Poorly Rabbit

kiwichick

Hi All,

Not sure where to post this one but this seemed the best forum.

In the summer I rehomed 2 female rabbits (sisters) from a lady whose children had grown tired of them. She told me they we about 18 month old and that they had never been to the vet or had any jabs etc.

They were very overweight and in a tiny hutch when I got them. They now live in a much bigger hutch with a big run on the lawn and get fresh veg, water and rabbit food daily.

Yesterday I let them out and it seems that in no time at all one of the girls has gotten really unwell. She is very boney, I can feel her lumpy spine and see where her ribs end the poor thing. She isnt hopping about and seems to be unsteady on her feet. Her eyes look normal and shes eating OK. There are some funny looking dropping though which I am assuming come from her. Not single pellets like normal but quite wet looking and looks like lots of moist pellets squashed together.

I'm not a horrible person and I love my animals, as do my children. I know there is somthing wrong and am torn about what to do for her. I dont know whether shes actually older than I was lead to believe and that this is old age or whether shes really ill. They've not been to a vet mainly because theyve always been healthy but also because I cant afford the fees as they are extortionate.

So my question now is this. Do I bite the bullet and take her to a vet knowing it will cost me a small fortune? Do I bring her inside to stay in the bathroom for a few days to see if being away from her sister and in the warm helps her to regain some strength???

Any ideas guys???

Thanks so much,
Allison

jmarko

two answers:

1 - make sure she has access to an unlimited supply of dry hay.

2 - if you were ill and i said to you, well i could take you to the doctors knowing it would cost me a small fortune or i could just take you inside for a few days to see if you get better but you might not, what would you rather do?

we're skint at the moment and my rabbit's been unwell. four visits to the vet and a hundred quid that i haven't got later, he's better and being a right pain in the b*m. thing was, the rabbit didn't have any money. rabbits are like that. the deal we did was that he would live with me and try to eat his way through my home and in return, i would look after him.

i hate to sound like a moaner but it doesn't matter how little money you have, you're your pet's only way of getting looked after. TAKE HER TO THE VET.

i shall now stop moaning!

sorry!

jmarko

ps allison, i know you will feel bad and annoyed now. but hopefully you'll also see the point i'm trying to make! :hello:

katiekittykat

The only thing to do is to take her to the vet!!!!

kiwichick

Thanks guy x My instinct was to take her to the vet as I hate to see the poor baby as she is. One of the mums at my daughters school is married to a vet so I'll have a chat to her at pickup time and make a time to take poor bunny to him. In the meantime I have separated the hutch into 2 living quarters and cleaned both out so they are clean and warm.

emmahip

The stuck together poos you descrbe are quite normal - they are called secals - but a healthy bunny will normally eat these (sounds gross I know!) which is why you don't normally see them.

Rabbits, in my experience, are oneof those cruel to be kind animals when it comes to feeding. They love treats but shouldn't really have them very often! Any change in diet can cause an upset to their digestion and with rabbits this is bad. Loads of fresh hay, limit the amount of greens and access to fresh water.

Whether to seperate them is a really difficult question - if you do they might not accept each other again but if you don't and it's something infectious you could be risky the healthy bunny.

Definately a trip the vets though - and I would bite th bullet and get them both innoculated against myxomatosis, it is carried by mosquitoes so any rabbit can be affected. You wouldn't want the horrible consequences if they got that.

Sorry if it sounds harsh but you shouldn't take on the responsibility of any animal if you don't have the means to provide proper care for it.

All the advice says you should have non-breeding females spayed but we also had 2 sisters - got them both spayed and 1 never recovered from the operation so I can't say I'm convinced on that score. We have a rescued female to keep the first one company, she is not spayed and much more bolshy but they seem to get along most of the time!

I really hope your bunny perks up soon. All the best!

jmarko

kiwichick wrote: »

Thanks guy x My instinct was to take her to the vet as I hate to see the poor baby as she is. One of the mums at my daughters school is married to a vet so I'll have a chat to her at pickup time and make a time to take poor bunny to him. In the meantime I have separated the hutch into 2 living quarters and cleaned both out so they are clean and warm.

:T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T

you're doing the right thing. i have to add, in my experience, the vets i've used aren't that massively expensive for what you get. like i said, i spent about £100 for four visits and that included all the meds and a myxy jab too. each actual consult was only about £12 or something.

and it's a small price to pay to see a happy bunny! :j :j

well done!

jmarko

emmahip wrote: »

Rabbits, in my experience, are oneof those cruel to be kind animals when it comes to feeding. They love treats but shouldn't really have them very often!

too true! we keep our rabbit's treats in an airtight plastic box (the sort you get chinese takeaways in). yesterday, i was getting a biscuit from the same sort of box and he flew at my feet and clawed up at my leg! oh the guilt!

obviously, he got a treat! :rolleyes:

but he take so long to get through a packet of his biscuity things, that it's not an issue (i'm talking months per packet!).

for his every day treats, we give him fresh herbs. he lurves them! (look on the intersuperhighway for more info on which are best for them - they are homeopathic, dontcha know!)

emmahip wrote: »

Definately a trip the vets though - and I would bite th bullet and get them both innoculated against myxomatosis, it is carried by mosquitoes so any rabbit can be affected. You wouldn't want the horrible consequences if they got that.

and fleas - which are much more common.

welf_man

And the other thing is to get the other one insured now, before she gets ill! It should be well under £10 a month and removes all this worry and stres.

Hope bunny gets better!

Mel.

pavlovs_dog

no advice but nice to see you around again kiwichick :wave:

Michelden_2

Maybe you could try the local PDSA (if there is one near you).

kiwichick

Sadly she died before the vet apt (fri afternoon). The kids (3,4&5) have taken well and have all held her and said goodbye. Had a family funeral for her over the weekend and are going to plant a tree on her grave to mark her memory.

Have taken the other bunny to the apt that the poorly one didnt get to, just to give her the once over and it seems she is fine. The vet said it was probably old age.

Thanks for all the advice guys x