Help! Diagnose this young rabbit

[JBun]

I really hope they let you have the dad. He'd be better off with you, plus you are the only one that seems to really care about him and making sure he is ok.

It is a possibility for a rabbit to die of loneliness/depression if it decides to stop eating, after it's friend dies. He could be a little depressed or lonely, with his son gone, but as long as he seems happy to see you, and keeps eating, he should be ok.

I don't know that anything bacterial, is going to affect the hind limbs like what was going on with him. It sounds like he may have had bladder sludge, from what you described, but I don't know that it had anything to do with his death. Given the symptoms and rapid deterioration, I'm thinking e. cuniculi or poisoning. For it to be poisoning, it would have to be something only the baby was able to get a hold of and eat. Someone on here once had their rabbits eating poisonous mushrooms in their yard, that was causing hind limb paralysis, but I can't recall if any of them died.

E. cuniculi is a protozoa that can attack the brain, the nervous system, and/or the organs. It can progress slowly or rapidly. Many rabbits are carriers of it, but not all rabbits will be affected by it. My guess would be that it was e. cuniculi that caused this. Poisoning is a possibility, but considering the dad is ok, not as likely.

 

[eclairemom]

:imsorry: so sad for your loss, I too have followed your story. Take comfort in the fact that you made a huge difference in Lucky Stars life over the last few months and he was able to be happy.

 

[cornflakes]

Thanks. The dad is eating well still but after that he has nothing to do but sit by himself and his eyes are open but he looks like he's daydreaming.

What sort of toys could you suggest? I heard things like an old phone book or stuff like that he can chew on but how about one of those straw baskets? Would those be ok to chew on? Or some sort of straw/wooden ball that he can roll around and chew on?

 

[Imbrium]

baskets and balls and such are ok as long as the wood is untreated. phone books and/or big cardboard boxes are AWESOME, but they can get quite messy and the cleaning guy will probably get pissed off at you again

hard plastic baby keys, larger whiffle balls and plastic slinkies are also good bunny toys. really anything with untreated wood or hard plastic that they can grab in their teeth and toss or dig at and destroy is popular with bunnies. also tunnels. I know here, you can buy things called "cardboard forms" at a hardware store that are basically thick cardboard tunnels that can be both played in AND slowly destroyed. toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls are also good as long as there's minimal glue. you can stuff them with hay and hide some little bits of veggies or fruit in there to make a dirt cheap foraging toy.

 

[cornflakes]

thanks...will see what i can do!

 

[whitelop]

Jenny, no her rabbits didn't die. I think she treated them with something because she thought it was EC but it was the mushrooms.
I hadn't been following this for a while and I just read about Lucky Star today, oh my god, I'm so sad.

Where are you in Korea? You should look into having rabbits shipped from Korea to Canada. They need a vet signed health certificate to be shipped and its expensive, but I think its totally do able. You could bring the dad rabbit back to Canada with you. I don't know if you would be able to fly with him in the cabin or if you would have to have him shipped through another company, because there are flight restrictions for American planes on the number of animals or whatever. But you should look into it. I don't want to think about whats going to happen to the dad bunny after you leave or if they get another pair of rabbits or another rabbit.
I really hope you take him. I hope you can figure out a way to keep him and bring him back to Canada. If you at least got him back to Canada, there are rescues that could help you if you couldn't keep him. But he has a better chance of a good life in North America than he does in Korea.

I hope it all works out. I'm sorry for the loss of the baby, but you gave him a really good life for the last few months of his life. He knew you loved him so much and he knew that you were the good person. I'm sure he was a happy bun and you did so much for them. Just make sure to give the big bun a little more attention to make sure he's doing okay.

 

[cheezling]

I just read the entire thread.
It was really so touching... and sigh, such a sad ending.
I'm really hoping you can take the dad.
I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but your employer obviously doesn't care one bit so why won't didn't he let you take the rabbits? Why does he keep them in the first place? He obviously has no clue what he is doing and has let the little one suffer for so long.

 

[KeltonB]

Cornflakes, how is the dad getting along?

 

[Imbrium]

if you're interested in trying to take the dad back to Canada, you might skim through this thread - http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f40/flying-rabbits-66549/ - and PM cwolfec if you've got general questions about international travel with a rabbit. obviously, getting a rabbit from Korea to Canada will differ in some regards from getting a rabbit from Guam to the US, but the thread may still be helpful.

 

[sarah92lynn]

Poor thing!! It does look a bit like ringworm to me too, but that bun definitely needs a vet! Have you mentioned anything to the owners? I'm sure they are probably aware but I would still say something..

EDIT: Ooops, silly me didnt bother to look at how many replies this had!! Definitely not ringworm! Haha

 

[cornflakes]

Cornflakes, how is the dad getting along?

Hi, well the dad rabbit has been lonely for sure as he's usually just sitting by himself daydreaming or something. But I go and see him about three times a day now at least. When I arrive, his ears prop up and his head too and so I think he likes to have some company....he stretches lhis body and legs as if he's ready to play now...i stay around for a few minutes feeding him carrots these days along with timothy hay. He seems to be healthy and fine...but I'm more careful to check his urine and poop these days...with Lucky Star...I should have noticed his urine was sludgy and yellow/milky which was probably a sign that it was intestinal or some sort of disease cuniculi?

So I'm more attentive to his urine and poop. For the most part his urine, his clear and watery ....looks like clear/clean and not pasty or sludgy...poop is nice and round and good size.

