Baby Bunny sudden change in mood, appetite, basically everything :( Please help (RESOLVED)

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Update:

I read some previous posts with the same problem, and realised that Piffy has been leaving uneaten cecotropes (wet grape-like stool) uneaten in her cage. THere are quite a number of them. I just looked. There are no dry pepper seeds at all. Only bigger wetter stool.

I have not been able to find plain pellets for her (i tried a couple of places. Mostly the salespeople look at me weirdly and tell me that the mixed ones are good enough for them)

I did my best and bought XtraVital (Junior)

Ingredients: High value alfalfa, maize, peas, alfalfa, extruded wheat, bean flakes, carob, oats, extruded alfalfa, high value soya, carrot flakes.

(written on the back package)
XtraVital Junior is a very tasty and well-balanced premium feed that has been specifically developed according to the nutritional requirements of young rabbits (8 to 20 weeks). The feed has an increased protein content for growth and an increased roughage content for optimum digestion. XtraVital Junior is rich in Vitamin A and contains a well-balanced calcium/phosphorous ratio. In combination with proteins and chelated minerals (which are surrounded by a protein coating for improved absorption) these ingredients assist development of bones and teeth.

Protein 16% Fat3% Fiber15% moisture10.7% calcium0.94% phosphorous0.48% vitA 6500IE/kg, Vit D3 900IE/kg, Vit E 100IE/kg,

It's a Dutch brand.

I have done all I could. I change her hay every 2 days. I buy her the most expensive food (pellets mixed with other things like alfalfa hay and such. She chooses the "other things" over pellets). She still refuses to leave the infirmary.

What do i do? Shall I bring her to the vet again? The same one who held her up by the ears, told me she doesn't diagnose rabbits and instructed me to feed her mixed food, fresh carrots and apples? (The glucose and Vitamin B complex injections she prescribed did seem to work)

I still can't find probiotics.

I am losing hope of ever having a healthy baby bunny.
 
Hello my bunnies did this too and i was told that they were eating too much protein, ie the pellets or rabbit food and i should cut down and feed more greens grass and especially hay.
I did this and they stopped, although if i accidentally put too many in their bowl they do it again, like today....
So tomorrow i will cut back a bit more on the pellets. Is really hard as they love them and devour the bowl and i feel mean, but they love greens and hay too xxx
 
She's to little for veggies. She should only be on alfalfa pellets and hay. I wouldn't go back to that vet. Just the fact of her holding her up by her ears. Poor baby. If that shot helped maybe you can find another doctor, and explainthe situation.


 
There must be probiotics there even if they are sold for farm animals

It is basic care for newborn animals on farms.
I dont understand why the pellets have some of the ingredients in them but the alfalfa in them is fine. If they have seeds or other ingredients pick them out and feed just the pellet and also hay.
I don't know what randy instructed you the firsttime aound but maybe you could share that with us.

if the vet helped the bun I would not cross him off entirely but tell him not to hold your bunny by the ears.

the wet poops are not a good sign

you're in russia right?
 
I spent the last few hours picking out the pellets and hay from the rest of the contents .

I picked out the green rod-shaped ones. There were also some sand-colored rod-shaped pellets. I picked those out too.

There were other contents in the food - mostly processed ie they look like biscuits. SHould I feed them those? Or only the green rod-shaped ones?

I have removed all food. Now Piffy is given only hay and water. If you guys give me the green light on rod-shaped green pellets I shall give them to her.

PS so far no more liquid yellow mucous stool. Their latest droppings seem much smaller and drier, but they still flatten easier than normal. I shall keep a close watch.
 
Hoping you can get Piffy solidly back on the road to good health.
I can't imagine there wouldn't be some sort of Bene-bac, pro-biotic over there.
Are there any large-animal (i.e. cow, horse) vets in your area?
Maybe talking to one if you can find him, he would be able to give you an idea where to pick some up.
 
oh god i must have misseda bit didnt know about mucus x thought you meant extra cecals x does anyone think it is ok to give pottidge oats as that is what i give mine if poops go bit watery x
 


What did you do to make his poops dry up a little. Was it eating only hay ?

if it is then leave him with hay for a few more hours. baby rabbits need more than that so as soon as his poops seem normal then start in with the plain pellets and the hay . I have no idea what the colors mean so I can't tell you which to give. Don't give the biscuit ones or any seed ones

PM Randy and ask him if there is ever a time that plain unflavored yogurt is better than nothing in terms of a probiotic.

It is a weekday so I don't know if he will respond as he is a wildlife rehabber and extremely busy ..

start a post in the rabbitry separate from the one re. "what breed is he" and see if anyone has a home remedy for this in baby buns that I wouldn't know about ; tell them you are already running an infirmary post ...
I wish I could help more

Maureen
 
Agreed about the pellets--just give the rod shaped ones, not the biscuit-shaped ones or seeds. A lot of hay is important as well, especially since the best pellet you can find doesn't have a lot of fiber (the ones I like to feed have more than 20% fiber).

