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bunnylove817

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I work at a petstore and I came into work today and one of our rabbits has severe diarrhea and isnt moving (he is still drinking, but I havent seen him eat). I dont know what to do! They have been feeding him guinea pig food (since we had two guineas is there with the two rabbits) against my advice. I am "confiscating" the rabbit but I dont know how to treat it. I gave him TONS of timothy hay and am hoping that helps. Is there ANYTHING I can do to save this little guy?

I know he needs to see a vet, I called my vet and he isnt open until Monday and the closest emergency vet is 2 hours away and my store wont pay for it.


 
Make sure he is drinking....diarrhea will quickly cause dehydration. Keep the hay going....free choice. Get some Bene-Bac to help stabilize the pH in the gut. You can offer some Canned Pumpkin...not the pie filling..the real pumpkin. It is very nutritious and high in fiber. Keep him warm and in a quiet place to allow him to destress.

This might be caused by the pig food...or it could be a young rabbit that isn't fully weaned (or a combination of the two in addition to stress). In these situations, a harmful bacteria known as Clostridium can grow. It is toxic and can kill. We have tradionally treated with Metronidazole (an antibiotic in anti-inflammatory qualities) but it's success rate isn't what it once was. We are currently testing a new drug....Biosponge...that promises to help bind Clostridium

At this point, with no vet available, I suggest hay, plenty of water, Bene-Bac and some rest. Good luck....and props to you for helping this rabbit.

Randy
 
Just hay, probably is best for him, and lots and lots of hydration. Pedialyte would probably be a good thing to use.

Keep him away from Midas and make sure you quarantine completely because right now its unknown as to why he has diarrhoea. He could have parasites, etc, so bear that in mind.

Hopefully someone else will come along in a bit with more useful knowledge.
 
Oops, ok, so I started to reply and got distracted, meanwhile Randy gave an excellent reply.
 
Pet stores and feeds stores should carry it, and if not, try any pro-biotic with live cultures like Acidophilus from a health food store, preferably the kind that has to be kept refridgerated.


sas :pray:
 
I called every pet store I could think of and NO ONE has even heard of bene-bac- so thats a no go. I know somewhere I can get Acidophilus but its not straight acidophilus, it has like two or three other ingredients (its called "acidophilus pearls")

The rabbit seems to be doing a little better after I "forced" some water down him. He is moving a little but still not eating. I'm going to try the pumpkin.


Thanks for all of the replies! I really hope this bun makes it.. he is so adorable :/
 
The acidophilus pearls will work although they're not as strong (active) as they should be. But they don't contain sugars so it's a step above yogurt in that regard.


sas :pray:
 
PS: I think they may be capsules with liquid, you'll have to cut it and give him the contents with his water. I give mine a half a cap of the powder acidophilus, not sure how much to give this little guy, but I'd guess just a small droplet.

sas
 
--sweetsassy-- Yeah I called and they said they discontinued it a week ago or something. I may go up there and look anyways just in case the person I talked to was mistaken.

--He is only about 3 months old, at the most
 
I dont believe so. About a month ago Midas got into some bleach and I called around to about 10 different emergency vets and none of them saw rabbits. The closest one I found was past cincinatti
 
Along with the bene-bac/acidophilus - I've seen canned pumpkin work wonders....I am always amazed at how well it works.
 
bunnylove817 wrote:
I dont believe so. About a month ago Midas got into some bleach and I called around to about 10 different emergency vets and none of them saw rabbits. The closest one I found was past cincinatti

That stinks!

I should prob find someone(vet) who see's rabbits on the weekends, just in case. Now that I have 4 bunnies.
 
I think if the bun survives I'm going to keep her and just tell my manager she died :/ I dont want her going back there (although I chewed all of my managers out about what they did and made them separate the pigs and the rabbits so they can be fed the proper food now). So if anyone wants a little black female mini lop I may have one to give away
 

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