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Don't know what to do ='[

loobie_lou

Mama Doe
One of my friends has basically asked if I want to take her rabbit as she can't offer him the home he needs, but I don't think I can take him in as he's neither vaccinated or neutered and he has some medical problems at the moment - which she is refusing to seek advise from the vet for.

I feel really bad because this bunny is suffering, but I know that If I took him I'd end up having him to the vet constantly - he seemingly has an intermittent problem where by his back end seems to give way and he can barely walk - yet the next day he is totally fine.

Can anyone offer any advice or help? I can't take this bunny as much as I'd love to =[

Lou xx
 
Are there any rescues near you that might take him?

Your right for not taking him on if you couldn't cope though.
 
I could cope with another bun, and I am looking for another one - but I think he has a problem which could result in my finances going all on him with none to use for my other babies.

By taking him in he would have to live as a single bun as I'm looking for a doe for Kitt, it wouldn't be practical at all.
 
Could it be floppy rabbit syndrome? This can be due to a lack of potassium I think. EC also can cause hind leg paralysis.
 
I'm really not sure. It's really strange. She brought him round to mine the other night as she said he seemed to flop on to one side. When she put him on the floor (bare in mind he's only about 5 month old maximum) he struggled to use his back legs to walk, and seemed to lean more to one side. I also noticed that his head seemed a bit swollen. He was still eating, so she said she was going to take him to the vet ... which she didn't do =[, she said she woke up and he was fine... running around as normal. But then the other day she text me to say he'd gone the same again.
 
Awww that's sad but don't feel bad for not being able to take him, afteral he's not your resonsibility. I would try and find a rescue that would be willing to take him, if they have no room could you foster him until they find him a home? I think in this situation they would pay for his vet bills.
 
My friend is from Liverpool, so uni.

I think I'll speak to a few rescues. She's not sure what to do, whether or not she should get rid of him, but I think it's the nicest thing she could do for him. She has no intentions of bonding him with another, and I don't think she'd go so far as having him vaccinated - it's not fair at all.

I could foster him temporarily, but the problem I have there is if he's carrying something.. I can't risk my healthy babies catching it, as he'd be in the garden with them. x
 
Can you try and persuade her to take him to the vet, she's being cruel by not doing so and your right to worry about your own rabbits health. Maybe tell her that if she takes him to the vet to see whats wrong then you could take him in and find a home through a rescue?
 
I've tried everything. The vets I take my babies too do free rabbit check ups - I mentioned this to her, forced the number on her and everything - even gave her a make shift rabbit pack with some hay, advice sheets and an insurance form to get the ball rolling. She is really irresponsible. I tried deterring her from getting a bunny when she got the idea from me... but she didn't listen. I make sacrifices for my bunnies, she doesn't make any for hers =[

I've texted her all weekend asking about him, and she's not replying to my texts. Assuming it's because I said I couldn't have him, but I would help finding someone who can.

x
 
Oh, poor little bunny!:cry: :cry: He sounds like he REALLY needs veterinary attention ASAP. She sounds VERY irresponsible to me.....why are some people so cruel when it comes to their pets???????:evil: :evil: :evil:
 
Can you not get him but take him to a rescue or your vet immediately so you save him but don't risk him giving yours something>? Or do you have another friend who could just put him up for the night until you get him to rescue/vet> ?

My rabbit Monty has FRS but they don't recover that quickly. It takes 4-5 days for them to come out of their seizures.
 
It makes me really sad, but mad at the same time. I don't have a clue why she wanted to get a rabbit, but I remember her going on about all the 'ugly' rabbits in other pet shops she's seen. For the few weeks of his life he lived in an area of the kitchen which was cordoned off by cushions, then he lived in an indoor cage I leant her (which I've still not got back), and now he lives in a hutch which sounds suitable (but I've not yet seen it).

Guess she's still in the kids stage as she's now 'grown' out of it. Maybe she didn't realise the responsibility. I mean personally I think bunnies require more attention than cats and possibly dogs, not to mention the binding of time they hold. I love that about my bunnies though... instead of going out getting wasted and wasting money on alcohol, I can now happily spend my money on looking after and treating my babies =] x
 
Can you not get him but take him to a rescue or your vet immediately so you save him but don't risk him giving yours something>? Or do you have another friend who could just put him up for the night until you get him to rescue/vet> ?

My rabbit Monty has FRS but they don't recover that quickly. It takes 4-5 days for them to come out of their seizures.


I think at this time of year it'd be difficult to find a rescue around here which can take him as I know that most rescues are quite full.

What's FRS?
 
It could be a potassium or selenium deficiency, both are very easily and cheaply fixed :?

Gyp was surrendered to us as his ex-owner refused to seek help for his total body paralysis episodes and we paid a £2o consult fee and spent £2 on a tub of vitamin E capsule and he has never looked back.

Potassium can be managed with tomato juice and banana or a powdered extract from the vets (that can cost a bit).