Mucous in poop is a sign of a coccida infection, and there is an antibiotic treatment for it-metronidazole, I think. This is the only antibiotic that is effective against it. If the mucous persists, you will need a vet to prescribe this for him. If it was just once and removing veggies and the bad food have cleared it up, don't worry about it.

I think you should feed pellets and hay for now, and that should clear up some of the issues. Then you can slowly add veggies in and switch to a more veggie-based diet. We usually say that bunnies under a year should be eating a lot of pellets and very few veggies, but with a good pelleted food unavailable there, you may want to switch him to primarily greens sooner.
 
Both coccidiosis and mucoid enteritis have mucous in the stool as a symptom. Green mucous is coccidiosis, other colors can be either. Other symptoms of coccidiosis include: reduced appetite, depression, abdominal pain, and pale watery mucous membranes. Also rough coat, dullness, loss of weight.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Protozoal_diseases/coccidiosis_general.PDF

Mucoid enteritis is more closely associated with clear mucous
http://www.gopetsamerica.com/small-animals/rabbit/internal-diseases.aspx
 
I think some other kind of probiotic would be better than yogurt, since the problem with yogurt is that is contains dairy that rabbits can't digest. Perhaps dry yeast would be better?
 
I think the mucus is often just a sign of any kind of intestinal distress as the system tries to protect itself with a mucus coating.

Here's what I consider to be the best rundown of the ailments causing diarrhea-like symptoms. Keep in mind that babies get different treatment than young adults and full grown rabbits. (And for the record, I don't think she has any of the really horrible ones).

http://www.showbunny.com/gastrointestinal.htm

I really wouldn't do too much changing of the diet, go slow and steady and keep her de-stressed (they're very sensitive to your mood), warm and hydrated.

It sounds like you're keeping a handle on it.

Her initial problem (aside from her too young age factor) could have been the common gut conversion imbalance found in just-weaned babies, or it could have been something else that threw her appetite off and affected her output. It can take a long time to get completely back on track. You also have to deal with immunity problems, leaving her mama that young leaves her vulnerable to all sorts of opportunistic bacteria/bugs/parasites or whatever ailments.

I still find it strange that she spit up the chunks of carrot. Maybe her problem at the start of this was having those veggies (or whatever) lodged in her throat or even partially blocking her windpipe. They could not have been regurgitated from the stomach, rabbits don't have that mechanism. They can't 'throw up'.

This little bunny hasn't left my mind since you first posted. So far she's been a little miracle, I've never seen one looking that bad ever recover, so I honestly don't think you're dealing with the usual killer ailments, although any upset in a baby is serious. But she's definitely a fighter and so are you.

I have to add that we rarely see a bunny slave on this board presenting a case as well as you have. I can't begin to tell you how hard I'm pulling for you and Piffy.

sas :pray:
 
PS: Acidophilus should be widely available in Russia. I wouldn't experiment with much else. And the problem with yogurt isn't as much with the dairy as the sugars. I hope Randy or Pam will log in with an opinion on yogurt in a pinch.
 
Latest:

Thank you all so much. The yellow mucus thing seems to have cleared up... I haven't seen any more of those since the first patch. I'm still keeping a close watch. She's eating a lot of the hay and drinking more than I do, to be honest. It's been 12 hours since I last saw that yellow mucous discharge. I'm keeping her on a strict more hay less pellets diet. Let's see how it goes tomorrow.
 
I hope Piffy will be okay!! Poor little baby. I know it can be hard but try to be as upbeat and happy around her as possible, they really CAN pick up on your mood.
 
Pipp wrote:
PS: Acidophilus should be widely available in Russia. I wouldn't experiment with much else. And the problem with yogurt isn't as much with the dairy as the sugars. I hope Randy or Pam will log in with an opinion on yogurt in a pinch.
Click to expand...

The only reason that I brought up yogurt which I know is "NO" is that when kathy Smith was posting she confessed that she gave one of her buns (one in the books) yogurt when he had teeth problems. She didn't condone it but said that she gave it.

After that I thought it was less terrible to give yogurt although I never have with my own buns.

Yeh, sas, this little bunny is beating the odds
 
I have not read all these posts but my suggestion for you, angelh, is to see if there are any breeders in your area. If you called up a breeder they could also help you with this rabbit or maybe even provide a step in mother. They may have a mother that already has babies so your baby might fit in? Then leave the rabbit with the breeder for a week or two and see how things go.

Just a thought. I dont know how feasible it is with rabbits but I know that with dogs and cats they can put babies into other litters and the mother would adopt it.
 
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