Had a very sick bunny, but she has pulled through, for now

[farmerchick]

it started off with my lop Sophie, i medicated her without any major problems and she got past it. i kept them both seperated, Sophie still ate normal and acted normal. then about a week later Wanda started showing symptoms of it, but at the same time i had changed type of hay, and thought maybe her sneezing was from the dustier mix i had. i monitored her for a couple days, then phoned the vet, who was away and i had to wait 4 more days before i could get her in.

I finally got her to the vet only to find out she is really ill and her breathing was rough. i gave her medication and kept the two rabbits seperated, then on the 6th day of the medication Wanda broke out of her cage and rubbed noses with Sophie all night, i thought for sure Sophie was re infected. (vet says she is healthy however)

then all of a sudden Wanda stopped eating and drinking. she just turned her dishes up side down and would ignore her food no matter what i tried to give her. so the vet gave me critical care powder to force feed her. she kept spitting it out and not taking it and i thought for sure she would pass away by the end of the week. after a couple days of not eating and completely failed attempts at force feeding she suddenly started eating again, a little bit more each day, and today she even ate blueberries.

i'm so glad to see her back on the mend, but she still worries me. she used to eat and drink more, and she will not let me force feed her. she was so terrified of my force feeding attempts that any time i'd reach my hand in the cage to pet her or feed her she'd start shaking and screaming. i felt so bad for her

anyone got any force feeding tips? anyone dealt with this sort of thing before?

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Here is an excellent article on force-feeding your girl:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/medicating.html

It sounds like she is coming about on her own, though...
Wiping food like canned pumpkin on her paws will likely force her to lick it off.
You could also tease her lightly with some hay or parsley - when she snaps at it, she may think... "hmm., that tastes pretty good!"

Syringe feeding is best undertaken with the help of another pair of hands. Do you have someone to help you out?

I'm sure the infirm mods will have some suggestions....

Sending good vibes to you and the girls :rainbow:

 

[tonyshuman]

In addition, you really don't have to separate them. The bacteria that cause these upper respiratory infections are always present in a rabbit's system; they only come out to a full infection when there is some stressor. Therefore, Sophie can't get sick from Wanda again and keeping them separated seems to be putting some stress on Wanda. Putting them back together may help Wanda to want to eat more. Bunnies can be really sad and upset when their bond-mate is gone.

If she is eating at all on her own, I do not recommend force feeding. It is just too stressful. You can put the critical care (rehydrated) in a bowl and see if she will eat it on her own that way, and also offer other high-fiber but tasty and easy-to-eat food like canned pumpkin puree. I also find that sometimes bunnies will be obstinate and only eat when you're not looking if it's been a struggle to get them to eat. Replenish the hay--new hay smells tastier, put out some veggies (if she has had them before--they are tasty and nutritious but can cause GI issues if they're not used to them).

Has the vet looked for any tooth problems that might make it painful for her to eat? Does she have gas episodes that might be making her not want to eat?