New rabbit sick... is he/she close to death?

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Mielikki

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, , USA
I bought a new rabbit on Friday, who is very young (the pet store people didn't know the exact age). He/shehas athick and goey,grayish (but mostly clear)discharge coming from him/her. This discharge began today. I looked it up online and it said this "sludge" can be caused by too much calcium intake. We have given this little bunny thehay and thepellets it ate in the store, but we also gave it apiece of a cube of alfalfa hay and a TINY amount of fresh carrots. I was told alfalfa hay cubesaregood for growing bunnies. But, today I read that alfalfa hay isn't good for young rabbits. Could this change in the diet have caused the discharge?There is poo in the cage, but I don't think the rabbit has peed recently. I've taken away the carrots and the alfalfa cube and my sister and I are giving him/her water through a syringe now to make sure he/she is hydrated. The rabbit can run around (it has been exploring)and has been cleaning himself/herself, but grinds its teeth.

I'm veryfrustrated because one of my other bunnies, Easter,recentlyhad to be euthanized due to a spine injury. I don't know how Easter even injured himself, because my family is super careful when it comes to picking up rabbits and we all know the proper way to pick up rabbits. Easter was neverdropped by any of us. I don't want this rabbit to die, too!

I'm definitely taking this rabbit to our normal rabbit vet on Monday. I would take it to the emergency clinic, but they don't know anything about rabbits. When I took Easter to the clinic because I knew there was something seriously wrong with him (his back legs were dragging and he couldn't control his bladder) the vets ignored me for almost 5 hours because "his eyes are clear and he is alert, so he's not even close to going to heaven." I don't know if it is even worth bringing this new rabbit there. Does this kind of discharge mean the rabbit is dying? Please help me. I feel like a terrible mom.
 
Sounds like mucous... Nothing to do with sludge.

When you say he grinds his teeth, is it soft or loud? And when does he grind them?

He's definitely in trouble, he probably has an intestinal ailment of some kind, he needs to see a vet, pronto. Some are treatable, unfortunately, some really aren't.

Check back here, maybe somebody will have advice for a non-rabbit savvy vet re: the usual recommended treatment.

Here's a couple of links to look at...

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Generalities/enteritis.PDF

http://islandgems.net/diarrhea.html

So sorry he's sick... :(

sas
 
He/she will grind his teeth randomly. I think maybe it's because he/she is trying to go the bathroom. The sound is loud. My other rabbits never made a sound similar to it.

He/she is eating hay and drinking water and ispeeing... butthe mucus isstill coming out in smaller amounts...unfortunately I can't drive it to the vet right now becauseIonly have my driver's permit... I think I'm going to go wake up my father. When I go to the vet, should I print out the links you gave me to show them? The emergency vets near where I live don't know much about rabbits.

Do you think my other rabbit will get sick, too? The rabbits have only had a bit of interaction. We introduced them today before the new rabbit appeared to be sick.
 


Does the bunny seem gassy and uncomfortable? You need to give him baby gas meds, something with Simethicone. (I use Ovol, probably a good half-dropper full every hour for three hours or so.

If he's grinding his teeth, try giving him a little baby aspirin.

He doesn't sound like he's hit the diarrhea stage, but he may well do so if the ailment is Mucoid enteritis, which is the best guess given his symptoms, although I believe it can also be another intestinal infection. (From what I'm seeing, I'd treat him for Mucoid enteritis regardless).

Take away all his food except hay and water and maybe a few oats, and continue trying to give him water. You can also do well to pick up some Pedialyte, sort of a Gatorade for babies,an electrolyte replacement.

See if you can get some Nutrical, it's a high calorie supplement made for cats and dogs, but it works for rabbits.

The article I linked to says give him yogurt, but Benebac is a better bet.

They also say the recommended drug is Neomycin Sulfate. Maybe somebody can confirm that soon, but I this point, I don't think you have much to lose.

One think an emergencyvet can do is put him on a lactating ringer -- a subcutaneous infusion of liquids using a needle under theskin -- if he gets dehydrated or listless.

Good luck with him.

sas :pray:
 
The other rabbit will probably have to be put on medication to make sure he doesn't get sick, too. There was something about that in one of the links, I'll see if I can find it.

If he's grinding his teeth and it's a sign of pain (they often grind their teeth softly when you're petting them), he should get the baby aspirin asap. If you can't get to a vet, at least is there a drug store nearby for the aspirin, pedialyte and simethicone?

