Urination

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ajones

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Hello,
8 weeks ago I rescued a litter of rabbits that was rejected by their mom. She kindled on the wire and never fed them, this has given them many issues. They are starting to wean, but are very very sensitive to diet changes.
3 weeks ago I unfortunately had to change their hay brand (discontinued) and while i tried to do it slowly, they still reacted badly. Two had bad diarrhea, and one passed away. I was able to save the other with acidophilus tablets and Benebac. That rabbits had some milder diarrhea on thursday, so I got her back on acidophilus and the diarrhea stopped. Unfortunately now her vulva looks swollen and inflamed, and I think she is having trouble urinating.

It is hard to know if she is or isn’t urinating, as she lives with her two other siblings and I do not know whose pee is whose. It would be possibly to separate her, but they become very agitated and upset (jumping at cage walls, running up and down the sides of the cage) when they are separated. My theory is that some of her diarrhea dried and entered her vulva, which is making it inflamed and protruding. I have wiped it down with a warm cloth and cotton ball, and it does look less inflamed than earlier, but I am still not sure that she is urinating as I watched her sit in her litter box and I think she ground her teeth (head was vibrating) and no urine was underneath her, though she is having healthy droppings and those were under her.

I have thought to put an antibiotic cream (like neosporin) on her vulva, but worry it will trap urine as it is a sticky paste.

Her energy level is subdued, but she is not listless and is chewing on me and is capable of hopping around, she just seems to want to sit on me and chew.
 
If she's not urinating properly and is acting off, you will need to take her to be seen by a knowledgeable rabbit vet right away(by tomorrow). She could have a UTI which would need to be treated with the appropriate rabbit safe antibiotic(likely smz/tmp), she may also need fluids, pain meds, and may also need a syringe feeding mix if she isn't eating on her own. Because of her delicate digestive system antibiotic treatment could also put her at further risk, so just something to be aware of and make your vet aware of as well. If she still has diarrhea, that is an even more serious concern and I would try to get her seen tonight if at all possible to find a vet knowledgeable about rabbits. True diarrhea in rabbits can be life threatening very quickly.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

I'm sorry about the baby that you lost. It's surprising they would have such a negative reaction to you changing their hay. It's unusual for that to occur even with rabbits that have sensitive digestions. What type/brand of hay were you changing them from and what is the new hay if you don't mind me asking?
 
If she's not urinating properly and is acting off, you will need to take her to be seen by a knowledgeable rabbit vet right away(by tomorrow). She could have a UTI which would need to be treated with the appropriate rabbit safe antibiotic(likely smz/tmp), she may also need fluids, pain meds, and may also need a syringe feeding mix if she isn't eating on her own. Because of her delicate digestive system antibiotic treatment could also put her at further risk, so just something to be aware of and make your vet aware of as well. If she still has diarrhea, that is an even more serious concern and I would try to get her seen tonight if at all possible to find a vet knowledgeable about rabbits. True diarrhea in rabbits can be life threatening very quickly.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

I'm sorry about the baby that you lost. It's surprising they would have such a negative reaction to you changing their hay. It's unusual for that to occur even with rabbits that have sensitive digestions. What type/brand of hay were you changing them from and what is the new hay if you don't mind me asking?
Thank you for your response. Unfortunately it 3AM sunday morning and the exotic vet won’t open until afternoon monday, which is almost two days. The other closest one is 7 hours away. The good news is that she has more energy, and I believe she is peeing, her tummy does not feel swollen and she is drinking fluid and acting more normal. I am cleaning off her vulva with a cotton ball and warm water, and there is no discharge but it is more red and inflamed than it was last night. They were on a standard timothy hay, but the store stopped carrying their brand, they are now on a well known brand so that I can find it most places. It is common in hand raised rabbits to be sensitive to diet changes because they can’t eat their mom’s droppings and never got any colostrum.
 
If she's not urinating properly and is acting off, you will need to take her to be seen by a knowledgeable rabbit vet right away(by tomorrow). She could have a UTI which would need to be treated with the appropriate rabbit safe antibiotic(likely smz/tmp), she may also need fluids, pain meds, and may also need a syringe feeding mix if she isn't eating on her own. Because of her delicate digestive system antibiotic treatment could also put her at further risk, so just something to be aware of and make your vet aware of as well. If she still has diarrhea, that is an even more serious concern and I would try to get her seen tonight if at all possible to find a vet knowledgeable about rabbits. True diarrhea in rabbits can be life threatening very quickly.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

I'm sorry about the baby that you lost. It's surprising they would have such a negative reaction to you changing their hay. It's unusual for that to occur even with rabbits that have sensitive digestions. What type/brand of hay were you changing them from and what is the new hay if you don't mind me asking?

Update, 3PM: I have been wiping her every few hours and the swelling has gone down considerably. I am thinking more and more that something was trapped up there and is making its way out, I will most likely take her to the vet tomorrow if it has not completely resolved. She back to her normal self and has her usual bounce off the wall energy.
 
Hi, firstly, I have to say that I have a very little experience with rabbits so it is not an advise or anything, just I had very bad allergies myself and not using any antibiotics myself actually avoid official medicine where possible, using natural remedies where possible. I am growing some herbs on my backyard and have to say that simple herbal teas can sometimes be very effective, like thyme for chest infections, sage as a mouthwash for gums after tooth extraction works very well etc, also I've read that you can use strong thyme tea for cleaning cuts and wounds for the rabbits or using as drops if they're sneezy. I use strong black or green tea for making compress when I have eye infection etc. Just thought would it work better if you were wiping her with a strong tea instead of water? Wondering if anyone here using natural medicine for their rabbits?
I am glad to hear she's better now and fair play to you taking care of the little ones.
 
Hi, firstly, I have to say that I have a very little experience with rabbits so it is not an advise or anything, just I had very bad allergies myself and not using any antibiotics myself actually avoid official medicine where possible, using natural remedies where possible. I am growing some herbs on my backyard and have to say that simple herbal teas can sometimes be very effective, like thyme for chest infections, sage as a mouthwash for gums after tooth extraction works very well etc, also I've read that you can use strong thyme tea for cleaning cuts and wounds for the rabbits or using as drops if they're sneezy. I use strong black or green tea for making compress when I have eye infection etc. Just thought would it work better if you were wiping her with a strong tea instead of water? Wondering if anyone here using natural medicine for their rabbits?
I am glad to hear she's better now and fair play to you taking care of the little ones.
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Thank you, while wiping her this afternoon I actually managaged to loosen and remove this odd crust that had been covering her vulva, (it was gross, even by my standards haha) but the swelling has gone down tremendously and it is just a little sore looking now. I will check on her again overnight but I am hoping a vet visit will not be necessary. I will certainly consider mixing up some herbs in to the water if I feel I need to wipe her again. Thank you, it’s been tough with them but they really are worth it.
 

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