:bunny18

 

[JBun]

Haha, you are sounding like a true bunny owner! We are always talking about our bunnies poop on here. You know when you start talking about bunny poop and checking it to make sure a rabbit is healthy, you are truly caught in the bunny love snare

I'm sure the dad bun appreciates your company, so he does't feel quite as lonely.

 

[PaGal]

You truly are doing a wonderful thing and I know it benefits you as much as it does your bun. I feel so much for the bun knowing just how spoiled all of our buns are and what amazing creatures they are so he deserves so much better.

 

[cornflakes]

About a month ago, the place where I work got another 2 rabbits. These 2 rabbits look very young and they look like a different breed. The Dad rabbit is all white and really chubby but these rabbits look more like guinea pigs. They've been playing and fighting it seems everyday...but one of the new rabbits just gave birth to 2 babies and was biting off fur from the dad rabbit to make it's nest. The Dad rabbit now has some really bad bites marks all over his face and his fur has fallen off, but today his eye was all swollen up and it is now pussing. There is this whitish fluid building up around his eye and I'm not sure if it's an infection or something that will take care of itself or if this could be serious and lead to something worse.

I will take pictures and post them up. It was nice when he was alone even though he was probably lonely since Lucky Star died. But these 2 new young rabbits seem to give him headaches as they run around all over the place...maybe he likes it but with all the bite marks on his face and blood...i can't see how if this keeps up, that the company is good for him.

The female one was even biting off her own fur ...when i researched it, i read that it usually meant they were about to give birth and collecting materials for building a nest.

 

[cornflakes]

pictures of the new rabbits...the one with the black eye patch
is the female...she was the worst...biting off fur from the dead and
I assume she's the one who bit his face and eye...the other one (orange)
is actually quite gentle and I never saw him biting...it's a male).

 

[JBun]

Oh it just breaks my heart to see the dad bun like this. I really wish these people would stop getting rabbits that they don't properly care for.

So it looks like the dad bun has conjunctivitis and it's pretty bad and needs to be treated right away, and he may also have wounds that are infected, and is going to need antibiotics to clear it up. Some antibiotics are deadly to rabbits, so the right ones have to be used and given correctly. Some are ok injected but not ok given orally. I've included the links for the safe and dangerous antibiotics for rabbits. Is there any way that vet can help you again? If the owner will let you take him into the vet, that would be the best thing. The dad bun will need ophthalmic antibiotic eye drops, an oral antibiotic like baytril which may need to be given for 2 weeks or longer. He may also need an anti inflammatory pain med like metacam for the first few days. Also when giving antibiotics, it's good to give pet probiotics as well, a couple hours after giving the dose of antibiotics. Dosage info for the meds is in the safe medication link, if you need it. Is he still eating and pooping ok, that you can tell?

I don't know if any of this is possible, so let us know if something isn't going to work and we'll try and figure out something that will. You seem to be the only person that even cares about these rabbits. Thank goodness they have you!

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Safe_drugs_main.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/Unsafe_medication/dangerous_antibiotics.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/Safe_antibiotics.htm
http://www.vetnext.com/search.php?s=onderwerp&id=73362261363%20288

 

[cornflakes]

I just came back from the vet who gave me these meds....i think it's what you suggested. I also decided to get a steel fence to separate them. The vet was telling me I should separate the dad rabbit from the 2 new rabbits else he could die due to stress or if the biting keeps happening.
opthalmic antibiotic

oral antibiotic (they are in pouches...he said u have to mix it with water, use the feeding needle and give it to the rabbit twice a day for up to 6 days).

steel fence used for divider/barrier

I think the hard part will be grabbing the rabbit from the neck skin and putting the eye ointment in his eye + force feeding him the oral antibiotic....I hate having to forcibly hold him and stuff......I'll do it first thing tmrw morning when I get to work...but what about the weekend? I have 2 days off during the weekend where he won't get his meds....will the interruption be bad or is it ok? He said to give him the meds for 6 days.

 

[JBun]

I think separating the dad is a good idea. Hopefully none of the buns are escape artists The vets right, stress can kill a rabbit. It upsets their GI balance and can cause them to go off feed. So if the dad seems stressed by this new situation, the fence will help. That's great that you were able to get anti biotics. It's VERY important to check what the oral antibiotics are. Certain ones are fatal to rabbits. Can you see the name on the packet anywhere and also what the % or amount of the antibiotic is in the packet? Also do you see what kind of antibiotic the ophthalmic oinment is?

Syringe feeding can be tricky. You could look at some videos on you tube. I usually sit the rabbit on my lap on a towel and hold on the back of the head/neck firmly to syringe meds. You might be able to mix the antibiotic with something tasty like a little fruit juice, applesauce, or banana(not too much though, you don't want to be feeding a lot of sugars to buns), and he may just take it willingly that way, without even having to pick him up. What might work best for putting in the eye oinment is not even picking him up, but just going and starting to pet him, then just apply it while you are petting him. Lots of luck

 

[cornflakes]

English speaking vet is still not back this morning so I couldn't get answers but i used google translate and the EYE OINTMENT is:
Sulfate poly miksin
Neomycin
Dexamethasone

The oral antibiotic powder is unlabelled, so I'm still waiting to find out what exactly it is.
I'll wait another hour and call the vet back...hopefully the english speaking doc will be in.

 

[tonyshuman]

Definitely do not use the oral antibiotic unless you find out what it is and if it's safe.
http://www.medirabbit.com/Unsafe_medication/dangerous_antibiotics.htm
The topical is probably ok but if the eye is lacerated at all, the steroid in it (dexamethasone) can be damaging.