Help Needed

[cirrustwi]

I got a call from a friend tonight. Shefound a domestic bunny (lop ears, black) in her yard today.She called me because she doesn't know anything about rabbits and herInternet is down. She rescues reptiles so I don't know ifsomeone dumped the bunny or it is escaped or what. She isgoing to put an ad in the paper and put up fliers, but needs to dosomething now. I can't get to her house (2 hrs away) untilSun to pick up the little guy and they vet can't see him untilMonday.

She said the bunny is really skinny and doesn't weigh much atall. She said he is the same size as Sage (mini-lop) but hedoesn't weigh nearly as much. I've never had experience withthis with bunnies, so I'm not completely sure what to tellher. I told her to go get timothy hay and pellets, and togive him little bits at a time, but I'm not sure what else to tellher. She set him up in her bathroom with towels andstuff. She said he is really sweet and active, so I think hewill be fine as long as he doesn't have any underlyingproblems. She will take really good care of him until I canget there, but I need more advice.

Any help will be appreciated.

Jen

 

[gjsara]

its sounds to me she is doing a goodjob the only advice i can give is to keep on eye onthe poo make sure it is sollid and not runny and from what ican tell youve done a good job of helping her out.

sara

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I know a lot of the people have suggested thatnutrical stuff. It's supposed to help them if they are illand with the weight loss I would think it would be good. Idon't know for sure.

Gabby has that bunny she rescued that had been underfed also and shehas been getting weight on her slowly. Rolled oats is good tohelp with that and good for her.

I hope she does ok. Tell your friend we are all pulling for her and her foster baby.

 

[Buck Jones]

Don't forget to mention water. The bunwill need water. Nutrical, or NutriStat from PetSmart is a good idea ifit is not too traumatic for the bun. In many respects theyare not as fragile as we often think. I've seen some prettyrank looking abused buns who have made it back to health.

TLC is important, too, and if you believe many of the old hands here,and I do, talking to the buns helps because they seem to understand usemotionally a lot better then we understand them.

Buck

 

[Carolyn]

I agree with Buck that water is so important. A bowl of fresh water andany vegetables she has in the house, pellets, and hay.

As Buck mentioned, NutriCal woud be very beneficial. NutriCal (marketedfor cats and dogs and costs about $12 at any pet supply store)stimulates their appetite, boosts their immune system, gives them thenutrients and vitamins they're missing, and keeps their system moving.Would hope your friend can find some tomorrow and recommend an inch aday (as it comes in a toothpaste tube) until the rabbit is eating again.

For now, plenty of water. Dehydration can kill a rabbit so fast.

Also am a big believer in talking a rabbit through stress, sodefinitely spend some time with the little one reassuring him/her thatit's going to be okay.

Best of luck and do keep us posted.

-Carolyn

 

[cirrustwi]

I did mention water. I guess I forgotto type that. I also told her to give oats. I'lltell her to get some nutri-cal. She has herbivore CriticalCare which I've given to reptiles before. It's a powder Ihave mixed with their greens, I was thinking she could use thattonight. I've given it to rats before. I wasn'tsure about giving him greens, but she said his poops are good.

I'm going to call her quickly now and then I'll talk to her tomorrowwhen I get home from work. I'll keep everyone posted on howhe/she is doing.

Thanks,

Jen

 

[Carolyn]

Jen,

I'd give the little guy any greens or anything he wants tonight.

Glad you're on top of the water.

Do keep us posted. I'll be praying and hoping it works out and will be checking this post.

-Carolyn

 

[bluebird]

I would start really slow with the greens in case hes not used to having them,keep us posted.bluebird

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Keep us posted on the baby.

Water seems a natural thing to give a pet, but I guess some people wouldn't think of it.

Interesting information on the nutrical. I knew everyone usedit but I wasn't sure why! lol! (be sure to tell her to put a bit on thefoot, then the bunny licks it off!)

Oops, tell her not to feed those greens that are bad for him.With a weak system I wouldn't go heavy on Kale (too much can killahealthy rabbit)and such. Cilantro,romaine, parsley (in moderation) and things like that.

There are people who don't talk to their pet? :?

 

[cirrustwi]

So I saw the bunny today. He isbeautiful. My friend fell in love with him, so she is goingto keep him.

BUT, she has a problem. I think people have found out thatshe rescues animals, but she only has rescued reptiles in thepast. When she found this baby, she had to go out and get acage and all the supplies -- she had nothing. Today, when Igot there, there was a box on her front porch. I picked it upto give to her, and it moved. Inside was a bunny.She has become a bunny drop point.

