Newly adopted bunny is sick.

[Jewel0504]

Hello,
I had rescued a female bunny awhile back. Sadly she had a reaction to anesthesia and passed away during her spay. So I decided to adopt an already spayed girl, and drove nearly 2 hours away to be able to do so. I ended up adopting a 4 year old chinchilla mix. She has had a rough time since she came home. She barely eats veggies, pellets or hay, and she isn’t drinking much. She had blood in her urine and was at the vet overnight just 2 days after adopting her. We had her tested and found she has crystals in her urine. I noticed the farm fed way too many pellets, I’m now assuming maybe made from alfalfa. I think she is also a little overweight. Which I know doesn’t help with the crystals in her urine. But she doesn’t want to come out of her cage to exercise. I think she is just too scared going from the farm, here, to the vet, then back to here all within 5 days.
I have been researching the safest veggies for her, trying to find the lowest calcium pellets I can get my hands on, and desperately trying to get her to drink! She has a bowl and a bottle, and I just bought apple juice to try to sweeten the water. How much apple juice should I be mixing into a gallon of water? Any suggestions on pellets that would be safest for her? And how can I tempt this poor girl to eat more? People keep telling me to “take her back and get my money back”. That is not an option. She isn’t a toy I bought, she a part of my family now and I want to make her happy and healthy.

 

[Thumperina]

while she is not eating, my suggestion is to syringe feed her at least critical care (since you mix it with water, it will contain some liquids)
I think, stress + not a perfect health + big change of environment are responsible for these problems.
How did they keep her at the farm? How did she drink there? what veggies if any did they feed her?

 

[Jewel0504]

She is eating a little. Her gut is still working. I check for poo multiple times a day. I don’t have any critical care on hand. But I have read about crushing up pellets and mixing with water. I was considering doing that. Would that be a good alternative until I can get the critical care?
Her cage at the farm was small, however there is an attached run that each rabbit has access to one at a time. She was the one using the run when were there actually. They did feed way too many pellets! They had hay and the only veggie I saw was a carrot.

 

[Thumperina]

I thought she wasn't eating. Does she eat hay? pellets are not necessary at all. I thought you wanted to limit her pellets?

I never succeeded feeding crushed pellets mixed with water. the plunger would get stuck and wouln't go smoothly. then it suddenly shoots a large amount out of it.

 

[Jewel0504]

She is eating very little. I will see her eat 1 or 2 pieces of hay occasionally. Sometimes she eats half of her morning veggies. She doesn’t eat nearly what she should be. I don’t want to cut out pellets entirely because my male really enjoys the limited amount he gets in the evening. So I want to find some that would be safe for them both. I will get critical care just in case she stops eating entirely.
My main concern is the clearing up the crystals in her urine. She drinks very little, and I know that is not helping with the crystals causing bloody urine.

 

[Thumperina]

you can administer fluids via underskin injections (sub q fluids). it's not hard but it's prescribed by a vet and you need to learn how to do it.
Speaking of apple juice, I 'd say a little bit (and I wouldn't mix it with a whole gallon). just pour a tiny bit in her water.
what country are you in?

 

[Thumperina]

You may want to look at this site if you are in US or near.
http://sherwoodpethealth.com/
they have pellets that should be of a high quality (would youn bun switch - that's a big question). also look at this supplement
https://store.sherwoodpethealth.com/urinary-support/
I am not sure how it works. one of my buns accepted them another ignored.
I use Oxbow adult rabbit food but it's probably not the best because it has molasses (acts like a sweetener)

 

[Thumperina]

https://store.sherwoodpethealth.com/sherwood-promise/

 

[JBun]

Did the vet give you antibiotics and meloxicam for a possible UTI? If your buns bladder hurts from the crystals and a possible UTI, she's probably not going to want to eat, as rabbits in pain usually won't. So it's important to get the pain under control, which is what the meloxicam would be for. The vet really should have sent you home with critical care mix as well.

 

[Jewel0504]

I am in the US and will definitely check out that site. Thanks. We did have her urine tested for UTI and it was negative. She didn’t sent me with critical care because she is eating, just not a lot. I will talk to her today about it though. I will also ask about the meloxicam.
Thank you everybody.

 

[Thumperina]

ask about sub-q fluilds as well. They should make her pee more and urine won't be so concentrated. it's electrolyte solution that is injected under the skin between the shoulders and it goes into the system just like regular water does.

 

[Jewel0504]

I wanted to post a quick update this morning. April is doing so much better today! She finally started drinking last night. This morning I found her chowing down hay! Also, I haven’t seen any new bleeding. I am so happy and relieved to finally see her eating and drinking. She even came out for some living room time last night.

 

[Thumperina]

great news!
by the way, I was going to point out - are you sure it was blood in urine, not just reddish colored urine which is quite normal color for them depending on what they eat? hope she keeps improving !

 

[loraukaegbu]

Hay is 85-90% of diet. Pellets and veggies are a small part. Hay is needed for healthy enzymes. But, while sick, critical care or crushed pellet (Timothy hay based) with electrolyte water mixed and syringe fed is good. Hand feeding to keep from stasis may be needed. I hope things improve soon.

 

[loraukaegbu]

Oh! Yay! Just read about the improvements. Lovely!!!

 

[Jewel0504]

Oh yes, it was blood. The first day I wasn’t sure because it was mixed with the urine. But the second morning it was a puddle of blood with a clot in it. That’s when I immediately contacted my vet and she was dropped off 30 minutes later.
She is definitely feeling better today. She actually ate her morning veggies as soon as I gave them to her. And now she is not so patiently waiting for my other rabbit, Jack Frost, to finish his morning free roam time so she can come out. Haha. Once she is completely healthy and comfortable, I will begin scent swapping and bonding. I plan on waiting until at least July. Maybe longer depending on how she is doing.