• 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.

bracken is unwell - u/d she seems a lot better

i am beginning to suspect that Zeb, my new bunny, has infected bracken and possibly frida

i have been washing my hands with hibiscrub between handlings and he is in my bedroom but i have had him in the living room once and i dont know if this is it

bracken had diarrhea this morning - there appeared to be a bit of orangey mucous in some smaller droppings that were on the floor too - and a reduced appetite. she was still moving around but doesnt seem herself

i've given her some grated carrot and she ate this and a bit of hay - ive also put avipro in her water

i've booked her in at the vets for tonight and gail is coming home every 2 hours to check on her

frida also had some squishy poos (no sign of mucous) - she has never had squishy poos before - she also has a bit of a reduced appetite (still eaten plenty but not what she normally eats) - frida is housed next to bracken

now i've done some searching and come up with coccidiosis - is seems scarily like what is wrong with bracken and possibly frida - and the timescale for infection fits as we've had zeb a week and its been 4 days since he was near the other 2

however zeb is now fine (no vhd limp, no squishy poos mucous or anything) - gus and lola thankfully also seem fine

does coccidiosis seem likely? or am i just paranoid?

what do i need to do to reduce the risk of anything spreading to the other bunnies??

i'm so upset by all this - this week its been 1 thing after another for my poor bunnies - i am extremely worried about bracken as she is quite old.
 
Having looked at the internet, I too thought my buns had coccidiosis but they didn't. Its awfully worrying when they are sick though. Could it be something they have eaten. Maybe too much of some veg which has upset their tums and given them diarrhoea. Glad you are getting them checked out with the vet and wishing you good luck.
 
i feed them seperately and they have had the same veg as always from my mums stall - and no more than normal

i think i am just over-reacting tbh but its just so worrying at the moment. i've only had bracken and frida since august and hate to think that something might happen to them - i feel like everything is going wrong this week

Having looked at the internet, I too thought my buns had coccidiosis but they didn't.

what was wrong with your bunnies? what did you do to help them get better?

thanks
 
I got myself in a right state, researching everything when Maisie was ill. I felt so much better when I was given a new rabbit savvy vet. Maisie didn't have the symptoms yours has, but I self diagnosed her with every illness known to rabbits :roll:


I am sure your vet will get to the bottom of what is affecting them today. I was hoping Jane might give you her "unqualified" advice, but I know she is having a quiet day at home. Thinking of youxxx
 
I would separate each one of them in 3 different location, and use hot water to wash the existing sleeping location that they were in. Then observe them for the next 3 - 5 days. If one infect the other, there is still the degree of infection, one bunny may not be as sick as the other. As well, one bunny must be physically stronger than the other, so their reaction is different. But you don't want the disease continue to be contacted by the other two.
 
i took bracken to the vets last night - she was caked in poo again when i got home from work

the vet was really good with her although my usual vet is on holiday for a week

he said he didnt know what was causing the diarrhea - he gave her some painkillers and sent me home with baytril for all 5 bunnies and told me to keep zeb away from the others for another week - and to bring any of them back in if they lost their appetite - i am happy to leave it like that for now but will go back in if i feel any of them arent well

bracken had the runs again this morning but was a lot perkier and is eating more - she even had a nibble of hay. i cleaned her up and gave her some avipro and her baytril

later on i could see she was trying to poo in her litter tray and on close inspection she's done a few "normal" looking poos - well a little soft still but much better - so i am very glad


all the others seem great - zeb is over his vhd vac and frida is back to normal - in fact she's just peed on me (typical!) - and her appetite is very good again

im giving them all their baytril and will keep everyone updated
 
Wishing your buns well..and if they still have bad diarrheoa, or ever get it in the future, try them with a bit of plain boiled rice..it helps reduce the looseness of the droppings, and can help a bun in the short term from dehydrating
 
I assume you kill all the fruits and veggies by now? If they need bunny treats, get them some banana chips instead for the short time being.
 
well we've been out this afternoon and when we got back bracken had eaten some of her mix as well as hay

no mess to clean up either although she still reeks a bit poor thing

i put vaseline on her tail last night as she has been lying in her waste rather than moving and didnt want her to get sore - it seems to have worked

she's using the litter tray a bit more now as well and she had knocked her chateaux lapin down so i think she must be feeling a bit better
 
well judging by bracken's bolshiness tonight id say she was feeling quite a lot better

we had tantrums while giving her baytril and she is trying to scrap with frida through the pens - back to normal almost

her poos are still a little mis-shapen but much harder (my friends think im crazy for describing them in great detail!)

she's eating a lot more and drinking well - i have given her some dried blackberry leaves as im sure i read they were good for restoring gut balance

she's even had a little run around the living room tonight AND she no longer smells like really rotten horse manure! im sure that's part of the reason why she's so much perkier

still no idea what has caused it but im going to discuss it with my normal vet when she comes back in a week - touch wood wont need to go back before then

all my other bunnies seem well - i think sometimes i just over-react - at the end of the day i have 5 bunnies so there is a high chance of 2 of them having something slightly out of the ordinary on the same day!! but i would think if zeb had some highly contagious and horrid disease - that being the runty thing he is, and only 9 weeks old, that he would be suffering the most - and he's fine

so hopefully this crisis is over and bracken will be back to normal soon
 
Lots of normalish poos this morning - a much chirpier Bracken - she even snatched a bit of carrot out of my hand

All her mix has gone, plus lots of hay - and she was very clean too

I feel so much better now knowing my little baby is better
 
Back
Top