Urgent rabbit advice needed we have a sick bunny.

[Figaro88]

Hi, my dd rabbit is unwell I took him to the vet as an emergency today. The vet didn't really know what was wrong but ruled out teeth and limb issues. He gave the rabbit an antibiotics and anti-inflammatory injection plus antibiotics and anti-inflammatory to give at home for 10 days. Plus he force feed/syringe feed the rabbit with a paste food which we have to do 5 times a day as he is not eating. My question is how quickly should the antibiotics start to work? The vet said it was a 50/50 chance, I was so flustered thinking how upset dd would be I forgot to ask. Thank you

The most important thing you can do is keep them eating (as well as keeping up with the medication and keeping them calm and warm). How did you know the rabbit is ill? Are they hunched up / flopped out, grinding teeth? Have they been vaccinated and neutered?

As well as syringe feeding the paste you can syringe small amounts of pineapple juice or baby fruit puree. You can make your own paste by dissolving pellets in warm water or fruit juice. Also offer tempting bits of fresh food like dandelions, herbs, whatever their usual favourites are. Make sure there's lots of hay available.

Hope your bunny starts to feel better x

Thank you for the advice. I noticed he was unwell as he hadn't come out of his hutch at all today. Our garden has 8ft walls all around so during day light hours they free roaming, when I went in the shed the check on him he was just laying down with laboured breathing so went straight to the vets. I tempted him with all kinds of fresh fruit that he usually loves, pineapple, blueberries, raspberries etc but he is just not interested.

BlackInk is right. However the vet should have given you gut stimulant medicine to syringe as that will hopefully make him eat a bit better. You don't mention this and the most important thing is that your bunny eats something so this is necessary. Please check this and ring your vet if you haven't got any.

Has he got metacam as well? If he's in pain this will help

Is the vet a rabbit specialist? If not it's probably worth seeing someone who is experienced with rabbits ASAP (they are very different to dogs and cats, prey animals usually hide their symptoms when unwell and only usually show symptoms when very sick).
It's really important he keeps eating (gut stasis is very dangerous).
Good luck

You need to get him moving around. It seems cruel when they're ill but it gets the gut moving. Gently chase him about. At a slow walking pace so he hops a little, it will be all he can manage.

How is he OP?

Is he pooping? It helps indicate whether his gut is moving.

OP, all the advice you've been given is good advice. I myself have had bunnies for nearly 20 years (I'm not a vet but have experienced GI stasis twice in that time and it's scary!). It's VITAL his gut is moving and so you need to ask your vet for a gut stimulant like Fibreplex. Bunnies often go crazy for tiny pieces of ripe banana - can you tempt him with some if he won't eat other things like herbs or dandelion leaves? It's very worrying he's refusing food. Syringe-feeding will fill his tummy but it's no good if he's not digesting or passing the food.

Is he passing caecotrophs (not normal round dry poos but the darker, sticky ones that they SHOULD eat)? Is he eating them?

If bun doesn't poo overnight you need to take him back to the vet first thing in the morning. They may need to do an x-ray to see if there's a blockage or other reason he isn't eating.

Hope he's ok and back to normal very soon. Well done for getting him straight to the vet this morning and don't forget to ask for Fibreplex.

Get yourself on a rabbit forum and ask for your nearest rabbit specialist vet.

Rabbit forums have people with a wealth of knowledge.

Hope they are feeling better soon

Wishing you the best of luck with your poorly bunny.

Thank you all for the advice. The powder The vet gave us was called Rabbit Critical Care and is a complete feed apparently. He has had 3 feeds of 4 full 15ml feed and he had pooed and wee if the last hour or so. He even came out of his cage to eat some grass/weeds. I got to eat a slice of Apple as well and gave him so water by syringe. The antibiotics injection seems to have really helped there is a marked improvement in him.

The vet checked his tummy/bowel for an obstruction and it was all clear.

It’s much more likely that the pain relief and force feeding helped.
It sounds like bloat/gut stasis - keep syringe feeding him and ensure he stays hydrated - good luck OP

How is bunny now? Check ears to make sure they don't feel cold. Keep them hopping around as this will get the gut moving and keep checking in them throughout the night if possible as they can go downhill very quickly. Sounds like you are making progress hope bunny continues to improve x

Assuming he's checked for that rabbit disease that they get vaccines against (not mixie the other one).

I could also have been heat stroke, they often breathe heavy with the heat, it's is hard for them, even slightly warm for us and they are roasting. Is the shed cool enough?

Anyway, sounds like bunbun is getting better now :)

Glad to hear bunny seems to be on the mend! Let us know how he is tomorrow please.

PS. "Not Mixie (I think they mean Myxo) the other one" - the 'other ones (plural) are RVHD (Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease) and RVHD2.

The rabbit vaccinations are all up to date they were both vaccinated against all 3. He has eaten some pellets just now as well only about 15 or so out of my hand but at least it was something. His ears are warm, he is actually warm all over he did have a temperature so the vet that might mean an infection hence the antibiotics. When I took him to the vet this morning he couldn't even stand up so seeing him hop a few metres in the garden to eat some weeds/grass was a massive improvement. He even had a little dig while he was out which was amazing to see.

Brilliant news!

No... 'they' meant mixie. I just couldn't be bothered googling how to spell myxomatosis.

Wow it sounds like he's doing really well you're so lucky. Well done

So pleased bunny is feeling better now 🐇🙂

Morning, our rabbit seems to be on mend so fingers crossed we caught whatever it is he has in time. He has had both the painkiller and antibiotics this morning and 3 full syringes of the paste food. My dd managed to hand feed him a small piece of banana, a slice of Apple, 2 blueberries and 4 dandelion leaves. I know it isn't much compared to normal but it is a start. He has stretched his legs for a few minutes this morning, we feed him in the house then popped him outside the back door to make his own way back to the cage. Someone up thread said that getting him moving was good for his digestion he went pretty much straight in but dig stop for a nibble of grass and a small dig on his way. His hutch is probably 20m away from the back door and seemed to be moving a lot easier this morning.