I'm going to take this baby home with me. I think its aCalifornian based on its colors, but probably a mix because I think thefur is too long. I don't know anything about Californians,but I guess I'll learn. He is in pretty good shape, a littlethin, but ok otherwise. I'll take him to the vet tomorrow tocheck, but he looks good. He is the sweetest thing (even gaveme bunny kisses already), but he smells because I think he was in thebox all night and it was a tiny little box for this bun that weighsabout 6 lbs. I felt so bad for him. We gave himsome pellets and he chomped them down and then he ate some hay andveggies. So far his poops look good. Well, lookslike I have a new baby, well actually 2 today!

Jen

 

[Stephanie]

Thank goodness for you and your friend. I cannotfathom dropping one of my rabbits off like that, or any other animalfor that matter!

I'm glad that your friend is keeping the rabbit though, I kind ofthought she'd end up falling in love with it. n Same thing happenedwith me and Chompers, I was just going to take him and keep him in thegarage until we found a home for him, but by the time I got home frompicking him up I had already fallen in love.

 

[cirrustwi]

I guess I'm wondering what my friend can do ifthis becomes a continuing problem, which I think it will...I mean, 2rabbits in 1 week. She doesn't even live in the country oranything, actually only 10 min outside of the city. I'm goingto call the local rescue group by my mom's, where I'm living at themoment, and she's going to call the local humane society to see if theycan help if the problem persists. But can anyone think ofanything else?

 

[Stephanie]

Other than what you're doing, no.

I know in some cities, there are laws against how many rabbits one canown, you may want to look into your city's laws. It's a lot to getinto, rescuing rabbits, as I'm sure both of you well know.

Are there any rabbit rescue organizations near you??

 

[cirrustwi]

The numbers aren't a problem. I have 5and she just has the 1, but there aren't any laws on the bookshere. I have the books because of managing a pet store, so Ineed to know those laws pretty well.

I'm going to call my local rescue about taking any others that aredropped at her house if it continues. She's going to call thelocal humane society to ask them and a couple of other shelters in thearea. I know a couple of them are overwhelmed right now andneed foster homes, so I don't know if they can help, but I think mylocal rescue has lots of room.

Jen

 

[cirrustwi]

I just wanted to give a post about theCalifornian. He is all settled in. I'm reallysuprised about how sweet he is because if someone could just dump him Idoubt he was held much and he is quite the cuddler. He's kindof skinny, but I'm sure he will bulk up with some TLC. He got thebiggest cage I have because I don't think he is full grown and he isalready bigger then any of my babies. He ate really well anddrank almost an entire 16 oz bottle of water. He is going tothe vet tomorrow afternoon for a check-up. I'm going to havethe vet do some blood work because he was sneezing a lot and at themoment, I'm terrified of pasturella. He is away from all theother bunnies...bunnies all over the house right now to keep the 2newbies seperated. I'm going to try to post pictures of allthe babies tomorrow, I'm have just been too busy today getting everyonerearranged, so maybe people can tell me if I'm right in that he ismostly Californian.

I thought my mom would be upset that I brought 2 home, but she isactually in love with them both because they had such sad stories andmy boyfriend was cool too...he said "our house will be nuts, but it'sok". I have great ideas for bunny proofing their room in ournew house, so I think things will be good.

 

[Rowan]

Congratulations on your new bunny, he soundsbeautiful.It amazes me how people treat animals the way theydo, it's just so sad. I hope all goes well with him and that hissneezing is from some other cause than pasteurella.

My lop boy that I rescued ten days ago is recovering fast, and despitehis awful history is the soppiest, sweetest, cuddliest, happiest rabbitimaginable. Sometimes I think that character plays as much a part withrabbits as it does with people and that some are just loving no matterwhat. Sounds like yours is one of those too .

Can't wait for photos of him - and the rest. Good luck with the vet.

Kate

 

[cirrustwi]

So, I named him Elvis because he is constantlysticking his tongue out and looks like Elvis. I took him tothe vet today and everything looks good. She said he isunderweight, but he will come around. She doesn't think he isfull grown...he is already bigger then all my other buns, so I'mwondering how big he might be. He weighed about 5 lbs, butshe said he should be around 6.5 lbs. I was concerned becausehe was sneezing and today his poop was a little soft, but she ran bloodwork and he doesn't have pasturella, just a little cold and we bothfigured the soft poop is from all the stress of the last couple of days(it is already looking better). She put him on antibioticsfor the respiratory infection and told me to use nutri-cal. Ionly have ferret nutri-cal at home and can't hit the pet store for theother until Wed, does anyone know if I can use that? I'mgiving him hay and oats until the poop is good, but I think it shouldbe fine tomorrow.

This goes to his picture:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v674/Cirrustwi/Elvis12.jpg

He was tired after his long couple of days and didn't want to come out of the cage for a photo shoot.

Jen

P.S. How can I get my pictures to show up here rather then having to use a link?