PLEASE HELP: 1.5 yr old bunny lethargic and has diarrhea

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sweetrose

sweetrose

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Libby The true north west Montana, Montana, USA
Ok so here it goes.....

I got my 3 e-lops 1 1/2 weeks ago from a breeder, My older buck (the one in question) is 1 and a half years old about 9 1/2 lbs and was in good health till this morning he stopped eating and drinking around 5pm central i was able to get him to drink a little i mean a "little" I noticed his poop looked like cecal pellets from a netherland dwarf and his was far from interactive very lethargic unmotivated, i felt his stomach and it felt normal, I had to leave for work ( money sucks) so my husband took him out and messaged his tummy and let him run around, he said he was acting normal, well i just got home and he has runny stool, some solid the rest not dark brown like normal but haf solid half liquid, I cant get him to drink anything and i cant do sub c liquids i am gonna try for an appt tomorrow but not sure if i can get one any suggestions for the time being?

Holly

PS very worried my 1st sick bun
 
Any idea what he was eating before you got him, and what is he eating now?

Really push the hay and water, and don't give him anything other than that for now, food-wise unless you have canned pumpkin.

Keep him warm and keep up with the tummy rubs.

Gas meds with Simethicone, drops for babies or tablets for adults, might help. Also Pedialyte if he's not drinking anything.



sas :clover:
 
PS: this type of 'poopy butt' in an adult is most often diet related. It could be a diet change reaction, he may have had too much of something too high in protein or carbohydrates or maybe a veggie that he's sensitive to.

Stress can make it worse.

The primary lethargy culprit is probably the gas and GI disruption. He may have felt better after the massage and exercise but the gas bubbles reformed.

It often passes after a day. If it gets worse -- the lethargy and the runny cecals -- you should get him into the vet ASAP and have him treated for Cecal Dysbiosis. But you don't have to panic quite yet.
 
Thank goodness, I did get trasition food from the breeder but it wasnt enough not even a weeks worth she said she was running low, He was eating a local feed not sure on name she got it cause it was fresh and he is now on mana pro show I took away the pellets and I picked up the drops last night on my way home from work (thank goodness for 24hr walmarts) I didnt know about the pumpkin ill have to get some. Why is that used in a case like this?

Thanks for the info Pipp you really calmed my nerves :)
 
How is he this morning?

Canned pumpkin is a nice wet high fiber food so it does the job of adding fiber with the added bonus of providing a little fluid, and bunnies usually like it. (I always try and dish it out like a treat and convince my young bunnies to love it so they're more inclined to eat it when needed).

The bunnies take higher doses of gas meds than babies. An E-Lop will probably need a good 2 ccs or more. (You can't overdose on simethicone, its pretty safe).

Is he eating hay? (And a good grass hay mix is better than an alfalfa mix). Drinking water?


sas :clover:
 
No water drinking i added a little apple juice to try and help and no eating either, once my hubby wakes up Ill get the pumpkin, I am about to take him out and do the tummy rub again. Ill let you know how he does through out the day thanks again
Holly
 
A dry bath with cornstarch is really the best way to go. It actually works quite well for stuck-on poop and isn't nearly as stressful as wet bathing.

How long has it been since he's eaten?

Another good thing to give for upset tummies is Benebac. It's a probiotic that you can get from many pet stores.
 
If he still isn't eating at this point, and hasn't eaten since 5pm last night, you need to get him to a vet. He might have a blockage, and if not then you can get some Critical Care from the vet to force feed him. A big rabbit like him will need a lot of nutrients to keep him going and hydrated, and at this point he is probably dehydrated and in need of fluids.
 
Holly ~ all good thoughts coming from MN good luck and I am sure all will b fine since u are getting on top of things right away!!!
 
Good luck! You've gotten some good advice. The dosage for most infant gas meds is 1mL/hr for 3 hrs, then wait 3 hrs and give another dose if no improvement. My bf's bunny Frida (3yrs+) had a thing just like this a few weeks ago--I had given her a yogurt drop and that treat was just too sugary for her--she had watery, smelly poo. I gave pedialyte, a dose of simethicone, removed all veggies and pellets, new hay, pumpkin puree, and Bene-Bac (a probiotic). She recovered overnight. However, they're right that he should recover quickly from this if it's not a big problem so it's good you're taking him to the vet.

Make sure the vet does not give gut motility drugs--like reglan, cisapride, etc--some vets will give these for diarrhea which is totally wrong. I would want the vet to give some probiotic and sub-q fluids, plus asses his belly for gurgling noises (gas) and see if she thinks an antibiotic or anti-parasitic is needed--usually diarrhea in adults is caused by diet but parasites can do it too, and sometimes the bad bacteria that are promoted by bad diet can overwhelm the system and require an antibiotic to fix in adults too. Make sure they don't give him any drug that ends in -cillin by mouth.

Here's a good article although it does mention using immodium which I would only use in a rabbit if my vet thought it was totally necessary. Obviously with diarrhea you want to slow down the gut, but it can be really dangerous to do that in rabbits, particularly with a drug as opposed to hay etc.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/squirts.pdf

edited for gender confusion
 
ok so here we go He is much better this morning!
He is still not eating on his own or drinking on his own but he is fighting my help anymore
I took him to see the only "real" exotics vet and i was impressed by his knowledge but he was limitted on what he could do, so he recommened me to drive to texas a&m where they are 24hrs and have everything, well texas A&M is 2 hours away and I had to go to work, (my hubby took care of him while i was gone) I asked our vet what he thought they would do down there he said just overnight fluids, so i thought i should just force pedialyte to him along with the pumpkin (going to give to all my buns from now on as a "treat" thanks pipp for the idea) I also did the bene bac and the gas drops, he is kinda moving around again not much but its an improvement from yesterday and he will let me give him the pedialyte and pumpkin. when i do the skin check he doesnt seem as dehydrated either
so I will keep you updated
sorry i didnt post sooner along with the stress and having to work last night I didnt have the time thanks for all the support it really helps
 
OK new update, whn I got home from work at 3:00am (central time) Anntone was happy to see me(hes so sweet) he was sniffing me and nudging me to be pet, I cleaned out his crock and gave him fresh water, he drank it on his own he wasnt doing that before YAY!!!!! his poops are starting to look the normal shape and almost the right size, i still havent seen him eat any hay yet but ill keep watching, I did want to know when can I start to reintroduce his pellets?

Thanks again everyone, still keep him in your thought if you can, it means a lot and it seems to work.:mrsthumper::mrsthumper:
 
He really needs to be eating hay or Critical Care, the pumpkin isn't a main diet item, just a good high-fiber supplement. If he's only getting pumpkin and you don't have Critical Care, I'd start giving him a few pellets.


sas :clover:
 
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