New with a question.

[mlzbb]

Hello, My name is Michelle. My neighbor has a 3 month old rabbit that I am currently babysitting. Her name is Jessica.She's a very sweet 3 month old holland lop. However, this morning she started sounding a bit snotty. So I called the vet and they said to give her plain yogurt 1 tsp 2x a day until Wednesday which was their next opening. That's fine, I did that this morning Jessica liked the yogurt all was well.

Now she's acting VERY strange. I went to pick her up and cuddle her and she started running VERY quickly in every direction and jumped VERY high and than sat in the corner like she was scared of her mind. Than when I placed her in the middle of the cage, she's do 50mph back to the corner of the cage and just sit there with her ears up looking scared and breathing a mile a minute. Anyone know what this is about? I'm very worried about her ;/



Thanks.

 

[maherwoman]

Hi, Michelle!! Welcome to the forum!!

I don't have much experience with sniffly bunnies, but wanted to letyou know that you can also check in the Rabbit Health References section, and check out the thread about Snuffles, just to be sure it isn't that.

I'm honestly not sure enough about many rabbit health topics, but at least that would be a good start!

Here's a link to the Rabbit Health References:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=10

And here's a link to the thread about Snuffles:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12016&forum_id=10

Hope those help! I'm sure others will be by soon to help you out as well.

Hugs to you both! :hug1

Rosie*

 

[aurora369]

She may just be spooked. Can you give her a hidey box, somewhere she can go to feel safe and secure. Rabbits are naturally animals of prey, so the tend to be scared of new sounds and such.

Allowing the bunny to come to you rather than trying to pick her up will help her feel more comfortable. Tempt her with a treat to help her feel more comfortable.

Bunnies are also very curious. And if you take her into a bunny safe area, and sit and read a book, she should come around and check you out. It may take awhile but most buns can't resist exploring something new.

Is the vet you are taking the bunny to a bunny expert? You want to make sure you take bunnies to someone who deals with them all the time, as they are very different from cats and dogs.

--Dawn

 

[Rabbit Hutch]

if the vet in't familiar with buns and does put her on an antibiotics for snuffles orsomething related- make sure IT IS NOT baytril (enrofloxin) as it does damage to rabbits joints if they are under 6 months of age....chloropalm would be a safe alternative.

 

[mlzbb]

My Vet is a bunny expert we've been going to her for years. Jessica was probably scared, I gave her a section in the cage to hide in and she feels better. So I'm happy about that. She isn't sniffling as much now :/ I turned on the air purifier so I'm wondering if it's allergies?

Michelle

 

[aurora369]

It could be allergies, but it's always good to get it tested to make sure.

Is her hay or food dusty? Does she get snuffly after eating? If so, it may be allergies or an irritation.

I bet she's loving that hidey box now! You could try putting a little bit of hay in the box for her to nibble or play with too.

Good to hear you've got a good vet lined up, let us know how it goes!

--Dawn

 

[mlzbb]

She's eating Timmy hay is that good? & Eating Alfalfa pellets. I'm feeding her the hay that my guinea pigs eat because it's easier for me. If she needs another kind I can get it. My vet is WONDERFUL, So I'm taking her just to get her checked anyway. She hasn't been snotty since this morning. I don't think my neighbor wants her back ;/

 

[aurora369]

Timothy hay is perfect. Alfalfa is okay for young rabbits, under 6 months, but I always feed timothy. It's good source of fiber with out excess protein or calcium.

Would you be keeping her if your neighbor doesn't want her back?

And when she was snotty, was there discharge coming out of her nose or was she just sneezing or wheezy sounding?

--Dawn

 

[mlzbb]

It was a little bit red but there wasn't any discharge at all. I showed her to my husband too. She's a really sweet girl so yes, I'd probably keep her.

 

[aurora369]

The tip of her nose was red?

So she was sounding a bit stuffed up, but no discharge? It doesn't sound too concerning to me, but it never hurts to get a vet check up with a new bunny. They can make sure it's properly sexed and otherwise healthy. Some bunnies do make noises, I have two that make all kinds of noises.

It sounds like you would make a wonderful bunny mommy. I hope you can keep her if your neighbor decides they don't want her.

