Help with unwell girly

[JP]

We recently picked up an un-neutered girl from a rabbit rescue to be company for our older neutered boy. We kept them apart for the first couple of days and then introduced them to each other in the garden.. they seem to have taken to each other really well and he hasn't left her side. She has displayed some nesting type behaviour (pulling fur out of her chest) but as he has been done for some time there is no chance (although he did have an attempt!).

Today she was not moving around as much as she had done previously and when we picked her up she seemed to be wet around her bits and a bit swollen and having not had girls before we were not sure what this was. We took her to the vets straight away and they said that her eyes were bright, however as she seemed to be a bit tender around the bladder and the damp was urine so it may be a slight infection and they have given us Baytril to put in the water... This was not that helpful really and we wondered if anyone could help. I was not sure if it was something to do with bonding or possibly phantom pregnancy..

She will be neutered soon but I did not want to stress her out as soon as she arrived in her new home. Any suggestions?

[abbymarysmokey]

If it is a urinary tract infection, baytril should hopefully clear it up quickly.

Putting the baytril in water is a bad idea though, because you have no idea how much the rabbit is actually ingesting. I'd ask the vet for the sort of baytril that you can squirt directly in the mouth.

Amy

[JP]

thanks for reply..im just been more worried in the fact she doent want to move around much..and staying hiden in hutch now..mind she has her new man grant led by her side..i was wondering if this is part of a bonding interest or she is just feeling ill??

[josette]

i ll have the same advice than amy...
If it is urinary track infection, the batryl will help, but if you have the courage to tast it, it's really... bah i think the word is bitter...
so, puting it in the watter is not a good solution (you can't be sure she will drink it).
The solution can be to give it to her with a bit banana past, in a serynge (without the needle of course) or in a small plate.
She might not really confortable with urinary infection, painful maybe? And the vet journey is stressfull...
take care of you re little hairy thing,
cec

[JP]

cheers..yeah i did find it strange putting it in the water bottle for the both of them to drink..ive got some banana's so think il try that to make sure she gets the medication in her..bless she is such a sweet girl too..

[abbymarysmokey]

It's difficult to say why she isn't moving around much, but sick rabbits do tend to hide away, it's their instincts telling them to avoid being picked out by predators.

You say she feels tender around her bladder, so a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) seems likely. There are various causes of UTIs, so the best idea is to treat the infection with antibiotics and work with your vet to find a cause if the UTI is persistant/recurring.

Just a thought...is she spayed? If not, she may have a uterine infection/cancer which can present similar symptoms to UTIs.

Amy