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  • 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.

Weird breathing?

Sulfatrim is very good at tackling RTIs :) Hopefully you will see some improvement within the next 2-3 days. My Rabbit had a severe infection, but she is frail and elderly (9.5 years) so illnesses hit her harder than they may do a young Bunny. It sounds as though your boy is feeling OK within himself :)

That's sooooo good to hear that sulfatrim is good at helping RTIs. I really hope he improves.
I'm sorry to hear about your rabbit:( good to hear that she is improving though! Hopefully the same happens with Theo x
 
That's great to hear:D I'm feeling a bit more optimistic than before now
Well I have to go back to the vets in a fortnight, so that she can check Theo's weight again and make sure they're working. If no progress is made she'll give him another prescription. So just going to hope it works :D


Good, I'm glad it's a long course. It often needs 4/6 weeks of persistent antibiotic therapy to knock these things on the head.

For weight gain, you could try giving some higher calorie junior pellets, or else a pinch of porridge oats (I feed them dry) twice daily :)
 
Good, I'm glad it's a long course. It often needs 4/6 weeks of persistent antibiotic therapy to knock these things on the head.

For weight gain, you could try giving some higher calorie junior pellets, or else a pinch of porridge oats (I feed them dry) twice daily :)

oh wow, I didn't know you could feed them porridge oats! That sounds good
Can I ask whether cereals can be fed to them? Like shreddies etc? x
 
oh wow, I didn't know you could feed them porridge oats! That sounds good
Can I ask whether cereals can be fed to them? Like shreddies etc? x


I only feed porridge oats when I need to fatten up a rabbit. They are recommended by vets and also by Tamsin who runs this site. I have never fed shreddies or any other cereal to a rabbit but I think some people put medication on malted shreddies. I think most cereals have sugar in them and it's better on the whole to stick to hay/grass, some veggies and a few pellets :)
 
I only feed porridge oats when I need to fatten up a rabbit. They are recommended by vets and also by Tamsin who runs this site. I have never fed shreddies or any other cereal to a rabbit but I think some people put medication on malted shreddies. I think most cereals have sugar in them and it's better on the whole to stick to hay/grass, some veggies and a few pellets :)

Theo is doing good today. I put him out on the grass and he was eating lots and binkying around, playing with his toys. He's taking his medicine really well too. I have bought some porridge oats for Theo to eat but my other rabbit Tilly (who certainly does NOT need fattening up:lol: ) keeps eating it before Theo gets a chance to (she's definitely the dominant rabbit haha) so I'm going to have to figure out a way to feed it to just him - it will be a bit of a hassle but anything for him to get better and put on some weight.
All in all though he's been doing really good today.
Thanks so much for all your help - both MightyMax and Jacks-Jane - I've never been through this before and your advice really helped. Exactly what I was hoping for when I wrote the original post:D
 
Theo is doing good today. I put him out on the grass and he was eating lots and binkying around, playing with his toys. He's taking his medicine really well too. I have bought some porridge oats for Theo to eat but my other rabbit Tilly (who certainly does NOT need fattening up:lol: ) keeps eating it before Theo gets a chance to (she's definitely the dominant rabbit haha) so I'm going to have to figure out a way to feed it to just him - it will be a bit of a hassle but anything for him to get better and put on some weight.
All in all though he's been doing really good today.
Thanks so much for all your help - both MightyMax and Jacks-Jane - I've never been through this before and your advice really helped. Exactly what I was hoping for when I wrote the original post:D


You're very welcome :D

I would hand feed the porridge oats so they get to where you want them to :D
 
Theo is doing good today. I put him out on the grass and he was eating lots and binkying around, playing with his toys. He's taking his medicine really well too. I have bought some porridge oats for Theo to eat but my other rabbit Tilly (who certainly does NOT need fattening up:lol: ) keeps eating it before Theo gets a chance to (she's definitely the dominant rabbit haha) so I'm going to have to figure out a way to feed it to just him - it will be a bit of a hassle but anything for him to get better and put on some weight.
All in all though he's been doing really good today.
Thanks so much for all your help - both MightyMax and Jacks-Jane - I've never been through this before and your advice really helped. Exactly what I was hoping for when I wrote the original post:D

I am glad to hear that Theo is doing well at the moment. Hopefully she will so be well on her way to a full recovery xx
 
Hello!

