• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Rabbit not drinking

betheii

betheii

Young Bun
Recently 3 of my four rabbits had passed due to the cold weather
one including as my surviving rabbit baby.
and one of the older rabbits being her sister.

so because of this we brought the suriving rabbit inside, and I noticed she hasn't been drinking or eating as much as she normally does, the drinking is more of the concern because she only drank about a inch of water in two days, I been trying to give her watery food.

im really concerned since she witness her baby death, since we were out when it happened, and her sister death who died in my arms, this could be grieve but im really concerned
 
How did they die from the cold weather? Did they get too cold and die or was it related to the cold weather, but something else? I don't mean to sound insensitive or anything, I just know it's very uncommon for a rabbit to die from the cold if they aren't babies and have lots of hay and am curious what it was that caused their death's.

I am also sorry if that sounded rude or anything like that as it wasn't supposed to, I just wasn't sure how to word it.

Regarding the drinking, if you are giving watery food then she won't need to drink as much because she would be getting a lot of water from the food. My indoor bunny doesn't drink a huge amount either but he sounds like he drinks more than your bunny has been. Your bunny could be in slight shock, not because of the death of the other rabbits, but because she has gone from being in the cold to being in the warm very suddenly. Is she still eating and pooing normally?
 
One of the dead rabbits were 4 months old, and she was caught out in the rain. so we are sure she died of the cold.

but the two other rabbits that died were 3 - 2 years olds, and they weren't eating properly, like their food would be gone, and they would be pooing normally, but they were basically skin and bones. so we are not sure what exactly killed them. the older one, had been out in the rain, and he doesn't react good to water, but he seemed decently fine. he wasn't our rabbit, he was only there for breeding (and that was back in September, but we couldn't get hold of the owner until when we found him dead)

she eating decently not as much as she was, I been giving her apples (without the pips ) and small amount of lettuce what she been eating.
she being pooing normally though

Thank you for replying
 
What lettuce have you been giving her? Rabbits shouldn't eat light colored lettuce, also you shouldn't be giving her too much apple, only about 2 or 3 thin slices a day. I'm not sure if you know seeing as you said one of the rabbits was not eating before they died, but if a rabbit stops eating or pooing it is a medical emergency, and if the amount the eat/poo reduces then they should also be seen by a vet as it can quickly turn into a medical emergency.

You said the 4 month old was 'caught in the rain', what do you mean? Did she not have access to a hutch?
 
They were eating, but I don't know why they were so skinny

and I mean, her mother, learnt how to open the doors to the gates for her hutch, and we must of thought the baby knocked the door and fell out, and when we found her, my sister said she was kinda limp
 
betheii said:
They were eating, but I don't know why they were so skinny

and I mean, her mother, learnt how to open the doors to the gates for her hutch, and we must of thought the baby knocked the door and fell out, and when we found her, my sister said she was kinda limp
Click to expand...
They may have had worms or some other type of parasite or something like that.

Ahhh ok, that makes more sense now. I first thought you meant that you kept them outside in the rain or something.
 
they could off, since my surviving rabbit who was in a different hutch, she looks fine a little skinny , but not as much as the other two.

I would never, I normally let them run in the garden when it warmer and sunny, but whenever I see them outside, and it raining I rush to them
 
betheii said:
they could off, since my surviving rabbit who was in a different hutch, she looks fine a little skinny , but not as much as the other two.

I would never, I normally let them run in the garden when it warmer and sunny, but whenever I see them outside, and it raining I rush to them
Click to expand...
Make sure you get her wormed just in case, has she had a vet check since the other rabbits died?

Aww good, supervised playtime is always fun for them, but it's never nice seeing them getting cold and wet, it must not be very nice for the poor little things bless them.
 
No we haven't I been too busy with college,
I will try take her as soon as I can

Oh! I know I always would wrap them in a towel to warm
 
It sounds important to get her seen by a vet in case it was parasites that the others had, in which case she could also have it and if she has will probably need medication for it.
 
I would advise you to do more research on rabbit care as it is so sad you have lost your rabbits, but even more sad to read you were trying to breed with so little knowledge.
Please don't breed any animal until you really know as much as possible on their care and health problems..it isn't fair on them.
Hope you managed to find time to take the last one to a vet and it manages to survive
 
honeybunny said:
I would advise you to do more research on rabbit care as it is so sad you have lost your rabbits, but even more sad to read you were trying to breed with so little knowledge.
Please don't breed any animal until you really know as much as possible on their care and health problems..it isn't fair on them.
Hope you managed to find time to take the last one to a vet and it manages to survive
Click to expand...
I agree with this so much. I personally don't actually agree with actively breeding bunnies as there are already so many poor little babies living in rescue centres waiting for a home. However as honeybunny has outlined, it is extremely important that should you decide to breed rabbits, you must be fully aware of the correct care for them.

I am also curious to know whether or not you have got the surviving bunny to the vets and how she is doing?
 
I know breeding with rabbits, since I bred my rabbits years ago (back then I had no idea, and we had no idea the rabbit genders since the owner said they were both boys) so we knew what to do, the surviving rabbit was excellent mother, made her nest and everything. but the other one did not. we only planned to breed them once, even the owner of the male, said only to bred them about once or twice, then she was going to get him fixed (despite her rarely contacting us, and didn't seem to care when he died )

I have an appointment with the vet on tuesday
 
rabbits don't generally drink as much as say a cat or dog and can get water from their feed. A few tips are - make sure the water is fresh, mine can be fussy if the water is a few days old. Bunnies like cool water so if the water is a little warm, change it (Here in Australia we give our bunny cold water out of the fridge, especially in the summer) if the rabbit is using a water bottle, try using a bowl (a heavy bowl is a good idea as the bunny WILL throw it around if they're bored, playing or it's in the way) and lastly try using a baby eyedropper to 'feed' it some water. If doing it this way insert the eyedropper into the back of the mouth a small way and gently squeeze a little bit of water into the mouth NOT down the throat. Lastly Rabbits can be susceptible to wet weather particularly young rabbits, we lost our female 'Patch' (New Zealand REW) to pneumonia and we didn't even realise she was sick until an hour or so before she died.
 
she finally finished one water bottle which took her around 3 days to do so, but she been drinking most of today which is good, I refilled it everyday but to point where it was before so I could trace it persay.

The baby was out in the rain, so she got pneumonia for that :c poor baby, the suriving rabbit learnt how to unlock the hutch so that how the baby got out
while with the older ones, the male was dead when I came home from college, even though I was unsure at first because his eyes were wide up. but my brother checked, I got out the female that was with him, she seemed fine (but was awfully skinny) so I set her down with some food, and got her sister (suriving bunny), they were eating fine, then the female, did this sprint and then fell limp, I picked up her, she was still alive but wouldn't stand, I even tried placing her on the floor, but she was lying there, I could just feel she was goining to die, because I started whisperin don't die on me, and then her body started to lock and she had this strange fit, while she was fighting it, there was no saving her :c

but they will be in my memories, and hopefully the male owner memories
 
and how did you get on at the vet?
I would still question your rabbit care knowledge and say please do more research
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Cocoandpickles
general advice for new baby
Replies
8
Views
254
Cocoandpickles
Cocoandpickles
ActuallyARabbit
Strange Abdomen bloat help!
Replies
16
Views
395
bunny momma
bunny momma
B
Rabbit stressed? Choosing to stay out in cold & cecotropes
Replies
8
Views
314
Omi
O
Back
Top