I believe you can also use Ibuprofen.

I've been trying to find info as to whether at this point the stress of the vet trip will make things worse for the immediate future. If he stops eating and gets listless and had diarrhea, I'd say get there asap, but for the time being, maybe the drug store (and a pet store) may help just as much.

Anyway, here's another thread with some good info, including the use of Dri-Tail, which I think is a hamster medication.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=9567&forum_id=1

Keep checking back, I'll keep looking.

sas
 
Mucoid Enteropathy is a common and very serious illness in young rabbits (this is considered an emergency situation and a vet visit is advised ASAP). Supportive therapygenerally includes:

1.Rehydration (Lactated Ringers Solution (LRS)at the vets is best). Pedialytefor children is a good rehydrating solution to use at home. Products such as Re-Sorb for animals is also available at many feed stores.

2. Antibiotics.Rabbits are often started on antibiotic therapy to treat secondary bacterial infection. The condition can often be brought on by stress and/or viral illness. For home use, tetracycline is often administered for ME outbreaks.

3. Pain medication. (a small amount of baby aspirin can be given at home).

Pam
 
How's the bun doing? Were you able to get any fluids into her?

I agree with Pipp and Pamnock- this bun needs to go to an emergency vet, if you haven't taken her already. Even if they don't know much about rabbits, they can still do supportive therapy such as subcutaneous fluids (injected into the skin). You can print off these articles to take with you. If you only print off a few, print the first two (rabbit safe and unsafe antibiotics).

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/Safe_antibiotics.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/Unsafe_medication/dangerous_antibiotics.htm

Several other articles that the emergency vet could use:
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Generalities/enteritis.PDF
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171319.htm
 
Thanks for all the articles/links and suggestions. It's been a very big help. The little baby, who I've named Serenity, is doing much better. He's also a boy, which I didn't find out until after I named him.

On Sunday, my family and I took him to an emergency vet where he was given some fluids andantibiotics(edit:SMZ-TMP) and a special food which we mix with pedialyte and give him every hour. He's eating it willingly and he seems to like the taste. He's more energetic and has been moving around more, but is still having mucous in his poo. He pees regularly. The emergency vets said the cause was stress.

Today we took him to our regular bunny savvy vet who gave him more antibiotics and an appetite stimulant. She's unsure as to what's wrong with him, but she says he was sick before we got him. She can't get a good enough sample for afecal float (?) and thinks it may be coccidia. We're probably going to the vet at least every two days to check his weight. Today he began eating timothy hay on his own, but he still won't drink on his own. We have both a water bowl and bottle for him. (He was drinking from a bottle at the store.)
 
So far so good. :pray:

I edited your post to add the name of the antibiotic ((SMZ-TMP, which was in your PM), hope that's okay.

Good luck with him. :clover:



sas
 
I don't mind the edit at all. :)

He seems to be improving more. Our vet said before the food wasn't being disgested properly, but hopefully it is now. I'm not sure if he needs to be fed every hour. I'm still feeding him every hour, but he seems to be needing less. After awhile, he won't accept anymore, and runs away. He's hopping around and cleaning himself. He likes his food warm, so I try to mix some warm water in with the pedalyte and food which are both refridgerated. His appetite stimulant is called metoclopramide. He takes it very easily because it tastes like banana bread. I'm hoping he'll produce poo pellets soon.

I have a problem with keeping him warm, though. His ears seem to be cold very often. The vet said to geta heating pad and place it under the cage, but we don't have one and our recent vet bills have totaled over $600, so money is a bit short. I've been giving him water bottles filled with hot (not boiling) water to sit by and periodically wrapping him in towels and snuggling him. But, he gets squirmy after I hold him for awhile. I also have a blanket thrown over his cage to keep any drafts fromgetting to him. Our house is about 73 degrees Fahrenheit.

I'm sorry for any mispellings or sentences that don't make sense. I'm a bit tired right now.
 
Don't think you need to feed him that often, his tract needs to be kept moving, but I think hourly is too much. Let him eat what he wants as long as he seems alert and interested. The water and Pedialyte is probably more important.

To keep him warm, just get asock and fill it with rice and stick it in the microwave until it's warm(ish),he'll snuggle up to it. (There's other things you canfill it with, I'm too tired to remember them right now).

Is he pooping at all? Also don't be afraid to let him run around to stimulate his gut a bit (although don't overdo it).

