Temperatures

[swanlake]

I am a little worried about fred. his ears are really warm, and have been for about a week. he is kept in the basement, the coolest part of the house. shadow's ears are cool, while his are warm.

is this cause for concern? or are lops ears just warmer? is there anyway i can take his temp., and if so how?

also, he's a little over one year old and 4 1/2 pounds. i look and the ideal weight for a mini lop is six pounds. i did take him off pellets in the beginning of september because they were giving him mushy poo.

oh, and he was at the vet about a month ago cause he was quite lethargic. he had a temp of 105 but the vets brought it down and he was fine, couldn't find anything wrong.

am i just crazy or could there be a problem?

ETA: he is eating normally and pooping fine as far as i can tell.

 

[Maureen Las]

It can be very stressful for a rabbit to have his temp taken and the need for this should be balanced with the negative effect of stress.. Have a vet professional give firsthand instruction before you try to do it yourself.

A rabbit's normal temp may vary several degrees depending on the time of year, environment and stress but is usually between 101 F-104 F (38C-40C). if it is lower than 100F or higher than 105F you should contact your vet.
I would take him to the vet tomorrow if you can as the lethargy, mushy poo and warm ears and previous 105Fcould indicate a latent infection.

Possibly he could have bloodwork done.

While you are at the vet ask them to demonstrate how to take his temp yourself.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

swanlake wrote:

is there anyway i can take his temp., and if so how?

I've seen my vet take my first bun's temp, and he used a regular thermometer in the bum:?. Shouldn't be stressful, I think just taking a bun to the vet is stressful enough on them. My bun then, who hated being messed with, did very well when the doc took his temp:shock:.

You may want to ask the vet how to procede if you want to do it at home first.

I wish you both the best of luck, I hope nothing is wrong. (I've had buns' ears be different temps by touch in the same environment before.)

 

[swanlake]

he no longer has mushy poos, when i took away the pellets it rid him of it. he's not so lethargic as a month ago, but he is also a lazy bunner.

 

[tonyshuman]

I know some people on here take their own bunnies temps with rectal thermometers. I would imagine that would probably require trancing the bunny (at least I wouldn't do it on an untranced bunny), so it depends on what you're comfortable with. That does sound weird that he's not the right weight and his previous vet visit. Has your vet done a fecal float and/or bloodwork on him lately? With lower weight and possibly high temp, he might have an intestinal parasite or something. I generally have the vet do a fecal on a new bunny (coming from the shelter, you know what I mean), and annual bloodwork to keep an eye on liver and kidney function.

good luck!

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Great to hear! Keep us posted!

 

[Ivory]

I keep a digital rectal thermometer for babies on hand for these sort of cases.

Tonyshuman...trancing a rabbit when you're taking their temperature really wouldn't be very smart at all. It's better to just get it over with, plus the angle of an upside-down rabbit would make it very difficult to get a good reading.

The "towel technique" can work- towel up the bunny, hold it with one hand, and take the temperature with another. But honestly, holding them down works, too.

It's not hard to take temperature but it should be demonstrate properly first before trying.

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Ivory wrote:

It's not hard to take temperature but it should be demonstrate properly first before trying.

Just to summarize. 101 F-104 F (38C-40C). A bit of Vaseline on the tip of the thermometer makes the insertion easier. Once inserted, you have to wait a moment for the temperature to regulate. Next time you are at the Vets, have them show you how to take a temperature.

 

[swanlake]

thanks for the great pics pet_bunny!

i got a baby thermometer and googled how to take a temp, and i usually hold fred while the vet tech takes his temp, so i had an idea of how to take it. my little brother helped me and i managed to do it.

his temp was 102.7, and he now weighs 6.5 lbs. i think he lost some weight when he was off the pellets for his mushy poos. his ears are still pretty warm, but his temp is fine. kinda weird.