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Rabbit illness - help!

Amelia

Alpha Buck
Hi

Can anyone recommend a website which has lots of info on rabbit illlnesses?

I noticed on Thursday Tiggy was not being her ususal self and took her into the vets Friday. She has been diagnosed with conjunctivitus and gastroitus (I'm sure I've spelt that wrong!)

My OH had to take her to the vets as my train was cancelled on the way home so I wasn't back in time and he nevers asks as many questions as me so I just wanted to find out how she got this and what I can do about it.


I have been given antibiotics andeye drops for her, but am worried about her :cry: . The vet said only to give her hay to eat which she appears to be eating

She is currently residing in the bathroom as the vet said to keep her away from the other buns, but everytime I check her she seems to be sleeping - is this normal??

Also after doing lots of sloppy poos she doesn't appear to have done any over night? (although she does have a tendency to mostly do them during the day!)

She is going back to the vets Monday but again I won't be able to take her as I work in London and live in Eastbourne :(

Any help really appreciated :)

Thanks

Amelia
 
Hi Amelia, conjunctivitis can often be caused by an irritant in the rabbits environment. It could be caused simply by dusty hay, cigarette smoke or if a house rabbit, by aerasol products used in the home. The wheezing noise you hear could also be caused by that, mention it to the vet. But eye problems can also sometimes be an indication that all is not well with the teeth, so you should ask the vet to check her teeth if he has not already done so. Teeth and eye problems often go hand in hand in rabbits. If the tooth roots press up against the tear duct it can cause the ducts to be narrowed and block causing infection that shows as conjunctivitus. Hopefully this will be something that can be treated simply but some rabbits go on to have repeat problems. If your rabbits eyes don't respond to the treatment the vet should flush out the tear ducts to clear out any blockage and follow this up with antibiotic eye drops. Good luck with that :D .

For the sloppy poo it would be a good idea to have some probiotics from the vet such as Protexin Bio-Lapis, this will help to restore the gut flora and help with recovery.

I know the problem with sending the OH to the vet. I have rarely had to do that thank goodness. But once when I was teaching at the weekend I sent my OH in with a rabbit that had to be addmitted to have the teeth burred. He told the vet the information in such a way that the vet sent the rabbit back and said he would see him on Monday. I had to stop work, phone and ask to speak to the vet and send the OH back to admit the bunny. OH still never got why it was so urgent Arrrrhhhhhhhhh!!!!! But bless them at least they try :roll: :lol: :lol: .
 
Amelia, I don't know if this is going to be of any comfort but Merlin, one of my dwarf lops, was very, very ill on Monday - he had something called "clostridial enterotoxaemia" which is a disease of the bowel. The only thing I could think of to try to explain it to people was to say it was like gastro-enteritis in humans and he wasn't pooing at all. His temperature was very low and he was dehydrated so he had a 24 hour stint in hospital being put on a drip and pumped with antibiotics. He is absolutely fine now but only allowed a small amount of pelleted food, no fruit or vegetables and hay, hay and more hay, he has to be encouraged to eat as much of it as possible. He is recovering very well and it just seems that it is one of those fluke things really: the clostridium bacteria can, apparently, live quite happily in the rabbit's intestines without causing problems but on this occasion they did cause them. My vet told me that this condition was not contagious.

As for the conjunctivitis, none of my rabbits have ever had it but my dog has had it, in fact still does, she has a condition called kerato-CONJUNCTIVITIS sicca which to the likes of the uninitiated like me is better known as "dry eye" - this is a chronic condition and she will be on the chemotherapeutic eye drops she has for the rest of her life but there is no reason why your bunny's condition should not clear up with this treatment. What has the vet prescribed? Is it Fucithalmic?

Let us know how you get on and I hope you feel a bit encouraged by my experiences. :)
 
Just checked Tigs again and she has done a few small hard poos and so sign of any sloppies, so hopefully a good sign :)

She just seems to be sleeping a lot but guess it's cos she's just not feeling very well.

I'll have to have a look at her eye drops to see what the vet has prescribed and I will certainly give the OH strict instructions to ask the vet to check her teeth if they have not already done so (I think the safest bet is to write it down!)