Theo is doing great. I haven't heard him breathing oddly atall and I think he's putting on weight. I'm going back to the vet next week so hopefully he will have made the progress I'm hoping for! He's currently out on the grass binkying around:)
HOWEVER.... Not everything is good. I dont know if you'll be able to help with this too but I'm panicking a bit about Tilly (my other rabbit). She has been fine recently but I've just been out to play with them in the grass. They were fine and Tilly is running around as normal but I've noticed alot of big poos on the grass and im frightened it's diarrhoea. I don't know which one it is who is producing them but I'm assuming it's Tilly because the poos have been where she's been sitting.
I googled diarrhoea in rabbits and safe to say the results are not good. I didn't know that it can be very quickly fatal in rabbits if not treated.
I just wanted to come here for your advice? Her attitude hasn't changed, shes still running around and eating etc.

I don't know if this is a stupid thing to say, but my Dad is currently out jetwashing the pavement near to where they are in their pen on the grass, and Tilly seems very alert due to the noise - she's lop eared and her ears are up constantly. Could this be causing the poos to be bigger?Could she perhaps be alarmed by the noise?
I don't know if that's a completely stupid thing to suggest but I just wanted to make sure

Thank you! x
 
Hello!

Theo is doing great. I haven't heard him breathing oddly atall and I think he's putting on weight. I'm going back to the vet next week so hopefully he will have made the progress I'm hoping for! He's currently out on the grass binkying around:)
HOWEVER.... Not everything is good. I dont know if you'll be able to help with this too but I'm panicking a bit about Tilly (my other rabbit). She has been fine recently but I've just been out to play with them in the grass. They were fine and Tilly is running around as normal but I've noticed alot of big poos on the grass and im frightened it's diarrhoea. I don't know which one it is who is producing them but I'm assuming it's Tilly because the poos have been where she's been sitting.
I googled diarrhoea in rabbits and safe to say the results are not good. I didn't know that it can be very quickly fatal in rabbits if not treated.
I just wanted to come here for your advice? Her attitude hasn't changed, shes still running around and eating etc.

I don't know if this is a stupid thing to say, but my Dad is currently out jetwashing the pavement near to where they are in their pen on the grass, and Tilly seems very alert due to the noise - she's lop eared and her ears are up constantly. Could this be causing the poos to be bigger?Could she perhaps be alarmed by the noise?
I don't know if that's a completely stupid thing to suggest but I just wanted to make sure

Thank you! x

Are you sure the large poos are not cecotrophs, the poos Rabbits usually eat straight from their bum ?

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm
 
Hello!

Theo is doing great. I haven't heard him breathing oddly atall and I think he's putting on weight. I'm going back to the vet next week so hopefully he will have made the progress I'm hoping for! He's currently out on the grass binkying around:)
HOWEVER.... Not everything is good. I dont know if you'll be able to help with this too but I'm panicking a bit about Tilly (my other rabbit). She has been fine recently but I've just been out to play with them in the grass. They were fine and Tilly is running around as normal but I've noticed alot of big poos on the grass and im frightened it's diarrhoea. I don't know which one it is who is producing them but I'm assuming it's Tilly because the poos have been where she's been sitting.
I googled diarrhoea in rabbits and safe to say the results are not good. I didn't know that it can be very quickly fatal in rabbits if not treated.
I just wanted to come here for your advice? Her attitude hasn't changed, shes still running around and eating etc.

I don't know if this is a stupid thing to say, but my Dad is currently out jetwashing the pavement near to where they are in their pen on the grass, and Tilly seems very alert due to the noise - she's lop eared and her ears are up constantly. Could this be causing the poos to be bigger?Could she perhaps be alarmed by the noise?
I don't know if that's a completely stupid thing to suggest but I just wanted to make sure

Thank you! x

Hi there :wave:

True diarrhoea is rare in rabbits and you're right - if it is that, it's not good!

She could be stressed by the noise she's hearing, but it could also be the soft 'night droppings' or caecotrophs. They are supposed to eat them, but if they are getting extra food they sometimes prefer to eat the tasty food instead of their own poos that they are supposed to eat! In addition, they can overproduce them, and they happen in the daytime too :)


Scroll down to the second picture here:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-droppings.asp

If she has sat in them, perhaps that could be what you're seeing?
 
Hi there :wave:

True diarrhoea is rare in rabbits and you're right - if it is that, it's not good!

She could be stressed by the noise she's hearing, but it could also be the soft 'night droppings' or caecotrophs. They are supposed to eat them, but if they are getting extra food they sometimes prefer to eat the tasty food instead of their own poos that they are supposed to eat! In addition, they can overproduce them, and they happen in the daytime too :)


Scroll down to the second picture here:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-droppings.asp

If she has sat in them, perhaps that could be what you're seeing?