If he has EC or neurological damage (EC/Stroke) or even spinal damage then that could be expensive.
 
And this is what I used to diagnose Gyp:

SYMPTOMS.
Unless you are familiar with this condition, often the first sign is an apparently healthy rabbit lying limp in its cage. Upon examination, the rabbit has little or no movement of any limbs and just "flops" in your hands. Sometimes the only sign of life is the small "twitch" of the nose. If you are alert for the condition you can often spot the early signs before the rabbit has progressed to total paralysis. If a rabbit is sitting quietly in the corner of its cage (in no apparent distress) I give it a gentle push. If the rabbit falls over and finds it difficult to regain its feet I immediately suspect Paralysis or Flopsy. Sometimes a rabbit can still be hopping around the cage but its hop seems a little unsteady and unbalanced.

The progression of the condition can vary between rabbits. Sometimes a rabbit can be perfectly healthy and yet an hour later is dead in its cage! Other rabbits can gradually get worse over several hours and remain in a paralysed state for several days. Rabbits with a rapid onset of the condition can rarely be saved.

I have found that most of the rabbits I lose are between four to ten weeks of age - when the doe is weaning them. However other people have found that they seem to lose adult rabbits. A rabbit that has recovered from Flopsy seems to be susceptible at any future time of stress and any offspring appear to be more likely to be affected by it. It also seems as though this condition occurs in certain "lines" of rabbits - often ones with small gene pools

Some sort of diet deficiency seemed to be the most likely theory, possibly linked to certain lines of rabbits being "genetically" vulnerable to this deficiency. Murdoch University became involved and agreed to do tests on rabbits to see if they could discover any common factor. Rabbits that were affected by Flopsy, or died because of it were sent to the Uni for autopsy and tests.

Since rabbits treated with vitamin supplements sometimes recovered, breeders tried to discover which particular vitamin was the culprit. Early laboratory tests seemed to suggest a potassium deficiency and so rabbits were placed on banana diets!! However later tests seemed to discount this theory. Since hypocalcaemia (or low calcium) has similar symptoms many breeders began treating their affected rabbits with Calcium Sandos (an expensive and sticky treatment). This seemed to work sometimes but not always.

A BREAKTHROUGH.
Murdoch Uni found that some rabbits were deficient in Selenium but researchers found it difficult to find accurate base levels for these nutrients. By chance, an American vet visiting Murdoch University’s Veterinary School stated that in America they had found Vitamin E was necessary for the absorption of Selenium. Selenium is a mineral that functions as a part of an enzyme, glutathione peroxidase, that is involved in the removal or detoxification of peroxides, such as hydrogen peroxide, that are formed in tissues during normal metabolic processes. Vitamin E functions by acting as an inter – and intra – cellular antioxidant to prevent peroxide formation; thus Vitamin E and Selenium are very closely related in nutrition. The rabbit is interesting in that it apparently depends completely on Vitamin E for protection against peroxide damage. Both nutrients function by preventing tissue destruction by toxic peroxides formed during metabolism. In a deficiency of either Vitamin E or Selenium, tissue breakdown due to peroxide damage occurs. This results in destruction of muscle tissue (nutritional muscular dystrophy), infertility, reabsorption of foetuses and a variety of other effects..

AETIOLOGY
Vitamin E is an essential dietary requirement and one of its most important roles is as an inter – and intra – cellular antioxidant to prevent peroxide formation. In this capacity it prevents the oxidation of unsaturated lipid materials within cells. It is also logical to conclude that there is a positive correlation between fat input and vitamin E requirements to prevent peroxidation. The more active the cell – such as those of skeletal and involuntary muscles – the greater the inflow of lipids for energy supply and the greater the risk of damage if Vitamin E is limited. If skeletal muscles are involved, the effect is white muscle disease and the affected animals appear stiff or weak, often unable to rise or walk. If the myocardium (heart muscle) is affected, heart failure which appears as sudden unaccountable death usually results. Involvement of diaphragmatic or intercostals “breathing” muscles may lead to difficulty breathing and an accumulation of fluid in the lungs (secondary pneumonia).
 
Thanks for the help Sooz, I'll ring my friend when I finish work.

It's getting to me now how I've not heard anything from her about it =[
 
Can you not get him but take him to a rescue or your vet immediately so you save him but don't risk him giving yours something>? Or do you have another friend who could just put him up for the night until you get him to rescue/vet> ?

My rabbit Monty has FRS but they don't recover that quickly. It takes 4-5 days for them to come out of their seizures.

Gyps seizures lasted 3 days, from total paralysis to sitting up & shaking to normal. He relapsed fortnightly.

He had to be fed and watered by syringe but he ate/drank greedily. We had to clean up after him as he toileted.
 
The only thing I can see is the back end being disfunctional, he tries to jump around and doesn't seem in pain. I wish I could just take him to the vet for her =[ x
 
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