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Sixth vet visit in their first two weeks with me

Vita

Mama Doe
This is tough. These rabbits are brand new to me - and I'm new to rabbits. They've been ill such a lot. I took out pet insurance as soon as I could, but it still hasn't kicked in and of course it won't cover the problems that appear in the first 14 days. The shop, thankfully, paid for some of their initial treatment, but I took them to see a rabbit specialist and now I'm having to pay. Just as the gut troubles (diarrhoea in both, then constipation in one of them) got better, one started to sneeze.

The first sneeze was after she got some Bio-Lapis powder all over her nose - she couldn't keep her nose out of the food bowl whilst I was putting it in. So I didn't worry too much as it looked like just a temporary reaction to an irritated dusty nose, and she had no other symptoms. Then a day or so later when she was sneezing a bit more frequently, I called the emergency vet and they said not to worry, but keep an eye on it.

They are still both alert and energetic and eating plenty, but Ada's sneezing has got more violent, she has started sounding a bit raspy sometimes, and yesterday I saw some snot on her nose for the first time. I have never yet seen Beatrix sneeze. So off to the vets where I will ask for culture & sensitivity tests to be done. They were both on Baytril last week for their gut problems. Sadly the specialist rabbit vet isn't on today and isn't back until Wednesday. I was hoping to be able to ask him whether it will be safe to give B her jabs soon although A is unwell.

It's such hard work at a time when I'm not very well myself, and as I've posted before, Ada loathes medicine syringes to the extent I'm worried she'll hurt herself (or indeed bite me if I try too hard) when I'm giving them to her.
 
Sorry to hear you having a hard time with your new buns. It sounds as if you are trying to care for them so much. Bunnies can be such a worry when they are not well.

I can't offer any practical advice, but hopefully someone more knowledgable will see this soon.
 
Aw I'm sorry to hear this. :( You're doing all the right things though. Where did you get your bunnies from if you don't mind saying? Sounds like their could be something wrong genetic wise if you're having all these problems straight away. How old are they?
 
Hello, thanks for replying.

Sorry, I hadn't logged in since these replies, I don't think.

Not asking for advice right now. I just wanted to be able to say to people who knew about looking after rabbits, what was going on, so I felt a bit less alone.

The rabbits came from Pets at Home. They were fine when I met them in the shop, but the first lot of illness started about 24h later. P@H paid for the first 4 vet trips and journeys. They are about 10-11 weeks old now.

It is hard work and expensive. I haven't had a lot of time just to enjoy their company - though there were a couple of days when the gut problems had cleared up and Ada's sneezing hadn't got really bad.

I have been feeding them leafy foods and rolled snacks by hand the last few days though, and they are so eager for them! It's adorable. When I was exhausted yesterday, I decided to try giving Ada her Metacam in the cage, and she just quite happily took the syringe and sucked it! It was amazing. She objected to all syringes before, but maybe it was the indignity of being grabbed and towelled that she hated more than anything.

Because they had been on Baytril too rencently for tests to be any use - and they are still eating fine - Ada is not getting any antibiotics. If she isn't better in 7-10 days, she'll need to get the culture and sensitivity tests, which are quite horribly expensive.
 
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Sounds like you're having a tough time with these buns. :( Hope it's just a temporary problem and things improve for you soon. I know how much stress sicky bunnies can cause. x
 
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