Have acquired several bunnies, some sick, need help!

[dmdhart]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and somewhat new to rabbits. I've always had a couple here for my kids, and have always had lots of other animals (I do animal rescue). Lately however, I've acquired several bunnies from people that are in need of help. I realized that while I'm fairly familiar with first aide for dogs, cats and horses, and have a limited knowledge in so far as goats, I've come to realize that I know very little about rabbits. I've come to love all of them, but don't know how to help them.

My hope is that I can get some good advice from this forum. I'm glad I found you.

I have no idea how old any of these rabbits are, and no very little of their history

One of the rabbits is a French lop buck. I have no idea how old he is. He appears healthy except that the edges of his ears feel scaly and almost scabby. What is the best course of action?

Another, Ebenezer, a Mini Lop. that arrived has two wounds on his back.They are each the size of a quarter. I washed them with bedodyne and put neosporin on them. They have formed a scab, but I'm thinking I should be doing more. He is eating and drinking fine, and is active, but I'm worried. Are there any OTC antibiotics I can give him?

Harvey, a Mini Lop has some dandruff on his back and some bare skin. I have treated him for lice with both a powder that I got at Southern States and ivermectin (topically) but it hasn't helped much. The dandruff is gone, but there are still bare spots with no sign of hair growing back in. The area is between his neck and shoulder blades. It was very sad. He arrived with his nails so long that they had curled under and were touching his pads!!!! I don't understand how people can treat animals like that.

I would really appreciate any help you can give me.

Donna, mom of two girls and too many critters to list!

 

[Maureen Las]

Welcome to the forum and we applaud you for taking in animals that others have notcared for properly .
Rabbit care is very different than any of the other animals that you have named.; They have very specific needs and many medicationsused on other animals are toxic to rabbits.

We have a lot of info on this forum so it is worth your while to stick around as you will learn alot. We also have a library (scroll to the bottom of the home page) that contains much info on rabbit illnesses and behavior etc.
It sounds like you are attempting to treat on your own . The ideal would be to take these rabbits to a rabbit knowledgeable vet for physicals.

We can attempt to advise you but we are not veterinarians but only rabbit lovers who have attempted to learn as much as possible

The French lop buck could have ear mites.I will give you some info on this problem

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11954&forum_id=10

http://medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Parasitic/earmite/Psoroptes.htm

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rx/drugcalc.html


Ebenezer's wounds sound as if they possibly could have been caused by another rabbit continually mounting him :?

Betadine and neoporin is exactly what we suggest; the fact that they have scabed over suggests to me that they are healing. What is your major concern with them .?

Does he have wounds and also loss of hair or just the 2 quarter size wounds. ? Loss of hair also could suggest fur mites and wounds frequentlydevelop due to the rabbit scratching himself.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11992&forum_id=10

There is OTC injectable bicillin (very good drug) sold at Farm and Fleet which can be given subqutaneouly to rabbits (NEVER orally) but you don't have to go there yet....



Harvey's problem sounds very much like fur mites particularly because you describe the dandruffy skin

Ivermectin is used for this( In addition to some other products) but since I have never administered it myself I cannot tell you exactly whether you dosed correctly . many breeders use it and hopefully we can get some other contributions here

Some vets use Revolution now and some vets use ivermectin injections 1 per week X 3 weeks.

You said you used a lice powder..very dangerous to use a product on a rabbit unless you specifically know it is safe . For ex. cetain flea and tick products made for dogs ( Frontline ) will kill a rabbit

Since all these rabbits come from terrible conditions it will be extremely helpful to provide them with a high quality pellet and quality timothy and/or grass type hays.

They probably all have weak immune systems and strenthening their bodies will help them heal faster. This will take time.

Many time fur mites develop in a rabbit that is in poor condition.

As you read and give us more info on them we will do what we can to help you.

Thanks you for caring for them!!!

 

[dmdhart]

Wow! Thanks for all the great advice. I'm giving them a high quality pellet, I think it's 18% protien, it has probiotics in it as well as yucca and other good stuff. I get my hay from a local farmer. It is an alfalfa/timothy/orchard grass mix. I also give them carrots, apples, bannanas, and lettuce. They seem to be doing well. I'm giving them as much as they want. Is that ok? My concern about Ebenezer's wounds are that the scab is kind of grey looking. For a small rabbit, they seem pretty big. My guess is that you are right about how he got the wounds. He had been in a cage with another bigger rabbit. It was a female, but I think she must have gone after him!
The antibiotic you spoke of, is it a form of penicillin? I've heard that Baytril is a good choice for rabbits. I know that I can get liquid baytril on line. But I have no idea what the dosage would be. Have any ideas?
Thanks again for the info. I will definately stick around this forum. Seems like a great community.
Donna

 

[Maureen Las]

I am not sure why the scabs are grey :?; I think your concern is that the wounds do not look healthy ..like they are not healing properly. I am wondering if there is any necrotic or dead tissue in /on the wounds ..if so you would need to see a vet to have the wound debrided
There would be no way that you could do this yourself

if you use a site like photobucket possibly you could post some pics of the sores on here

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=25443&forum_id=66

Photobucket has been 'strange' recently and I have had to copy and paste my photos from there to here


Manybacteria common to rabbits have developed resistance to baytril because of overuse by the veterinary community . but on the other hand it would be an easier med to give as you could give it orally. There are other oral meds that are also a good chocie but you would need a prescription to give them also.

I don/t think that you can buy Baytil Online anywhere without a prescription.

if you find a site let us know ; I know I have looked

Baytril is a trade name and enrofloxicin is the generic name
the dosage is on this site
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/Safe_antibiotics.htm

Bicillin is a combination of 2 penicillins (procaine which is fast acting and benzathine which is longer acting.)
It is marketed forcattle which is whyit is sold OTC but is a wonder drug for many rabbit infections but is a more involved procedure to give it correctly

In terms of feeding... hay is the most important food , pellets in moderation , fruits are considered a treat and should be fed only in small amounts as rabbits do not tolerate sugar well.

At some point you may want to introduce some variousgreens (Don't feed iceberg lettuce )but only very slowly and 1 veggie at a time
Actually it sounds like you are feeding them well.

 

[dmdhart]

you can get liquid baytril with out a prescription at the following site: www.allbirdproducts.com I don't know what the dosage for rabbits is though.
I am going to try to get Ebenezer in to the vet. I don't have the money right now, so it will depend on whether he will be willing to see him and let me pay for it with installments. Keep your fingers crossed.
Donna

 

[Maureen Las]

I am shocked; you are right however the small mammal baytril is 2.27% and I would not know how to dose the bird baytril. of 10%

the dose for baytril 2.27% is in the link in my previous post above ;enrofloxicin is the same thing as baytril
Hope that you can see the vet

fingers and toes crossed