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Baby Wild Rabbit Advice Please

hartleyhare

Warren Scout
I have been brought a baby wild rabbit who has been attacked by a Stoat. There is a superficial wound on bun's neck from being grabbed, doesn't appear to be punctured just skin torn a little. My biggest concern is bun has a slight head tilt, damage caused by being shaken perhaps? Lady had bun overnight before bringing it to me. There were originally two but second bun was more eriously injured and died. I think bun is about 3-4 weeks old, weighs 265g. He/she is able to eat a little grass, dandelion flower, tips off a bramble but I'm not sure if it's fully weaned, so wondering if I should be giving milk feed? I'm wondering what treatment could be given for the head tilt or if I should wait a few days to see if it resolve by itself. I have Metacam and can take bun to the vet if need be. I had a wild rat baby who was attacked by a cat, which left him with a head tilt and loss of sight in one eye. Tilt improved on Metacam but didn't resolve altogether, so he lived as a pet with my boys.
 
honestly, I would suggest a rescue center. this will sound harsh but nobody who hasn't been given the proper training can really do anything. a lot of the time when people try to take care of wild animals who are injured, they end up dying within the persons care. its not their fault, but they do not have the equipment. a lot of times when humans intervene like this, they kill them instead. whether that is from feeding incorrect food or just stress. a lot of people do not have incubators either or a team of people to feed around the clock care.. access to veterinary treatment etc.

the wound on the neck would need to be seen to via a vet. it could easily become infected and an open wound is open to all wonderful types of bacteria.

wild rabbits are not pets, far from it. they shouldn't be kept as pets. if you have any other bunnies you're endangering their lives by having said wildie with them. he could carry diseases and while yours are vaccinated, it doesn't mean they should mingle.

he would never be considered a pet and shouldn't be.

wild bunnies are weaned upon 3-4 weeks of age also.

sure you could take him to the vet, but then you could be posing a risk to anybody else who takes their bunny there should he have diseases. they can lie dormant for while. most vets have to disinfect everything after a wild animal, and heavily, for the risk they pose to our pets. I'm not sure what good it would do anyhow since he really needs the hole closed up and a dark room. medication would be likely needed too.

tl;dr: take him to a rescue center so he can be fixed up and released back into the wild, where he should be.
 
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Bless you for helping:love: I would take him to the vet, they treat wild animals for free. If he’s eating that’s a good sign at least. Some people on here have experience of raising wildies, hopefully they will see this, although some aren’t on here any more. Babsie hand reared one, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you sending her a PM if she doesn’t see this. Rescue or wildlife centres might give support or offer to take him in.

Good luck, I’m sending lots of vibes :thumb:
 
A somewhat alarmist approach binkyCodie. I did not say he/she was a pet. I did not say I intended to keep bun as a pet. I also said there is no hole or puncture wounds. I am perfectly aware of health risks and take precautions whilst bun is here. Just for clarification purposes with due respect I wanted advice on the head tilt not a lecture on health risks.
 
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Thank you Zoobec. I am primarily a Hedgehog carer but I have pet rabbits. The lady who found the buns lives locally to me and knows someone who knows me, so she thought I would be able to help.
 
I disagree binkcodie. Plenty of people on this forum even have had wild rabbits as "pets". The forum owner, Tamsin, had a wildie named Scamp for many years.

I also don't understand why you don't think he should be taken to a vet. The vet is where most people take wild animals that need help, then they find a rescue center if necessary, as generally speaking vets are much easier to access for most people. Spreading myths about a baby wildie being so nasty and full of disease that it shouldn't be taken to a vet is irresponsible imo.

hartleyhare, I hope others can advise you on what to do. I think the most important thing right now is just to make sure the wound doesn't get infected and that the bunny remains settled and eating. If it's 3-4 weeks it'll be weaned I think.

I think it's great that you're kind enough to help it and that you've done the same for a rat in the past :love: As a fellow wildie rat owner I think that's awesome, many others would've just let a baby rat die because it was "diseased" (total myth btw) or assumed a wildlife rescue center could care for it, when in reality they can't always find someone to care for disabled wild animals.
 
William thanks for your reply. I agree wholeheartedly with everything you have said. I'm pleased you have pointed out the 'myths '. My vet will treat all wildlife and the Hedgehogs they get they send to me. They treated Scrappy, the wild rat. He was such a loving, gentle boy, I do miss him and his little ratty kisses. What is your wildie Rat's story?.

As far as wildie bun is concerned I did clean the abrasion when he arrived and it's been checked daily. It looks to be healing up. He was quite shocked when he arrived obviously but has calmed down a lot and looks a lot brighter . He/she is pooing/weeing ok. I have offered some softened rabbit food and a selection of fresh foods. The soft food has been eaten a little.

I am hopeful that the head tilt will improve either with or without treatment. It doesn't look as pronounced this morning, although I did find with Scrappy the wild Rat that it improved and then reached a plateau and stopped improving. I'm inclined to observe for a couple more days before a vet visit. I will take bun if need be but a vet visit will obviously be stressful and involves a car journey. I'm not thinking too far ahead at the moment, just aiming to deal with the immediate situation day by day.
 
