• 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.

Help needed! Baby rabbit.

Also I am in Bath - We have Bath cats and dogs home near here but dunno how rabbit savvy they are. Will call them tomorrow.

oo are you in a position to keep it?

im in clevedon/north somerset and have some experience on looking after tiny buns, if your wanting someone to take it
 
I'm ok to look after him for now - It happens luckily that I bought a cage a few weeks ago for my rats but the bar spacing is way too wide, might make a half decent rabbit cage for now? Thinking way ahead to the future if I do keep it, how much space do they need and could it potentially become a house rabbit?

For now he is named Mothball because my housemate reckons he looks like a teeny bit of dust :D I've already grown quite attached so he may well stay like that.

Waterwise, I don't have a spare water bottle at the moment but I'll offer one of my rats bottles to him regularly or dropper it until I can get one tomorrow :)
 
Last edited:
put him a bowl/saucer of water - lots of buns prefer to drink from a bowl anyway and if the poor little mite has been wandering about, he wouldn't have had access to a bottle:)
 
I'm ok to look after him for now - It happens luckily that I bought a cage a few weeks ago for my rats but the bar spacing is way too wide, might make a half decent rabbit cage for now? Thinking way ahead to the future if I do keep it, how much space do they need and could it potentially become a house rabbit?

For now he is named Mothball because my housemate reckons he looks like a teeny bit of dust :D I've already grown quite attached so he may well stay like that.

Waterwise, I don;t have a spare water bottle at the moment but I'll offer one of my rats bottles to him occasionally or syringe it until I can get one tomorrow :)

Mothball :love:
 
put him a bowl/saucer of water - lots of buns prefer to drink from a bowl anyway and if the poor little mite has been wandering about, he wouldn't have had access to a bottle:)

There isn't much space in the carrier unfortunately and I can't put him in the big cage for now because we're tight on space. I'll get him out and offer a dish of water now though and do that every few hours.
 
I'm ok to look after him for now - It happens luckily that I bought a cage a few weeks ago for my rats but the bar spacing is way too wide, might make a half decent rabbit cage for now? Thinking way ahead to the future if I do keep it, how much space do they need and could it potentially become a house rabbit?

For now he is named Mothball because my housemate reckons he looks like a teeny bit of dust :D I've already grown quite attached so he may well stay like that.

Waterwise, I don;t have a spare water bottle at the moment but I'll offer one of my rats bottles to him occasionally or syringe it until I can get one tomorrow :)

aww will be very touch and go! they can survive at that age but its not uncommon for them not to make it, it depends on how long it was kept with its mum etc! I think i no you have to feed i every few hours 24/7
for a good few weeks!

for the future minimum is 6ft by 2ft by 2ft hutch or something similar with attached run!

you can pm me at any time if you think you can't look after 'it' im normally always around :)
 
aww will be very touch and go! they can survive at that age but its not uncommon for them not to make it, it depends on how long it was kept with its mum etc! I think i no you have to feed i every few hours 24/7
for a good few weeks!

for the future minimum is 6ft by 2ft by 2ft hutch or something similar with attached run!

you can pm me at any time if you think you can't look after 'it' im normally always around :)

He seems very lively and alert and is happily nomming dried grass and lactol so I'm hoping he has a good chance of surviving. Everyone in this house works weird hours so there'll always be someone round to feed him which is reassuring!

When I found him he can;t have been out for long, was very clean looking and warm and healthy and bouncy. Gonna put up posters just in case to see if anyone has had a litter and one has got out, but unfortunately the park he was in seems to be a notorious place for animal dumping. Have found multiple domestic rats and mice and even a ferret there before >_<

For future, would that sized cage/run still be necessary if he was a house rabbit? Don;t know if it is possible for him to be one but the idea of it is tempting - All wires and stuff will be out of the way in my room because the rats will need some freerange time. How easy is it to litter train rabbits?
 
Also I am in Bath - We have Bath cats and dogs home near here but dunno how rabbit savvy they are. Will call them tomorrow.

they don't tend to do much with rabbits or small animals etc! i no reccently here was aload of buns taken from a shed, and bath C&ds wudnt take any :/
 
He seems very lively and alert and is happily nomming dried grass and lactol so I'm hoping he has a good chance of surviving. Everyone in this house works weird hours so there'll always be someone round to feed him which is reassuring!

