Hello,
My name is Katie.
I recently joined the forum because my bunny has been super super ill (can't remember the name of the illness- will ref later, but it means she cannot absorb nutrients from her food) and when I took her to the vet they basicly told me that there was nothing I could do and my bunny will die.
Well this was a few months ago, my bunny luda has been very ill suffering symptoms of diarrhoea, bloating, constipation, lack of interest in food, extreme weight loss (she looks like an anorexic bun).
Two days ago I went to her cage in the morning and found her laying with her head down, shaking her head rapidly from side to side, she was disorientated, couldn't walk and wouldn't eat or drink. I was sure she had had a stroke. Since then I have been taking care of her and she is happily hopping about, cleaning herself and eating.
So I thought I would share some of my tips that I've been using to keep her alive, she is quite a happy and active bunny so I don't feel like I'm unfairly keeping her alive.
I'm not sure whether the things I've been doing are 'good bunny care' tips but in my case for my intensive care bun they have been working and I haven't had any better advice from my vet.
* things she CAN'T eat (she gets bloated/diarrhoea) any vegetables or grass or fruit.
*things she CAN eat - pellets, herbs of any kind and carrots.
*medicines- pro biotic from vets which is called fibreplex and one called metoclopramine syrup.
* When she won't drink I mix water with a little fruit juice (about 1 part to 5) and give it to her with a syringe.
* I wipe her bum every day with a cloth and some small animal shampoo, bathing her traumatises her and makes her too cold.
* she won't eat hay so I mix her pellets in with it in hope she might get some in there by mistake
* I give her some babies gripe water (a little lick of it) before she has her pellets in the morning and evening to help with gas and bloating.
* I made her a little bed next to the radiator so she can keep warm. I also give her a hot water bottle when I don't want the radiator on.
* she has a little salt lick so she is less malnourished (I noticed she was licking the brick wall a lot and thought she might be mineral deficient)
Luckily I work from home so I can care for her 24/7 when she's very sick. She still enjoys a run around for a few hours every day. I can't work out how she is still alive to be honest.
Does anyone have any tips they could add?
I am trying to help her put on weight, then I'm sure she would be a lot healthier, but I'm not sure how. I don't want to over feed her because she's always so hungry I'm frightened she would literally eat herself to death and rupture her stomach.
Are there any high calorie foods safe for rabbits?
Plus can you feed rabbits pro-biotics for humans? (maybe its a silly question) because the pro-biotic for rabbits is £20 a bottle.
Katie
My name is Katie.
I recently joined the forum because my bunny has been super super ill (can't remember the name of the illness- will ref later, but it means she cannot absorb nutrients from her food) and when I took her to the vet they basicly told me that there was nothing I could do and my bunny will die.
Well this was a few months ago, my bunny luda has been very ill suffering symptoms of diarrhoea, bloating, constipation, lack of interest in food, extreme weight loss (she looks like an anorexic bun).
Two days ago I went to her cage in the morning and found her laying with her head down, shaking her head rapidly from side to side, she was disorientated, couldn't walk and wouldn't eat or drink. I was sure she had had a stroke. Since then I have been taking care of her and she is happily hopping about, cleaning herself and eating.
So I thought I would share some of my tips that I've been using to keep her alive, she is quite a happy and active bunny so I don't feel like I'm unfairly keeping her alive.
I'm not sure whether the things I've been doing are 'good bunny care' tips but in my case for my intensive care bun they have been working and I haven't had any better advice from my vet.
* things she CAN'T eat (she gets bloated/diarrhoea) any vegetables or grass or fruit.
*things she CAN eat - pellets, herbs of any kind and carrots.
*medicines- pro biotic from vets which is called fibreplex and one called metoclopramine syrup.
* When she won't drink I mix water with a little fruit juice (about 1 part to 5) and give it to her with a syringe.
* I wipe her bum every day with a cloth and some small animal shampoo, bathing her traumatises her and makes her too cold.
* she won't eat hay so I mix her pellets in with it in hope she might get some in there by mistake
* I give her some babies gripe water (a little lick of it) before she has her pellets in the morning and evening to help with gas and bloating.
* I made her a little bed next to the radiator so she can keep warm. I also give her a hot water bottle when I don't want the radiator on.
* she has a little salt lick so she is less malnourished (I noticed she was licking the brick wall a lot and thought she might be mineral deficient)
Luckily I work from home so I can care for her 24/7 when she's very sick. She still enjoys a run around for a few hours every day. I can't work out how she is still alive to be honest.
Does anyone have any tips they could add?
I am trying to help her put on weight, then I'm sure she would be a lot healthier, but I'm not sure how. I don't want to over feed her because she's always so hungry I'm frightened she would literally eat herself to death and rupture her stomach.
Are there any high calorie foods safe for rabbits?
Plus can you feed rabbits pro-biotics for humans? (maybe its a silly question) because the pro-biotic for rabbits is £20 a bottle.
Katie