Thanks for the link Zoobec, some interesting stuff in it. I have hand reared a new born domestic bunny, with reluctant help from his mum, but it was awhile ago and I've forgotten a lot of what I did.

Bun is feeling better I believe tonight. Has come out of the sleeping box and been exploring around the cage. Currently sat behind the sleeping box. Has also eaten some unsoftened rabbit nuggets as well as grasses, bramble tips and grass seed heads.

The skin abrasion has virtually healed.
 
Just sending loads of vibes for your baby Wildie :love: It sounds as though he/she is progressing well.
 
So glad bunny is doing well! :D

Yeah, Floki and Scamp are the two wildies that always come to mind for me :love:

William thanks for your reply. I agree wholeheartedly with everything you have said. I'm pleased you have pointed out the 'myths '. My vet will treat all wildlife and the Hedgehogs they get they send to me. They treated Scrappy, the wild rat. He was such a loving, gentle boy, I do miss him and his little ratty kisses. What is your wildie Rat's story?.

As far as wildie bun is concerned I did clean the abrasion when he arrived and it's been checked daily. It looks to be healing up. He was quite shocked when he arrived obviously but has calmed down a lot and looks a lot brighter . He/she is pooing/weeing ok. I have offered some softened rabbit food and a selection of fresh foods. The soft food has been eaten a little.

I am hopeful that the head tilt will improve either with or without treatment. It doesn't look as pronounced this morning, although I did find with Scrappy the wild Rat that it improved and then reached a plateau and stopped improving. I'm inclined to observe for a couple more days before a vet visit. I will take bun if need be but a vet visit will obviously be stressful and involves a car journey. I'm not thinking too far ahead at the moment, just aiming to deal with the immediate situation day by day.

Yeah, wildlife rescues/rehabbers say to practice basic hygiene but that baby rats pose little to no health risk because if they had a serious disease they would've died already - baby rats are so delicate!

I think it's good you haven't risked a vet visit yet and are just dealing with it day by day - that's my idea as well! As last thing you want is to cause unnecessary stress in the crucial recovery period. Whenever I rescue wild critters I usually first make sure they're comfortable in a dark, quiet, warm room (for most animals, I put them in a 10 or 20 gal. fish tank with a blanket draped over it and supplemental heat if needed). I then let them de-stress for a bit and then assess the situation and decide what the next step should be. The most important thing is to get them out of shock this way, and get them eating/drinking. I expect you know all this, but for anyone else reading this, imo this will get the best results, unless it's a real emergency situation. :)

Well the story is I've had 3 baby (2-3 week) roof/black rats (Rattus rattus) that I rescued from cats. The first was Nezumi. He had an injury but recovered (though was still disabled) but then 2 months later he got sick and died:( And then my other two, Kichiro and Yoshitoki, are 2.5 yrs and over 1 yr. Kichi had a streak of blood on his fur from a slight cut, but healed fine by himself. Yoshi wasn't injured at all but he was only 2 wks old so not weaned, however he immediately took to eye dropper feeding and fell in love with me about at the same time. They're both such funny, lovely, intelligent rats, and Yoshi is so affectionate, he comes when called (cage-free in my bedroom) and will sit and beg for head rubs until my hands are tired lol.
 
So, little bun has gone from 265g to 325g in a week. Eating nuggets, veg and fresh grasses well but not sure how much hay is being eaten. I'm quite rubbish at sexing very young buns so still not sure whether boy or girl.

The head tilt looks slightly more pronounced but this may be because bun has grown. His mobility is good but has slight sideways gait and vision appears reduced on side of tilt. Doesn't stop him from jumping on top of his sleeping box though and sitting up to have a look at what's going on. I have had a rabbit and a wild rat with head tilts and they coped fine. Currently have a Guinea Pig with a head tilt and again he doesn't let it bother him. A wild rabbit with this kind of impairment is a different matter altogether.

If it should become necessary to keep bun would he bond with another bun ( domestic )? I'm just thinking ahead and trying to plan for all eventualities.
 
So, little bun has gone from 265g to 325g in a week. Eating nuggets, veg and fresh grasses well but not sure how much hay is being eaten. I'm quite rubbish at sexing very young buns so still not sure whether boy or girl.

The head tilt looks slightly more pronounced but this may be because bun has grown. His mobility is good but has slight sideways gait and vision appears reduced on side of tilt. Doesn't stop him from jumping on top of his sleeping box though and sitting up to have a look at what's going on. I have had a rabbit and a wild rat with head tilts and they coped fine. Currently have a Guinea Pig with a head tilt and again he doesn't let it bother him. A wild rabbit with this kind of impairment is a different matter altogether.

If it should become necessary to keep bun would he bond with another bun ( domestic )? I'm just thinking ahead and trying to plan for all eventualities.


Parsnipbun on here (Twigs Way) has bonded a wildie with domestics. She's busy atm but I'm sure she would respond to a PM.
Otherwise I have her personal email address.
 
Well, I just went into the lounge and there is little Amber flopped out in his cage, back legs outstretched!! How very sweet is that.
 
I would if I knew how. I'll have to have a deeper look at the forum, sure there are instructions somewhere.

you need to sign up to imgur or some other hosting site. Imgur is really easy. Failing that you can PM me & I'll give you my email address & upload them for you :)
 
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