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Urgent help

F

ferig

New Kit
Hi,

Last year my two rabbits passed away within a couple of days of each other with similar symptoms.

On sat my partner and I got 2 new rabbits from the same litter.

This morning she has phoned to say that one is lookng as if it is about to die with the same symptons that the last 2 had:(

I've read a bit of literatire on the net and the symptoms are similar to e.cunuculi or Pasteurellosis.

Would it be possible that such an organism could persist in the hutch. We fully disinfected the hutch with a pet friendly disinfetant and bought all new bedding/accessories so not sure what else to do?? The pace at which this has happened is the worrying thing. I checked her thismorning before i left and she was fine but a couple of hours later and she is very ill!! It was the same last year with my old rabbits.

She has moved the other rabbit into a carrier while she trys to sort a new hutch. Could it be something in the wood of the hutch cos everything else is new.

Any advice would be appreciated

regards

Ferig:cry:
 
ferig said:
Hi,

Last year my two rabbits passed away within a couple of days of each other with similar symptoms.

On sat my partner and I got 2 new rabbits from the same litter.

This morning she has phoned to say that one is lookng as if it is about to die with the same symptons that the last 2 had:(

I've read a bit of literatire on the net and the symptoms are similar to e.cunuculi or Pasteurellosis.

Would it be possible that such an organism could persist in the hutch. We fully disinfected the hutch with a pet friendly disinfetant and bought all new bedding/accessories so not sure what else to do?? The pace at which this has happened is the worrying thing. I checked her thismorning before i left and she was fine but a couple of hours later and she is very ill!! It was the same last year with my old rabbits.

She has moved the other rabbit into a carrier while she trys to sort a new hutch. Could it be something in the wood of the hutch cos everything else is new.

Any advice would be appreciated

regards

Ferig:cry:
Click to expand...

You need to get the Rabbits to a Vet now
You may stand a chance in saving them but they must receive Veterinary treatment.

Please dont delay getting these Rabbits to a Vet :cry:
 
Yes - bacteria / organisms can survive in the hutch, bedding etc etc so you do need to get the bun to the vets.

What were the symptoms? Some viruses / bacteria can survive in the area for months (VHD) so depending on what it is you may need to address revising their accomodation. Good Luck and Fingers Crossed for you and your bunny x x x x x
 
Thanks for the quick replies.

The little girl has unfortunatley died:(

The boy has now been seperated until we sort a new hutch later on today. He seems fine should i take him to the vet as he is not displaying any symptoms.

Symptoms - rapid, like i said she was fine thismorning. Not seen her deteriorate but my partner says she was the same as the others last year.

They lost control of their back legs and lay on their side, shallow breathing before dying. Its the speed thats worrying. With one of the rabbits last year by the time id organised a vet appointment(it was late at night) she had died:(

Going to discard that hutch as i think it has to be something in the wood as everything else was brand new

Any ideas

Ferig
 
Yes take him to the vets urgently.

Symptom wise - how has their eating, pooping, drinking been?

Has there been any discharge from their eyes, nose, etc

The losing control of their back legs, etc sounds like the final stages.. a siezure maybe before dying... what were their symptoms before hand?
 
They have been eating/drinking/pooping have been fine.

No symptoms i.e. discharge from eyes etc. 8am today she was fine by 9.30 lay on her side:( no symptoms before this!! behaving normally.

Since we had them their diet is what they were on before as the lady ssent a bag of their pellets with them. Also gave some hay and a little fresh veg.

I'll get my partner to take the little boy to the vet.

regards

Ferig
 
Depending on their age (less than 12 weeks) it is best to avoid veg - as this can cause them enteritis / and give them poorly tums. But I would imagine there would have been symptoms of this.

