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Expert advice urgently needed! Baby bunny! Pics added.

Hi everyone, I'm Lindsay, a veterinary nurse in herts. I hope you don't mind me crashing your forum but I urgently need some experienced advice re a patient. I've got a very young baby wild rabbit, brought in yesterday afternoon after the people who found it couldn't get it to drink any human baby milk! I'm not sure how old it is as info on the internet is sketchy but i'd say 2-5 days. It's naked, eyes closed, 3-4 inches long and weighs 40 grams. It has got teeth and whiskers but I think they're born with them? It hasn't been feeding much at all since i've had it but the last 3 meals it's taken about 0.5-1.5mls each time. It seems better since I switched from Cimicat to goats milk. All the websites I've looked at say don't overfeed but give daily ammounts at anything from 2-15mls! I'm giving it all it will take. It's also having a little avipro. Its had really crackly breathing since i've had it, so its had a tiny smidgen of Marbocyl SA injection. I'm finding it hard to figure out how hydrated it is as I don't know how its supposed to look! It's very wrinkly and skin tents for about 2 seconds. As for toileting, I can't make it do anything but it poos on its own. Does this mean it's weeing on its own too? Its poos started off really tiny and very hard but have got a little bit bigger and are now green! Is this a bad sign?! I'm getting really conflicting advice so need advice from some people who've done a lot of rabbit hand rearing. Is aspiration pneumonia always fatal or does it have a chance? I don't want to put it through all this if its pointless. Any hints/suggestions/tips really appreciated. Hedgehogs are much bloody easier! Thanks.
 
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Hi

I am no expert but I do know that the baby has the odds firmly stacked against him/her being that young :cry:
He/she sounds as though gut dysbiosis has set in ( green poo ) :cry:
I am told that Full Fat Goats Milk or Cimicat are the best things to use when attempting hand rearing. The only success stories I have heard of involve babies who were at least 10 days old when orphaned. But I am sure Wildlife Centres have had successes with much younger babies.
A mother Rabbit will only usually feed the Kits once every 24 hours. Her milk is extremely rich and near on impossible to replicate 'artificially'. So hand reared Kits need feeding more often. Some people say 4-6 times a day, but only small feeds.The Kit will need assistance toileting and will need to be on a heat source or in an incubator. Care must be taken when feeding as the Kit can easily aspirate the milk.
Locating a Doe who has recently kindled might be a possibility. She may accept the orphaned Kit. But I am not sure about the risk of disease transference :?

If the Kit is still alive today try contacting these folk

http://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk/

Janex
 
Totally naked or does it have a velvety coat? If its still pink it's only a few days. They should look a bit like hippo's at that age sort of plump with folds. There are some images here (click on the thumbnails for more): http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Ho...Pikas/Reproduction-and-Development/index.html

Info on hand rearing here: http://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/handrear.asp

You need 3-4 feeds a day, at that age 1ml per feed is probably about right. About 1-2 x age in days = ml per day seems to be a very rough guide.

Small black poops are normal, green ones are possibly sign of gut problems :( Stroking gently after feeding usually makes them wee. Once they can do it themselves you get wee'd on whilst feeding.
 
Thank you so much. Little guy survived the night and drank 1.5mls with gusto this morning. Poos not looking good though, green slime everywhere today :(. He is a bit velvety, have taken some photos and will post one in case that helps when I figure out how. Snuffling seems a little better today. He has a snuggle safe and a cuddly toy and seems to be staying nice and warm. I'm guessing he'll live just long enough for me to get really attatched! The good thing about being a veterinary nurse is at least I can take him to work with me. Please keep the advice coming. Thanks.
 
Do you have any powdered Colostrum at work? Also it may be worth adding probiotics to the milk to try and help balance the gut flora.
 
Just taken another 0.5mls and is at last starting to look a bit round. Skin is tenting less too. More green poo though, the only thing i can find on the net about this says it's E-Coli! Any comments on this?

Thanks x
 
Hello :wave:

Well done for helping this dear little babe. Green poo isn't a good sign. Is he passing any normal coloured poo?

Sounds like he has an enteritis possibly enterotoxemia but I'm not an expert. Mucoid enteritis is very common in baby bunnies and is a killer.

When my rabbit was very ill....he is an adult bun though...with a really awful upset tummy he was prescribed metronidazole, an antibiotic often used to treat upset stomachs in rabbits amongst other things, but not sure if you can give that to baby bunnies :?

Another thing that was recommended to use was a powder which you mix with water that is supposed to draw the toxins out of the system and allow the bun to excrete it. Can't remember the name now...will go and have a look for you.

Sending lots of vibes for baby bunny.

Love,

Nicola and Harvey xxx
 
The powder that you add to water is called Questran. You can get it from chemists with a veterinary prescription. It is supposed to absorb toxins from the system.

Obviously try and hydrate bunny as much as possible. Can you give subcut fluids to a bunny that small?

Some vets use Baytril to rule out infection but my rabbit was prescribed metronidazole as this is a very good antibiotic for gastrointestinal upsets. I'm not sure about using antibiotics in such young babies though.

Keep bunny nice and warm, in an incubator if possible.

Lots of vibes,

Nicola and Harvey xxx
 
Woo, did it!

Don't have any colostrum, should I get some? He is having avipro.

It's very expensive but some vets keep stock. Colostrum is present in the first few feeds of mums milk and is the basis for a kick start to the immune system. I would think it would be very advantageous to him right now if you could source some.
 
Thanks all, the help is much appreciated. I'm at work now and will give him some s/c fluids and some more Marbocyl SA, Em the vet says it kills E-Coli and other such things. Any other ideas?
 
Hi :wave:,

My vet uses Marbocyl for respiratory infections usually. The Metronidazole, also known as Flagy S, was used for infections of the gut but that was in an adult rabbit.

Protexin Bio Lapis is a very good pre and probiotic to help reestablish healthy gut flora which you mix with the feed.

I don't know how safe antibiotics such as metronidazole are for such tiny and weeny babies though. Maybe somebody else on here can advise.

Hoping the baby will be o.k.

Nicola and Harvey xxx
 
oh gosh, he's really really young!

Good luck with him. I've a wild bunny I handreared but he was around 8 days old when I got him.
 
Thanks again guys for all your help. He has just scoffed another 1.5mls. Will switch from avipro to Bio Lapis as suggested. Still no wees at toilet time but plenty of green poo juice in bed. I'm wondering if the poo is staining the wee green. There are some reasonably firm small dark bits in the green poo slime, hopefully this is a good sign! A local rabbit lady came in and had a look and thinks he is more like 5-6 days old which would be good. Since this morning, his head has started to go brown! He gets hairier every time I look at him! Keep it coming x
 
ooh tiny bunny hope u make it little one! sounds like ur really looking after him and he has the best chance with u:D
 
Hi :wave: I'm also a Vet Nurse and hand reared 6 wild rabbits last year, sadly we lost 2 but the other 4 lived and we have ended up keeping them as pets :D. They were about 5 days old when I got them and I feed them on Cimicat 5 times a day and also gave them a blob of Fibreplex 3 times a day. I kept them on a sugglesafe to keep them warm. Their droppings are yellow when they are being fed milk and quite soft but they shouldn't be runny. It sounds like your little one is feeding well, so thats a good sign :D.
Good luck,
Emily
 
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