Wild Marsh Rabbit Kit Rescued

[Wile E Coyote]

Greetings,

Two nights ago, I rescued what I believe to be a very young MarshRabbit kit on a road outside my home in Tampa, Fl. It was nearly runover twice before I was able to corral it, and it was quite disorientedand frightened.

The animal did not appear to be injured, and it seems to be ingenerally good health. I have been unable to locate the Warren where itmay have come from, nor have I spotted any adults near where I foundit. I fear that it will not survive if I simply release it in thenearby forest wetlands behind our home.

My wife and I have taken it in and provide food & shelter in aroom away from her cats. We are willing to raise it until it is largeenough to fend for itself and then possibly release or keep it. Itweighs only a few ounces, but has a healthy appetite and isdefacating/urinating regularly.

However, I have examined this animal, and noticed that it's eyes areextremely small; about the size of a rat's eyes, and not particularlyclear. It is not blind, as it reacts to movement, although I cannot sayhow well it sees.

Is this possibly some kind of affliction common in Rabbits, or will it's eyes reach a normal size and clarity as it grows?

Any advice is very welcome.

Thanks very much.

 

[RO STAFF]

You should really find a Wildlife Center asap, call a vet for a referral.

In the meantime, you can try for some hints from this site, but the prognosis isn't good.

http://www.squirrelworld.com/RabRehab.html

(and yes, it's about rabbits)


Here's another site.

http://www.2ndchance.info/bunnies.htm

 

[JimD]

Generally speaking....wild baby bunnies shouldnot be "rescued". It's sounds kind of cruel, but chances of a wild babysurviving after being rescued are slim to none. Very often babies thatare left alone are not abandoned. The mother only visits the babies acouple times a day to nurse them and then will leave them as not todraw predators to her scent and consequently find the babies.

Wildlife Rescues are better equipped to handle this issue.

Here the address for the link about wild babies .......

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=5538&forum_id=1

~Jim

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Thank you both for your replies.

If I could find where the mother/den was located, I would assuredlyrelease it immediately. However, I discovered it on a busyneighborhood street, and can hardly release it back there with anyconscience.

The animal seems to be weaned, and has been eating a variety of solidrabbit food & veggies. It seems alert, active, andhealthy. However,my main concernisaboutthe eyes, which seem very small and underdevelopedcompared to photos of yound rabbits that I have seen.

No one seems to have any information about that, so I will presume this is normal for the species.

 

[JimD]

The baby rabbits leave the nest at approximately3-4 weeks of age. If the rabbit is as big as a tennis ball (or fullyfills your hand), then it is able to survive in the wild. If it fitswithin your hand or is obviously tiny and small or injured, then itneeds to be re-nested or given to a wildlife rehabilitator as soon aspossible. At 3-4 weeks of age, their instincts to survive in the wildare fully intact. They know how to camouflage themselves, what naturalfoods to eat, and what a predator is and how to behave around it. Theyautomatically know to run away from a predator in a "broken path"pattern thus making it hard for a predator to catch them.


~Jim

 

[JimD]

Here's the info for a wildlife resuce in Tampa if you need....theydon't list rabbit on their site, but they probably could refer you tosomeone if they can't help.


Animal Capture of Florida 3701 Ambermist Dr.
Tampa, Florida33619
(813) 628-8449
Contact: Charles Carpenter
[email protected]
http://www.animalcapture.com

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Based upon the research I have done, plus myobservations of the animal's behavior, I would estimate the age to beno more thanfour weeks.

My intention is to house and feedher (I believe it to befemale)without any unnecessary physical contact for the next7 - 14 days and releaseher into a heavily wooded/marsh areanear my home. I estimate that she will have gained aconsiderable amount of body weight by then.

I would like to give her the best "head-start" that I can in terms ofnutrition and size; especially considering that I have spent over$150.00 on food and caging thus far.

Hopefully, she will live long enough to have a meaningful life in thewild and doher Darwinian best toperpetuate theMarsh Rabbit species.

Please wish her luck and Godspeed.

 

[Pipp]

I'm glad you did your research. Iguess they naturally have small eyes? In some photos they arebigger than others, but no discriptions talk about smalleyes. Their diets consists of grasses, cane, cattails, bark,leaves and twigs.

The biggest danger is the diet change and stress. Your littlegirl(?) doens't seem to stressed, so that's great. Butsomething almost always seems to happen to wild bunnies around that age(and to a lesser extent, domestic ones as well) that causes them not tosurvive, even after appearing to do well. It's soheartbreaking.

That said, somebody on this board has a wild rabbit raised from a kit,and she's doing great. (Sorry, can't find thelink). So it can be done. I'm sure you'll knowwhat's best for her if she makes it through this critical time.

You're very kind to take her in and help her out. ink iris:

SAS and PIPP ray:ray:

 

[bunnydude]

I hope she is okayray:

 

[Dolores Lindvall]

Many, many years ago I did raise several cottontails and one jack rabbit to adult size before my mom finally made meturn them loose. For those of you who haven't experiencedthis, rabbit urine is an excellent floor wax remover ... hence why mymom made me let them go. I know that they lived for awhileafter being released because they hung around our buildings for acouple/three years. At first they were relatively tame, butthey gradually became more wild. All of these were very tinybabies whem my dad brought them to the house in his cap. Whenmowing hay, the rest had been fatally injured.

 

[Pipp]

how's this little bunny doing?

SAS

 

[Lissa]

Bless your heart for rescuing this bunny.