When I found him he can;t have been out for long, was very clean looking and warm and healthy and bouncy. Gonna put up posters just in case to see if anyone has had a litter and one has got out, but unfortunately the park he was in seems to be a notorious place for animal dumping. Have found multiple domestic rats and mice and even a ferret there before >_<

For future, would that sized cage/run still be necessary if he was a house rabbit? Don;t know if it is possible for him to be one but the idea of it is tempting - All wires and stuff will be out of the way in my room because the rats will need some freerange time. How easy is it to litter train rabbits?

im pretty sure tha size is the same through out, most indoor buns live in dog crates and/or have their own rooms

it depends on the bun as far as litter training goes I have 6 buns all by 2 are litter trained the other 2 won't have anything to do with one lol just depends on the rabbit!

often buns will act really healthy, and then suddenly die :( someone on here tried to hand rear some babies, from the pics they looked fine, but neither servived :(
 
Damn :( Any other rescues you know of this way that might be able to offer advice?

hmmm the only other is secretworld but they are a wildlife rescue so 1 mainly only deal with wild animals and 2 they would suggest taking it to them :/
 
I think I remember goats milk being ok for baby rabbits, but cows milk is a huge no no.
Can I suggest you ring a good wildlife rescue tomorrow to get as much good advice as possible.
A fabulous one near me is called Vale Wildlife (in Evesham) who would be worth a call if you don't have a local one.

goats milk is fine for baby rabbits.
 
He just slurped down another 10ml of lactol in addition to the 10ml he drank when i first brought him homr so he's a hungry little blighter at least! Definitely easier to feed than rat babies :D
 
He seems very lively and alert and is happily nomming dried grass and lactol so I'm hoping he has a good chance of surviving. Everyone in this house works weird hours so there'll always be someone round to feed him which is reassuring!

When I found him he can;t have been out for long, was very clean looking and warm and healthy and bouncy. Gonna put up posters just in case to see if anyone has had a litter and one has got out, but unfortunately the park he was in seems to be a notorious place for animal dumping. Have found multiple domestic rats and mice and even a ferret there before >_<

For future, would that sized cage/run still be necessary if he was a house rabbit? Don;t know if it is possible for him to be one but the idea of it is tempting - All wires and stuff will be out of the way in my room because the rats will need some freerange time. How easy is it to litter train rabbits?

Rabbits can be trained fairly easily and if he lives in your room would be just be able to have free range of the room? That way he's only need a 'base' for food, water and somewhere to call his own space. As long as he wasn't locked in there a small space would be fine. But you might have to lock him away when the rats are out... they might bite each other and rabbits back legs are very strong and he could injure a rat if she jumped about. The housing section has some great set ups both indoor and outdoor. :)
 
Rabbits can be trained fairly easily and if he lives in your room would be just be able to have free range of the room? That way he's only need a 'base' for food, water and somewhere to call his own space. As long as he wasn't locked in there a small space would be fine. But you might have to lock him away when the rats are out... they might bite each other and rabbits back legs are very strong and he could injure a rat if she jumped about. The housing section has some great set ups both indoor and outdoor. :)

Free range is what I'm thinking as I don't like the idea of locking him up in a cage. He would have to be locked up in it sometimes like while i'm out/when the rats are freeranging but it wouldn't be for very long at all. The rest of the time would be free range.

I may see if I can somehow socialise him with the rats so that he is used to them somewhat when he grows up. Had my housemates boy Louis out today with him and they ended up snuggled up together which was cute, though obviously I won't take chances like that if he turns out to be a big rabbit!

Speaking of which, anyone have any ideas on what breed he might be?
 
Last edited:
I have recently had both baby domestics and baby wildie (hand reared)

Your little one looks about 3 week , is definitely domestic and needs to have milk substitute as well as beginning on hay and small amounts grass. (small amounts)

You can also scatter some small junior pellets in the cage and see if s/he shows any interest. But vey few as do not want to upset stomach (which is easily done)

The substitute milk: the best is Esiblac or any other feline substitute - we made this up double strength as rabbit milk is so very rich. This means the rabbit gets the nutrients needed without having to swallow more liquid than they have room for and getting swollen stomach.

Add to this double strength feed a pinch of AVIPRO which is a gut flora enhancer to enable them to cope with the hay and grass - without this they will not be able to make the switch and will get fatal diarrhoea.

You can use a 1mm syringe with a very very small teat on the end (which you can buy online - will look up where from as forgotten).

It is essential that they have feeds regularly every few hours (not as in the wild once a day).

The biggest threat is aspiration of the feed if it is given too quickly or the syringe forced down and that they are weighed regularly to note progress which should be regular daily weight gain..

Raising a tiny one is very hard and often meets with sadness even with very experienced people and I would recommend that you do seriously think of getting advice or even passing the little one to someone who has experience unless you have raised others.


The keys are:
the cat milk dry mix made up strong
the AVIPRO
regular feeds and weight noting
Only an experineced feeding person to do the feeds otherwise aspiration will follow
A warm snugglesafe for baby to snuggle on all day
 
Back
Top