my bunny's got diarrhea :[

[rockstaramez]

I posted a while back about my new bunny Napoleon. Since then, he's been eating really well! So no worries about that.



But today, I looked in his cage and noticed a lot of runny poops. Andthen I picked him up to check his bottom and there was a huge mess. :[I think I know the cause of it, though. Yesterday, I was cleaning outhis cage, and I let him hop around in a play-pen outside, and he keptnibbling at the grass. I shooed him away from it, but he might'vecontinued to eat it when I wasn't looking. [Keep in mind he's about 8weeks old now, and I've heard rabbits that young shouldn't have freshgreens.]



I knew someone who had a bunny about 4-5 weeks old, and it startedgetting diarrhea and died a few days later. So I'm really worried. I'drather not have to take him to the vet, as I'm really low on money, butI'll do it if it's necessary. Is there anything I can give him thatwill make him poop normal again? He's very healthy other than thediarrhea; this morning he was eating his pellets and hay and alsodrinking.



Please help me out here! Thanks, guys!

 

[Carolyn]

Hi Rockstaramez,

Make sure the little one stays hydrated and keeps drinkingwater. Diarrehea quickly dehydrates rabbits and that initself can take a rabbit's life very quickly. If you have tosyringe feed her some water, do so, but be careful and go slowly so asnot to get any in her lungs. You could give her an eyedropper full of Pedialyte as well to keep her electrolytes up.

Give her plenty of hay, some oats if you wish. Take out thepellets for a few hours and just give her some hay and/oroats to help her dry up.

If you have any NutriCal in the house, a dab of that (1/2 inch or so out of the tube) couldn't hurt.

Keep us posted.

-Carolyn

 

[rockstaramez]

Thanks a lot, Carolyn, that helped a bunch! Afterreading your reply, I went ahead and took out the pellets, put in awhole bunch of hay, and fed him some Nutri-cal. I'll probably go outlater and get some Pedialyte and oatsjust to be on the safeside. Thanks again, I'll let you know how he progresses!

 

[Carolyn]

You caught onto it very quickly, which is the best thing you could've done.

Water is most important of all, so just make sure the little one doesdrink.

Yes, please do let us know how it goes. He'll be in my thoughts.

-Carolyn

 

[rockstaramez]

Well, I went out to go get him some Pedialyte andoats, but when I got home, his poops were back to normal! Yay! But it'sgood that I have this stuff now in case it happens again.

Thanks for your help. :]

 

[Carolyn]

Thanks for the update. Reall glad to hear it, rockstaramez. :dude:


-Carolyn

 

[cirrustwi]

I know he is doing ok now, but at the store Imanage we give any buns with soft poops a diet of only hay and oats andwater -- no pellets. It always seems to do thetrick. I've been lucky so far, but it's what I'd use for mybuns if they had a problem. I always have hay and oats onhand.

Jen

 

[Carolyn]

Dear Jen,

It's so refreshing to know that you're the manager of a pet store. Youhave such a big heart and your always in search of more information.

You're One in a Million. :dude:

It's really a pleasure to have a penpal like you.



-Carolyn

 

[cirrustwi]

Carolyn,

You are just too sweet. I actually had to learn how to keepthat big heart and manage a store. I lost some of that heartfor a while and then an ex-boyfriend told me I was cold, when he wasgoing through some personal stuff. So I had tore-evaluate. Sometimes, I'm still maybe a little toorealistic about things like death and illness. I see them asthings that often, just happen. I'm different with my ownanimals, but I try really hard to stay removed from the animals at thestore. People don't want to hear it, but even at the beststores, animals get sick and some even die. It's sad, but youhave to harden your heart against it to work in this business.

When I managed the first store, I realized that a lot of what I'd beentaught there was incorrect, so I became a knowledge hound. Ifeel that we have a responsibility to keep our animals to the best ofour ability (it will never be as good as if they were in a home) and toeducate the possible owners so they will have a better life when theyfind a forever home. (Ok, now I sound like a commercial orsomething, but I really think all pet stores need to have thisattitude).

Jen

 

[Carolyn]

Dear Jen,

Well, he's your ex for good reason!

The reason why I say it's refreshing to have you here is because thereare so many pet stores that hire people that just know how to work thecash register and don't know or care about giving advice.

You get it, Jen.

As Einstein said, "The most important thing is that you keep on questioning."

Don't you worry about where you're going. With your attitude, thirstfor knowledge, and intellect, you're already an inspiration and comfortto many.

-Caroly

 

[nohea]

Hi! Was following this thread, just forknowledge purposes and was curious, when you say oats, do you meanrolled like quaker or horse oats?

 

[Carolyn]

Welcome nohea,

Rolled oats is what I was speaking of. I use crimped oats.

There's a post that is in our archives that I'll try to find for you and bring back.

Old Fashioned Quaker Oats are fine to use in this situation as well.

-Carolyn

 

[nohea]

Thanks! Are they something that I should be giving on a regular basis, or just to firm things up?

This is a wonderful forum btw!

 

[Carolyn]

Hi nohea,

I couldn't find the post I was looking for, but I'll email Pamnock-our resident ARBA Judge and expert-and will respond back.

As you know, rabbits needs a lot of fiber. With the rabbits of minethat don't care for hay, I'll give them the crimped oats. (Pam can besthelp on how oats are processed and how that effects rabbits.)

Kathy Smith, the author of "Rabbit Health in the 21st Century" wouldprefer people to give their rabbits canned pumpkin for extra fiberrather than oats. The pumpkin must be canned because the processing itgoes through is what helps the rabbits get their needs met. Kathyclaims that the canned pumpkin is more preferrable to their system thanoats and has just as much fiber, if not more.

-Carolyn

 

[nohea]

Interesting. Pumpkin isthe same thing we give our dogs when things get loose. Ourbunny doesn't seem to be much of a hay eater either (though I'm notsure what's normal!), so some alternative would probably be good.

Thanks for your help.

 

[pamnock]

nohea wrote:

Hi! Was following this thread, just for knowledgepurposes and was curious, when you say oats, do you mean rolled likequaker or horse oats?

Oats are processed in a myriad of different ways. Here are a few of the most common that are used for rabbits . . .

Steam rolled oats are like Quaker oats (Quick oats are very thin flakes of oats):

Crimped oats have the outer hull removed and are sometimes called "groats":

Steel cut oats (oat groats chopped into pieces)



Whole oats (horse oats) are the least processed and still have the outer hull:



Raw (unprocessed) oats:

 

[Carolyn]

*Bump* for Kyo.