Diahorrea - help please....

Lovely subject

Any ideas on what causes it in rabbits?
A lady I know phoned me early this morning as her rabbit had really bad diahorrea y'day and hasn't eaten since.
Last night the vet gave the rabbit an antibiotic injection and sent her home with recovery food and bio-lapis, neither of which she could get the rabbit to take. The vet told her to come back tonight, and even though she asked the vet to help clean the rabbit (absolutely covered in poo) he said he didn't think it was bad and sent her away:evil:
I got her an appointment at my vet this morning as I was worried about dehydration, and the fact he hasn't eaten in 24 hrs. His stomach is empty, but the vet didn't think he was in stasis
Hopefully the little fella will make a recovery, but she's scared of it happening again (lost her last rabbit with stasis).
Once he's home and out of danger I've offered to go around and look at his diet etc, but is there any advice in particular regarding the onset of diahorrea that's important, as I've never experienced it myself.

Thanks

It could have been something he ate that disagreed with him.

Coccidia also causes profuse diahorrea.

The most important thing is keeping them hydrated.....we put Misty onto sub cut fluids to stop her dehydrating.

No one elses rabbit had diahorrea??

This rabbit is being kept in by the vet overnight, so it'd be useful if I could get an idea from you guys on what the recovery rate is like - I mean do many rabbits die from this?

HI, I had problems early this year with "very sloppy" plop where I had to clean my bunny twice a day. The vet was at a loss as to what it could be and put it down to large course of anti-biotics he had over Christmas and said it would take time to regulate and to try to get him to eat hay (he completely refuses it even after trying everything and all different types).

I have moved him onto Oxbow Bunny Basics T which are hay based pellets and his poops have never been so good and I don't have to clean him at all now. However, you should note that this is no replacement for real hay if your bun will eat it.

Hydration is very important if it is severe so he may have to go on a drip at the vet.

Yep, the vet put him on a drip. I'm waiting for the owner to phone me with an update today, but the longer it goes the more I fear she may have lost him

Have the vets taken a feaces sample for analysis?

There are a number of things that can cause diarrhoea - bacteria, viruses, protozoas (such as coccidiosis), a change in diet, following antibiotic use or in times of stress. Whatever the cause the treatment is generally the same - fluid replacement, something to get the guts moving and some antibiotics. The rabbit should also be encouraged to eat by itself.

as ive recently had two rabbits with diahorrea one who pulled through and one who didnt, i thought i'd put my 2 cents in here

ive found diahorrea is often caused by stress (the first instance was a doe nursing an unusually large litter) and the 2nd was by fright... an idiot let a firework off next to the bunny shed

and obviously change of food or gorging on greens and 'wet food' are also causes... rabbits may frequently suffer from diahorrea if the weather suddenly turns warm and wet... fortunatly where i live this isnt a problem

in the first case the doe was taken off the litter and ive found to dunk em in warm water to get as much off as possible helps

bring them inside if theyre not already and keep them warm

syrine them fluids and recovery every hour untill they are eating and drinking on their own

put pro-biotic in their water... the doctor squiggles range is exellent

its an up all night syringing job

in stress or fright induced diahorrea the worst thing you can do imo is give anitbiotics as it upsets the delicate balance of the rabbits imune system and gives them less chance of surviving... (if the diahorrea is accompanied by other symptoms such as runny eyes, nose etc... its likely to be virus based and recovery is slim)

my vets tell me they have a slim chance of survival of diahorrea, but i believe this is because their first instinct is to pump them full of antibiotic :roll: incidently it should never be given to rabbits without also giving probiotic (unless theyre fed on excel... ) , but they rarely prescribe this...

ive had great sucess treating diahorrea in my buns when its occured and only lost one rabbit... the one mentioned above

who was a young 6 month netherland dwarf who went into fright after a firework, the shock caused her to shake vigurously it was awful to watch...

and for those interested the mother and full litter pulled through fine

x becky

Thanks for the replies
I'm hoping o hear something tmrw, as I'm guessing the vets have kept this rabbit in over the w-end - just hope he pulls hrough

I think that this is most likely a case of an viral or bacterial infection/ protozoa, I wouldnt expect a reaction to a food type to last this long

Anything can cause it but hay n water for 24hrs should sort it

Smokey often gets it if she eats cabbage (not allowed it anymore). Usually, I stop the cabbage, give her some dried blackberry leaves, lots of water with probiotics and plenty of hay and it usually clears up.

Are blackberry leaves good for an upset bunny tum then?? Might have to get some in for mine "just in case"

I've just had an update from the owner of this rabbit. It's still with the vet, diarrohea has stopped, but he's not eating by himself just yet. The vet is keeping him in until he's eating and pooping normally. The owner is so pleased that this vet has helped her rabbit and not just fobbed her off - she even sent me a big bunch of flowers y'day for taking her there

mullethead said:

Anything can cause it but hay n water for 24hrs should sort it

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Im afraid severe and 'real' diahorrea is very serious and the rabbits unlikely to be eating or drinking at all. Even if they are, they simply cannot replace the fluids fast enough naturally and S/C fluids or an intravenous drip is the best step forward.

BB Mommy said:

Are blackberry leaves good for an upset bunny tum then?? Might have to get some in for mine "just in case"

I've just had an update from the owner of this rabbit. It's still with the vet, diarrohea has stopped, but he's not eating by himself just yet. The vet is keeping him in until he's eating and pooping normally. The owner is so pleased that this vet has helped her rabbit and not just fobbed her off - she even sent me a big bunch of flowers y'day for taking her there

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You are correct in your thinking on this. ARC had a rabbit who had diarrhoea a few years ago for some unknown reason, all tests proved inconclusive, after using leaves this resolved.

Tara said:

Whatever the cause the treatment is generally the same - fluid replacement, something to get the guts moving and some antibiotics.

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:shock: In diarrhoea the movement of bowel contents is much more rapid and the normal reabsorption of water doesn't take place. This results in the passing of loose stools more frequently than normal. Giving something to increase gut motility will cause futher dehydration