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Possible floppy rabbit syndrome

My Alfie was fine yesterday but when I went to get him out of bed this morning he could hardly stand and was all limp. He usually goes crazy in the morning but he just layed there. So I took him straight to the vets and she checked him over and couldn't feel any fractures - we thought he might have had an argument with his brother.

So she sedated him and exrayed him and they came back just fine. She said it could be either post traumatic stress or floppy bunny syndrome. She's given me some pain killers for him and told me to get this rodent multi vit that contains selenium.

They didn't give him the usual injection afer the sedation to bring him round incase he had got an injury. He came home at 5 pm and now it's 9.30 pm and he's still groggy. He can now sit up and has washed himself but he's having trouble getting about still.

I read that live natural yogurt with pure vitamine E can help 'cure' floppy bunny syndrom so I raced off and gave him a little from a syringe. About 5 minutes later he went from lying straight out with his head down to sitting up and moving about.

Do you think he will be ok? I'm worried that he's still a bit dopey (truth be told he's always been dopey:lol:) but he's so quiet.

I gave him sme banana and he nibbled ona bit of that.

I'm so worried about him. I dont know what I'd do if he doesn't get better, he's my little buddy:(
 
So sorry to hear about your rabbit. I'm not really able to give any advice but I amsure someone will be able to help you.
 
Bumping this up for Erroll who is going through a similar thing...... there is also a thread somewhere in this section that I bumped up the other day on FRS that may be of use!! It's titled 'Internet saves rabbits life' Good luck!
 
Oh poor bun, glad he is feeling better :)

Floppy rabbit syndrome is a bit of a funny one, there are arguments to say it exists and arguments to say that FRS is what a vet diagnoses when they are not sure of the condition :? Either way I don't have any experience with this but hope someone who does will be along soon :)

One thing I would say is that I would be inclined to avoid yogurt. Bunnies are not meant to have any diary. Most likely it was the sugar that perked him up, the banana will have the same effect, be yummy and healthy (in moderation too) :D

Good luck, I hope you find the cause of this and that Alfie continues to improve :)
 
If it's FRS in the term that his condition is related to a dietary deficiency then there are two schools of thought on this, one is that it is a Selenium/Vit.E deiciency and the other is that it's related to Potassium.

I have seen both in rabbits but the key similarity was the rapid recovery made on receipt of the administartion of either Vit.E or Potassium.

The rabbit with the Vit.E deficiency never relapsed after coming to us and has one Vit.E oil capsule squeezed onto his food every fortnight, after administering it to him when he arrived (he was totally limp when his owners surrendered him) he made a partial recovery the next day and was a normal happy, bouncy rabbit 48 hours later.


The key to treating FRS is preventing it which means keeping their mineral and vitamin levels topped up. Whilst the rabbit is paraletic they are unable to do anything for themselves so must be fed and watered and cleaned as they defecate where they lie. They can usually manage to chew and swallow slowly.

I hope this helps.
 
Real tomotoes & Banana for potassium deficiency and I use the 100% natural vitamin E capsules. Careful with the banana as it can cause bloat but plenty of tomotoes will not hurt :) Good Luck
 
Thank you for your replies

I have good news. He is feeling much better today. I popped him in one of the small indoor cages I have and put it at the end of my bed and pretty much sat up all night in the dark watching him. :shock: He was eating hey in the night and drinking and moved about a little.

This morning he looked much more bright eyed and when I took him out of the cage he was able to hop around the room very slowly. I gave him the contents of one vit E capsul today and a little bit of banana which he gobbled up. I also got some vitamin drops to put in their water.

His brother has been so great. He hasn't left him alone, washing him and snuggling him. Poor Oscar was so upset last night, crying and thumping his foot, he was just as upset about Alfie as I was.

He has eaten hey all day today and drunk quite a bit. He is now able to hop in and out of his litter tray and wash himself and his brother. He's no where near back to normal but he's no longer floppy, he can sit up and move around just fine.

Now I just have to stay up all night watching him because I'm worried in case he has a relapse.:?

I love my bunnies :love:
 
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