If it's diarrhoea would she be acting normal and jumping about etc?
It's not excessive it's just a few dotted about.

They look similar to that photo. What can I do to stop it?

I saw her and Theo both running where abouts the poo was so it might just look worse than it is.
I'm an overthinker and always assume the worst:lol:

Thanks so much for your fast reply xx
 
If it's diarrhoea would she be acting normal and jumping about etc?
It's not excessive it's just a few dotted about.

They look similar to that photo. What can I do to stop it?

I saw her and Theo both running where abouts the poo was so it might just look worse than it is.
I'm an overthinker and always assume the worst:lol:

Thanks so much for your fast reply xx


You're welcome :)

Yes you'd think they would be behaving more poorly if it was diarrhoea which makes me think it's unlikely.

If you read that link, it's usually an excess of protein and carbs that are responsible for excess caecotrophs. So if you have to feed extra it may be the cause of it. It's a difficult balance between the food you need to feed and the fact that it overproduces caecals. A few uneaten caecotrophs isn't a problem, but you do have to make sure they don't stick to the backside, or you encourage flystrike.

Yes, it could look worse than it is. Check them over though, to make sure there's none stuck xx
 
Hi!
I know I haven't posted in a while but jsut thought I'd give an update.
Theo is good, hes been back to the vets about 2 weeks ago and unfortunately he had lost weight again. But the vet also said his breathing has greatly improved and his temperature was also normal.
I have to go back on Thursday.
He still feels skinny, but he's playful and seems happy. Hes more comfortable around me now too due to contact far more often.
However the pooping situation which i brought up, was him i think. He's been getting very dirty around his bum and tummy. So I've just given him his first bath and he seems so much happier. I'm a bit worried about the pooing, in case it's a response to the medicine but I will jsut tell the vet this on Thursday.
What i dont understand is he is eating, bounding around, drinking, and playing with Tilly.
I'm feeling really worried and scared about it all, but I just wanted to give you an update. Maybe you could tell me things i could do / should be doing?
Thank you x
 
Hi!
I know I haven't posted in a while but jsut thought I'd give an update.
Theo is good, hes been back to the vets about 2 weeks ago and unfortunately he had lost weight again. But the vet also said his breathing has greatly improved and his temperature was also normal.
I have to go back on Thursday.
He still feels skinny, but he's playful and seems happy. Hes more comfortable around me now too due to contact far more often.
However the pooping situation which i brought up, was him i think. He's been getting very dirty around his bum and tummy. So I've just given him his first bath and he seems so much happier. I'm a bit worried about the pooing, in case it's a response to the medicine but I will jsut tell the vet this on Thursday.
What i dont understand is he is eating, bounding around, drinking, and playing with Tilly.
I'm feeling really worried and scared about it all, but I just wanted to give you an update. Maybe you could tell me things i could do / should be doing?
Thank you x


Thank you for updating regards Theo :)

I'm sorry he's lost weight - have you tried giving fibafirst or higher calorie pellets to boost his weight a little? Hopefully these won't cause a sticky bum. I find fibafirst really good for that :)

I hope the vet can help on Thursday.
 
I am glad Theo is breathing better. Rabbits are obligate nasal breathers so he may not be eating as much when his nose is stuffy. Tempting him with different types of hay, greens and herbs could encourage him to eat more. When adding new foods always do it slowly and one at a time so you will know if anything causes runny poos which could result him losing more weight.
Sending you and Theo (and his not so thin friend) some positive vibes for an answer. It is good that he is still active.
 
Thank you for responding :)
I'm really unsure about theo now .. he's not himself and has just really deteriorated. It seems like nothing is working and now his illness is showing which makes me worry even more because he cant hide how weak he is now.
Finding it really hard but doing all i can xxx
 
Thank you for responding :)
I'm really unsure about theo now .. he's not himself and has just really deteriorated. It seems like nothing is working and now his illness is showing which makes me worry even more because he cant hide how weak he is now.
Finding it really hard but doing all i can xxx


I don't know when you'll next come online, but my thoughts are with you and Theo.

Thank you for your PM, and I have responded x hugs x
 
Thank you for responding :)
I'm really unsure about theo now .. he's not himself and has just really deteriorated. It seems like nothing is working and now his illness is showing which makes me worry even more because he cant hide how weak he is now.
Finding it really hard but doing all i can xxx

Sending you and Theo some positive vibes.
 
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