Enteritis????

[DyemondRabbitry]

Ok guys, so I've been hereing alot lately about enteritis complex out breaks. Now a couple days ago... probably Thursday, I had a baby (a runt) who wasn't doing very well. I figured out that he couldn't work the nipple to get water but a little too late (I know, that was stupid) but now I have another baby (small, but not a runt) who is staring at the ceiling w/ his eyes just kind of glazed over. He's not got wry neck- he's just out of it.. doesn't look good at all. Now the first baby had diarhea but I figured it was from the dehydration... does this sound like the onset of something to you????

Now, we did have a 4-Her who brought one rabbit down last week for the meat truck, and her herd is now showing signs of enteritis issues and she's lost 4 or 5 already. BUT the rabbits never came in contact (another barn) and the same equipment was not used... so...

 

[Maureen Las]

entertitis is very difficult to treat and the rabbits should be seen by a vet...however can you give the baby subQ fluids. ??

Randy has been using a product called the biosponge which is very effective in absorbing clostridium. It was originally a product used effectively on horses but it actually can be ordered on-line for use in cats and dogs ( and rabbits)
if you are able to find people who own horses you may be able to get some from them.
he has been saving wildlife with this product


Peg (Tinysmom) has had rabbits with a disorder called "floppy bunny syndrome" You may want to pm her for her advice on this.

Randy has also suggested the use of metronidazole ( Flagyl) which has anti-inflammatory properties. You could only get this from a vet .
You should keep them warm , give childrens electolyte drink if you cannot do sub q's

and benebac or another probiotic like probios if you can get some.
possibly the rabbits could have something like coccidia , hard to know but an exam of the stool ) often can confirm this , however since theegg cycle is variable sometimes several stool samples within several weeks of each other are needed to confirm this

Bottom line is that you need a good vet

i'll find a link for biosponge

 

[Maureen Las]

http://www.entirelypets.com/platbio15cc.html

here it is

 

[Maureen Las]

Neither Dana Krempels or Randy agree with the use of vitaminE , however ,I do believe that Peg had good results with the use of this vitamin.
I'm Not sure of all of her rabbits symptoms...

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/Floppy-bunny-syndrome.htm

 

[tonyshuman]

Any time you have a rabbit that's not bright, alert, and responsive, it's a problem. That can be a sign of many things, including dehydration, malnutrition, or poisoning from bacterial toxins. Since you can try to supplement fluids for the baby either orally or sub-q (maybe), that can help you figure out what's going on. However, it sounds to me like this baby probably has enteritis and I'd do the typical isolation and treatment procedures.