As well as visiting the vet, you need to speak to the breeder / petshop to check whether the rest of the litter have had this sudden illness - they may be able to tell you what it is, if they have been to a vet (which I doubt!) but it is worth a try. It is more than likely something they "came with" rather than picked up if you have seen no symptoms :)
 
Sorry forgat to say they are 12 weeks. The little boy is going to the vets asap! I'll also get her to call the breeder. They only had a tiny bit of veg and no runny stools.

Just seems strange that its exactly the same as last year when we lost our other 2.

Like i said the hutch was scrubbed clean with disinfectant and everything was new.

The only thing i can think of is the hutch which will now be scrapped!

Thanks for the replies

Ferig
 
So sorry for your loss.
Would you be able to consider having a post mortem done on the little one who died this morning? This would give the vets the best chance of knowing what they are dealing with and therefore give a better chance to the surviving bunny.

I also lost two bunnies last year to I don't know what and had another die suddenly a couple of months ago. Having a post mortem this year helped me enormously as I knew it wasn't contagious.

I really hope your remaining rabbit will be okay, it's so tragic to loose them so young.
 
its something that i may consider as the other 2 had the same symptoms. Suppose if we know exactly what it was then we could prevent it.

Not sure what else we could have done but the hutch will deffinately go
 
So sorry to hear you have lost a bunny today, its frigthening that something can take them so quickly.

Where was the hutch from, had they been chewing it, could it have been treated with a non animal safe preservative? What bedding are you using? Is it possible that they could have been in a stressful situation e.g. worried by a fox or dog?

Again sorry for your loss and please get the other bunny straight to the vets, please tell them whats happened over the phone and I'm sure they will fit you in quickly to help ensure your remaining bunny has a good chance.
 
are these breeder's rabbit? There is a lot of problems w/ breeder's rabbits. There is usually a lack of genetic diversification. My bridge bun Goofball passed away w/
numerous health problems, including having bone cancer at age just less than 2.
 
Dustyrabbit said:
So sorry to hear you have lost a bunny today, its frigthening that something can take them so quickly.

Where was the hutch from, had they been chewing it, could it have been treated with a non animal safe preservative? What bedding are you using? Is it possible that they could have been in a stressful situation e.g. worried by a fox or dog?

Again sorry for your loss and please get the other bunny straight to the vets, please tell them whats happened over the phone and I'm sure they will fit you in quickly to help ensure your remaining bunny has a good chance.
Click to expand...

The hutch was bought online, forget what make it was but i've not treated it. Dont think they have been chewing it as provided wood chews that they've had a go at.

Bedding was normal straw from pets at home. Also newspaper and sawdust in litter tray.

It is possible a fox/cat could have been in the garden during the night. Would this be enough to kill one? Plus she was fine before i left for work.

Other bunny is off to the vet in a bit

ferig
 
I agree that the remaining bunny needs to see a vet immediately.

It may not be anything to do with conditions your end. If the bunnies have come from the same breeder, they could be coming to you with an infection of some type.
 
My first though would be coccidia too, or bloat, possibly triggered a change in diet and stress of rehoming.
Were these rabbits vaccinated? if not VHD is possible.
Is there any chance they could have come into contact with herbicides or pesticides?
I also saw one case where two rabbits were affected by similar symptoms. One died, one survived. The vet suspected ant bites around the mouth may have caused the problem
 
First of all thanks for all the replies!

My partner has taken the little boy to the vets, waiting for them to come back. He seems fine but best to get him checked, maybe the vet may have some advice.

With regards to hebicides/pesticides, i've not used anything like that in my garden.

Jack's Jane - thanks for the links, I having read them twice now I think it may be Coccidiosis, a couple of paragraphs in the second link really make sense and explain our situation.

Will dismantle the hutch and take to the tip to be on the safe side

Regards

Ferig
 
Hi, they are back from the vets. The vet seems to think its is E.cuniculi.

He as prescribed panacur rabbit as a preventative measure.

anything else we can do to help Harry, although he is not displaying any syptoms.

Regards

Ferig
 
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