Hope this helps.



sas et al
 
The little baby died today around 2 in the afternoon. I just don't know what happened. He seemed to be getting better. He was eating and drinking on his own. I had gone to sleep for awhile since my sister and dad were awake. I ended up waking up at 1:30 and talking to my dad and sister for a bit. When I went downstairs to check up on the bun and get some food I notice he was sitting very strange. He was laying down, but not flopped in a comfortable position. His legs were in a strange position. I tried to talk to him but he didn't respond. I picked him up and attempted to get him to drink some water. He started to have what I think was a seizure. I got dressed really quickly, and when I got downstairs he was no longer having a seizure. We drove to our vet as quickly as we could, but he either died after the seizure or on the way to the vet. Poor baby. I'm going to go complain to the pet store now, I think. I should have done it sooner, but I was so worried about my new baby. I'm really depressed because I only got to spend a few days with him, and he was such a strong boy. At least my family tried to help him in every way we could.
 
:bigtears:So sorry, Mielikki...

The odds just weren't in your favour.

I don't know if they'll go for it, but you might want to call the vet and see if they'll do a free necropsy, seeing as they didn't really know what was wrong. It will be a learning experience for them, if they care -- and hopefully they will.

And definitely go after the pet store. That's criminal -- or should be.

I have so so much respect, admiration and fondness for you and your family, you really did everything possible. My heart goes out to you.



sas :cry1and the grateful bunnies:bunny5:bunny5:bunny5:bunny5:bunny5
 
I am so sorry Mielikki, that baby Serenity didn't make it.

What did the Vet say about the cause of death?
With little consolation the Pet Shop should replace your bunny, and acknowledge your complains. A note from your Vet could showhow poorly the rabbit was when you bought it from the store.

Binky free little Serenity. Your few days with with a loving family was a lifetime of love and patience.

Rainbows :tears2:
 
Aww i'm so sorry to hear this sad news,sometimes it just isn't fair:(,but yeah go and report your bunnies death to the pet shop where you got him from

hugs.gif




goodnight baby Serenity:(



cheryl

 
I'm so sorry for your loss.

You did everything you could...and then some.

Sometimes the young ones are taken too soon from their mom.

Prayers and good thoughts are sent your way.

Binkie free, Serenity!!!:pray::rainbow::jumpingbunny:
He's in good hands with Buck Jones now.

~Jim
 
The vet didn't seem interested in a necropsy.I still don't know why Serenity died, but I believe the overall causewas thathe was taken away from his mother at too young of an age.

We have been refunded for themoney we spent on Serenity, but the pet store (it's a Super Petz) denies that there's any reason to think any of the other rabbits are sick. We went to check on the other little buns that were there when we got Serenity, and they were all gone. I hope they didn't die. :pray:The manager was sort of rude to us and was asking for Serenity'sbody. I'm veryupset. The money wasn't important. I would have liked either an apology or an investigation into the health of the other rabbits. We're going to file a complaint about that Super Petz.

Anyway, we ended up going to a different Super Petz and speaking to the manager there. She was a very nice lady, and saidshe is going to speak to some of her superiors about the other Super Petz's conduct. Recentlya family had come in to donate some buns that were born due to an accidental pregnancy. She offered to give us one of those buns for free since we had gone through somuch.I think that was so sweet of her! :)So now we have a new very friendly and healthy lop mix who is most definitely a healthy age to be taken from his/her mother. (He/she is actually a little chubby! :)) He/she is in Serenity's old cage, whichwe have bleached and rinsed most thoroughly (Believe me, my family is very paranoid about spreading germs) and left out on our porch to air out before moving him/her in.

I think my parents thought it wastoo soon to get a new rabbit, but my familyhaslots of love to offer a rabbit. There are too many unloved animals out there, and I want to provide a good home for as many animals as possible. (Which, for right now, I can only have 2 rabbits and some fish.)

I really want to thank everyone for their advice and sympathy. It means so, so, so much to me, especially since my family and I were treated like we were the cause of Serenity's death several times. (I know it isn't true, butthe accusation isstill hurtful.)Hopefully our new bun will live to a ripe old age.
 
Thanks for getting back to us.

I'm glad things have been settled. IfI read correctly, you got a refund from the Vet? The first thing I would do is bring the new bunny to the Vet for a check-up.
How cold is that Manager at the Pet Shop to ask for the body of a dead rabbit. I wonder how she deals with other customers.

It sounds like you are ready to get a new bunny right away.
When you figure how to post some pictures, we would like to see your new bunny. :bunny16

Rainbows! :)
 
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