--Dawn

 

[mlzbb]

Well Bindi is my bunny. She's a spayed female from a shelter. She doesn't mind that Jessica is here at all yet. So unless she ends up getting really annoyed that Jessica ishere, I highly doubt Jessica is going anywhere, When my neighbors brought her over she was in a VERY small cage & my husband madeher a bigger c&c cage that we were going to give her ownerswhen they came back. And they were feeding her what looked like birdseed with a few pellets in it, So I bought them some alfalfa based pellets from a feed store. She likes those a bunch better. When theycame over last night they were very annoyedabout the cages Ihad made ;/ They said I was doing it all wrong by their standards. Andthey said if I thought I was so wonderful I should just bleeping keepher. And they left. They almost kicked the cage too! I was so scaredthey'd hurt poor Jessica. I don't think she'll be going back. Theiradults and were acting like children! My husband was excited ;x I'm a little less than because wehave 7 guinea pigs saved from a shelter & Bindi already not to mention our 3 dogs. But I guess everything happens for a reason. The husband just got a raise at work too :] So we've got the funds. We live with my parent currently so everything goes through him, I just talked to my mom on msn messenger about it and she hates her neighbors ;x so she's okay with it. We'llsee though, I'm sending them the vet bill when I get it!

 

[maherwoman]

Wow...what aweful people! In that case, I'm GLAD they don't want Jessica to come back! I can't stand it when people keep bunnies in such confined spaces. I mean, it's better when they are out the vast majority of the day, but when they're in there all the time it's just not good for them! Heck, I can't stand it that I can't let my girls out all day long (as they're not bonded, as they're not yet spayed), and they each live in an NIC cage, Flower in one that's (in panels)3Hx4Wx2D, and Maisie in one that's 2HX3WX2D, and hers smaller because she's about half Flower's size (she's about 5lbs).

Anyway, it sounds like Jessica will be very happy in your home. Who knows...she could just have gotten poked in the nose by a piece of hay. (Silly bunnies!) But,either way, I'm happy to hear that she's okay...and will be happy when she gets a clean bill of health from the vet (considering her previous type of food and living arrangements).

You're wonderful to take her in! She'll LOVE you for it, believe me!

:bunnydance::bunnydance: The girls say, "Welcome home, Jessica!!"

Hugs!

Rosie*

P.S. I like your idea of sending them the vet bill...they could have been much nicer, considering I think it was probably their plan to give her to you all along, and seeing how much nicer she'll live made them feel ashamed (and thus resulting in anger).People like that shouldn't have animals. :X

 

[naturestee]

Wow, I'm so glad Jessica is with you now! Those people sound awful. Good luck getting them to pay the vet bill.

Let us know what the vet says about Jessica. I hope she's okay.

 

[mlzbb]

She better be okay or there is going to be heck to pay seriously for these people.

 

[mlzbb]

She ended up not going to the vet. Our dog got really sick and had to go in her place. She's not sneezing at all since I first heard her, Should I still be worried?

 

[naturestee]

Does she sound snotty at all? Is there any mucous on her nose, or on her front legs where it would have rubbed off while she cleaned her face? Is she active and eating?

If those questions are okay, it's possible she was just stressed (can sometimes cause runny noses in rabbits) or her nose was irritated by dust or allergens. By any chance were her old owners using wood shavings? Those are pretty dusty.

I hope your dog is okay!

 

[mlzbb]

I don't know what they were using, It was so dirty when they brought her over to be watched. And she was in a tiny little hamster sized cage. & No to all the questions. She was only snotty that ONE time and she's sounded fine and acted normal since.

 

[cheryl]

mlzbb wrote:

And she was in a tiny little hamster sized cage.

Oh my!,poor little bunny

If Jessica seems fine now, i'm sure she was probably just frightened

just keep an eye on her

I'm glad you are keeping her, those people really did sound awful

cheryl

 

[mlzbb]

I'm at my wits end! They came by last night & said they wanted Jessica bunny back! I offered to buy her off of them and they said 'Sure, $100' ;x I don't know what to do! I love Jessica bunny so much and I know she's getting awful care with them! They took her last night. I talked to my husband and he said he didn't know. I feel AWFUL! I might take $100 out of my vet stash of money. I can't see her living there. But I also can't really see paying $100 for her ;x HELP! Can I legally do anything?

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I'm sorry, I don't have any advice as far as the legal thing. I'm just wondering why they wanted her back, they obviously don't care about her. That stinks. I would maybe go over there and argue w/ them to get her back. Tell them that you don't think they even care about her, why do they want her and see what they say? She can't live in a hamster cage either.