe I've made him neurotic too. When I put him in the
cage, he starts to shake again. Whats a mom to do?"

I am going to see them next week and plan to take a shot of ivermectinefor internal paresits and a injected treatment of sulfas in casecoccsidiiosis has something to do with the problem. Anysuggestions ?

Thanks a lot,

She

 

[naturestee]

Has she taken this rabbit to a vetyet? This sounds like it might be some type ofseizure. This could be caused by E. cuniculi or geneticissues. Single seizures can be caused by eating somethingpoisonous, but this is an ongoing problem.

A good rabbit vet would be able to run some diagnostic tests tocheck. As you probably already know, not all vets know whatto do with rabbits. We have rabbit savvy vet listings herethat might help you.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=9

Keep us updated!

 

[SunnieBunnie Rabbitry]

That does sound bad...

Has her yard ever been treated with pesticides or fertilizer?I'm wondering if maybe he nibbled the grass and the toxins are causingthese seizures. Also, how old / new is his normal feed& Hay? Is it dusty, wet, or is there anymold? Does it smell fresh?

Honestly, I'd hold off on self treatment with the Ivermec and Sulfasuntil a complete blood work is done on him at the vet. Askthe vet for a complete blood panel and check for toxins too.

If his body is weakened due to something being "out of place", I'd hateto treat it without knowing the exact cause. Get to the routeof the problem and start from there.

Make sure he's drinking plenty of fluids, and I'd either keep him inthe cage for the time being or let him run in a secured area off of thegrass & dirt. This might help to rule out somethingfrom the yard causing these problems.

Good Luck & Keep us posted!

~Sunshine

 

[pamnock]

Treating with Ivomec or for cocci can do more harm than good, especially if the rabbit doesn't have any parasites.

It's possible that the rabbit has health problems related to the genesthat caused the very small stature. Could be anything fromneurological to heart problems. Or, as already mentioned,environmental. Could also be heat stress.

A vet visit is certainly in order. I highly advise againstany treatments until the owner gets an accurate diagnosis soproper treatment can begin. Until thattime,have the owner limit the rabbit's activity and avoid stress factors.



Pam

http://www.geocities.com/pamnock/

 

[SheShe]

Thank you all for replying. There isno rabbit savy vet anywhere near here nor there. I have 5years experiance with treating my herd - learned what I know from theinternet and personal experiance. Her climet is hot anddry. They do have possums that come into the yard - tho theyare trapping them and moving to a far away location. If it isa genetic problem then there is nothing we can do about it.

Thanks, She

 

[naturestee]

It's not necessarily genetic though.There are a lot of different factors that could cause this. Iforgot about mold toxins. Thanks SunnieBunnie!

Where are you located? Sometimes you can find rabbit vetswhere you wouldn't expect, or vets who are willing to consult withexperts via the phone. They would be able to have the testsdone, and get help with diagnosis from a rabbit expert.