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Help: Family in quarantine and rabbit is doing small poops

gary_81

New Kit
wcYOe8U


Pics: https://imgur.com/a/wcYOe8U

He is a 2y4m old 2.5 kg strong boy.

He has been doing small poops since a long time but now the poop size has become very small.
We are in quarantine (no one is/was sick with covid-19) and the doc suggested giving ranitidine.
i am giving him ranitidine and trying to force feed water (he historically has drank ittle water compard to his sister)
We do not get critical care here in india.

Both sister/brother do not eat hay (any ideas of how to get them to eat hay are welcome)

Diet are:

1. greens (cauliflower leaves, cilantro leaves).
2. Pellet and hay mixture/cake.
3. Treats (which have been stopped now).

My questions are:
1. What else can i do to make sure the rabbit survives the week?
2. How much time does it takes for ranitidine to show its effect?
3. Has slow forcefeeding of hay/pellet liquid ever had any effect?
4. any ideas on how I can get them started on hay?

-Thanks
G
 
Hi there,

So sorry to hear your rabbit is poorly during lockdown, I had a similar with my little one in lockdown over here so I understand what a worry it will be for you.

Maybe you could mix the pellets with some grated apple/pear and make the mixture really watery so that it will go through a syringe and try feeding that every few hours - trying to keep your rabbit hydrated is quite important. Also can you get hold of some coriander or parsley on and mix that in with his hay or wave it under his nose on it's own to see if that might tempt him.

Difficult to know what else to suggest, as not sure what you can get hold of in India. It's definitely worth persevering as sometimes it can take awhile for the meds to kick or for them to feel ready to try and eat.

Good luck and please keep us updated on how you get along.
 
Thank you so much.
I tried making a grounded pellet (75%) + bit of hay (25%) + mix of banana and grapes (for flavour) and he liked the resulting paste a little bit.
I see the poop size around 10% bigger now.
And he loved a bunch of cliantro I kept for him.
fingers crossed, hoping for the best.


Hi there,

So sorry to hear your rabbit is poorly during lockdown, I had a similar with my little one in lockdown over here so I understand what a worry it will be for you.

Maybe you could mix the pellets with some grated apple/pear and make the mixture really watery so that it will go through a syringe and try feeding that every few hours - trying to keep your rabbit hydrated is quite important. Also can you get hold of some coriander or parsley on and mix that in with his hay or wave it under his nose on it's own to see if that might tempt him.

Difficult to know what else to suggest, as not sure what you can get hold of in India. It's definitely worth persevering as sometimes it can take awhile for the meds to kick or for them to feel ready to try and eat.

Good luck and please keep us updated on how you get along.
 
Sending lots of vibes to your bunny. I agree with Bunniewunnie. They often like fresh grass, or chopped dried grass like this https://www.friendshipestates.co.uk/pets/readigrass/readigrass-pet if you can get anything like that? You need to introduce new foods slowly to avoid upsetting their stomach. If they don’t eat hay/grass then they may end up with teeth problems. You could try mixing grated carrots or herbs in with the hay to encourage them to eat it. Also trying different hays might mean you find one they like.
 
I've done similar before with the paste, to the point where I was cutting the hay into very tiny bits and mixing it in as well, or sifting out the finer bits at the bottom of the hay bag and adding them to the mix.

It's encouraging news that you are getting him to eat something, and the poops are getting a little bigger. So hopefully he will improve further very soon.
 
Keep up the good work on feedings.
Even though I can get critical care I often grind pelleted food for syringe feeds. Syringe water too.
 
Have you asked the vet about pain relief?
Metacam is often prescribed when a rabbit is in pain and maybe they can post it?
 
He is still pooping small, though rantac seems to have done "some" work.
He is at least eating a little better. We came out of quarantine test and today had a visit to the vet who took an x-ray and said there is nothing wrong that can be guessed from it.

This is his X-ray - https://imgur.com/a/CepqTji
His diagnosis is that it is an intestinal issue and her gave rantac (smaller dose) but gave perinom syrup and liv52 tablets.
Starting those tomorrow. Hoping for a quick recovery.

How is the bunny now?
 
Update on this.

the bunny is recovering. (poop volume is normal, size is increasing)
A combination of metoclopramide and ranitidine and some liv 52 supplement did the trick.
His stomach is cleared and now he is eating his crushed hay and pellets too.

Diet is the following:

1. Pellets (5 spoons a day)
2. Hay (grinded in a mixer). unlimited.
3. Coriander (2 fistful)
4. Pieces of carrot, banana
5. Apple skins.
6. Unlimited supply of cauliflower leaves.
 
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