I just feel a bit bad as I didn't even realise she had conjunctivitus as her eyes looked fine to me apart from she had a cloudy patch on one of them which is why i booked her in for an appointment. I'm wondering if I could probably have passed it on to her as I had an eye infection the other week :(

Thinking of starting up a bunny vet fund as is starting to cost me a small fortune these trips to the vets :)
 
Hi

this time he went with strict instructions on what to ask :lol:

Tigs still isn't herself and is still on anitbiotics but has stopped doing sloppy poos. She also isn't allowed any hard food yet, and although she has got plenty of hay I'm a bit worried about her as she is losing weight. :( (she's quite a slim bunny anyway)

Mr Bump is with her which I hope is ok as the vet did tell us to try to keep them apart but she is much happier when he is there.

She's going back to the vets on Friday for a final check over so hopefully will get the all clear :) .
 
Hope Tigs is feeling better today.

I'm sure if she is happier with Mr Bump then thats where she should stay.
 
Hi

Thanks for asking about Tigs. She still isn't her usual self, she seems to be sleeping a lot but not sure if that's because of the antibiotics (I'm sure it's the banana stuff that I use to have when I was younger)

She hates having the antibiotics as well - it really stresses her out :(
 
Poor tigs she probably just needs extra bunny nuzzles from Mr Bumps :oops: . I do hope she starts tp pick up soon, it's a worry when they are not themselves :? . Did the vet say what was going on with her now :?: .
 
When she saw the vet on Monday, it was a different one to the one that had seen her on Friday, and he said she still had conjunctivitus and gastroitus.

She appeared to perk up a bit about 10.00pm last night and came and sat down for a cuddle. I also gave her a couple of leaves of spring greens which she quickly chomped down and there were no "sloppy poos" this morning so think she is definitely geting back to her normal self.

She's going back to the vets tomorrow (and poor old Gandalf is going in for the snip) and hopefully I'll be able to get back in time from London to take her (though judging by the way the trains were running today I'll be lucky!!). Fingers crossed :)
 
.Good luck at the vets tomorrow, glad to hear Tigs is getting better :D . Poor Gandalf, he would be crossing his legs if he knew what he was in for tomorrow :oops: :lol: :lol: :lol: :roll: .
 
Thanks

Tigs has been given the all clear :) :) all the vet said was that we needed to keep an eye on her weight as she has lost quite a bit of weight from only eating hay. I gave her a small amount of greens tonight which she wolfed down.

Now poor old Gandalf is on baytril now as his op went okay but the vet had trouble removing one of his testes :( hopefully he should be ok, we just have to keep an eye on him. He's looking very sorry for himself at the moment.
 
Amelia said:
Thanks

Tigs has been given the all clear :) :) all the vet said was that we needed to keep an eye on her weight as she has lost quite a bit of weight from only eating hay. I gave her a small amount of greens tonight which she wolfed down.

Now poor old Gandalf is on baytril now as his op went okay but the vet had trouble removing one of his testes :( hopefully he should be ok, we just have to keep an eye on him. He's looking very sorry for himself at the moment.

Ahhh great news abouts Tigs...ouch poor Gandalf I'm sure he'll be back on top form soon, sending bunny snuggles to both of them x
 
My bunny died on friday night, 11.45pm. She was in the middle of an operation as I had returned home from work to find her in shock - cold, docile and huddling in a corner. Her stomach was five times the normal size and full of fluid. The operation revealed that three quarters of her large intestine was dead and her caecum was bloated.

You're probably thinking that I'm irresponsible for not noticing that there was something wrong before I left in the morning. I've thought that myself. But there was nothing wrong with her that morning. She was happy and perky and normal looking and eating as happily as ever.

The vet says that it is likely that it was a claustridium/clostridium infection as it took hold so quickly and destroyed her digestive tract.

She was such a wonderful bunny, I've never seen one with such a bright personality. It beaks my heart every time I think about her, but my OH wonders why I keep crying.

If anyone else has any experience of something similar, please let me know. I have another rabbit, a little boy, and I'm terrified that he might catch it. I've bought him a whole new home and feed, and I won't let him outside. When can things be normal for him?

V sad bunny owner.
 
I am very sorry you lost your bunny.

Rabbits do tend to hide their symptoms well so please do not blame yourself. From your previous post you sound like a responsible owner.

Unfortunately rabbits can go down hill very quickly once they show signs of being ill. I don't know anything about your bunny's illness but maybe someone else can put your mind at rest.

You did your best and acted as soon as you saw something wrong. That is all any of us can do.

Take care.
 
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