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Bunny has lost appetite after partners have passed away and having RHDV

Bunnycb2024

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Update: thought I would update this post incase anyone can take any help from it in the future. My Bunny Bing and Clover are both still with me. Bing has continued to get stronger each day and is now back eating as normal! Honestly not sure if it was the RHDV or his was grieving the other bunnies, but I’m so thankful I have him back now to his old self. Thank you so much everyone for the advice and the kind messages❤️

Hello, this is my first time posting on here so I really hope I’m putting this in the right place. On the morning of the 3rd of October this year, my bunny Peanut passed away really suddenly. (I had 6 bunnies in total)

Then on the 7th of October my other bunny Popcorn became unwell, I took him to the vets who kept him in to feed him, and he returned home that afternoon.

Then on the 8th my other bunny Flop became unwell, I took him to the vets and they did the same as they did with Popcorn, kept him in to fed him. However when I went back to collect him they said he had become very lethargic and should stay overnight in the vet hospital. Sadly, he passed away on my lap in the car on the way there.

On the 9th my other 2 bunnies Bing and Nutmeg became unwell. Popcorn still hadn't picked up, so I took all 3 to the vets. My usual vet said I should see a specialist as they couldn't work out what was going on. There they were diagnosed with RHDV, which has a mortality rate of 80-100%, and there is no cure, you just have to rely on the rabbits own immune system to fight it. I had never heard of it before, and never knew there was a vaccine for bunnies before. On all the appointments for them to be neutered, check ups, and multiple other appointments to the vets I had never once been told it was available.

He said Popcorn had become very underweight, was very pale, very weak and was in a bad way. He said Bing was paler than he should be, but had more colour than popcorn, and Nutmeg still had colour in his skin but had a very high temperature. He said he the kindest thing to do was having Popcorn put to sleep, as he was certain he wouldn't make it, and take Bing and Nutmeg home to try medicine. He thought Bing was touch and go, and Nutmeg was possible, but with it being such a nasty disease, none of them could be confirmed to survive.

I took Bing and Nutmeg home, but Nutmeg sadly passed away at home the next day on 10th. Bing is still with me now. My other bunny Clover, has never showed any symptoms and was vaccinated on the morning of the 10th. I’ve been keeping her completely away from all of the others.

I still have Bing too, his temperature has gone, his wee is a normal colour (it was originally orange, the same as the others with RHDV), his heart rate and breathing is back to normal, he’s got colour back in his skin, he’s no longer appearing lethargic, and is running, playing, and jumping like normal. However he just seems off his food.

He’s still eating little bits, like a few of his treats, a bit of his hanging stick treat, a bit of hay, some of his vegetables, but not as much as before and very picky. It’s so strange as he was checked over by the vet last Thursday, they checked him over completely, felt his stomach, temperature, breathing, heart rate, teeth, hydrated,

everything was fine. In himself he seems energetic and lively like he was before, but he’s just off his food.

He’s still doing droppings, just not as many as before. The ones he’s doing look ok, sometimes some are a bit small, but then they go back to looking normal again. I have been giving critical care 4 times a day at 20ml each time (so 80ml a day), over the past few days I’ve been reducing the critical care as he’s been picking at bits of his food.

He was also very close to the other bunnies who are no longer with us. He used to sleep at night in a hutch with Nutmeg and would run around with them all, all day. I don’t know if this is grief rather than RHDV? The problem is there is so little information available about rabbits who survive RHDV.

So really, I’m just wondering what I should try now, how I can get his appetite back, and anything I can do for him to help him recover as quick and best as possible?
 
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Very sorry for your losses 😢

You need to contact the Vet again. The anorexic Rabbit needs a blood test to check liver function and also medication to improve his gut motility and appetite. RVHD survivors can sustain liver damage. There are some medications that can be given to try to support liver function.

The vaccine takes 3 weeks to give protection so it’s still possible you could lose the vaccinated Rabbit, sadly

This information would be useful to read


 
Very sorry for your losses 😢

You need to contact the Vet again. The anorexic Rabbit needs a blood test to check liver function and also medication to improve his gut motility and appetite. RVHD survivors can sustain liver damage. There are some medications that can be given to try to support liver function.

The vaccine takes 3 weeks to give protection so it’s still possible you could lose the vaccinated Rabbit, sadly

This information would be useful to read


Thank you so much for your reply, oddly enough he’s actually started to eat more today. I’ve contacted the vet who’s checked him over again, and have said he seems a really healthy active bunny, but since he’s a bit off his food they will keep him on the painkillers he’s on, and keep some of the feeds of critical care but not as much as before.

I mentioned liver damage, and they said he didn’t seem to be displaying the stereotypical symptoms of it, but if he’s still off his food in a few weeks they will run some further tests. I’m keeping Clover completely away, she’s not aloud anywhere Bings been, and I’m changing shoes, washing hands, and keeping their food separate. She seem ok at the moment, and it’s only a week left until the vaccine has been 3 week, so hopefully I can keep her way well enough until then🤞

I know the mortality rate is really high, but so many bunnies survive RHDV? Or is it more a one off really lucky if they do sort of thing? And do all get complications after or are some completely ok? Sorry to ask so many questions, I’ve just never spoken to anyone who’s known of survivors before
 
Thank you so much for your reply, oddly enough he’s actually started to eat more today. I’ve contacted the vet who’s checked him over again, and have said he seems a really healthy active bunny, but since he’s a bit off his food they will keep him on the painkillers he’s on, and keep some of the feeds of critical care but not as much as before.

I mentioned liver damage, and they said he didn’t seem to be displaying the stereotypical symptoms of it, but if he’s still off his food in a few weeks they will run some further tests. I’m keeping Clover completely away, she’s not aloud anywhere Bings been, and I’m changing shoes, washing hands, and keeping their food separate. She seem ok at the moment, and it’s only a week left until the vaccine has been 3 week, so hopefully I can keep her way well enough until then🤞

I know the mortality rate is really high, but so many bunnies survive RHDV? Or is it more a one off really lucky if they do sort of thing? And do all get complications after or are some completely ok? Sorry to ask so many questions, I’ve just never spoken to anyone who’s known of survivors before
It is only a minority who can pull through. Most do have some complications afterwards, at least in the short term. The complications are usually relating to liver function. The liver can regenerate but there are supportive treatments that are needed to maximise the chances of this. Personally I would want bloods taken now. ‘If* liver function is impaired the choices of analgesia and the dose needs to be very carefully considered. A damaged liver can be made worse by some drugs and dose rates of most medication needs to be lower when the liver is not functioning too well.

Milk Thistle has some properties that can aid liver function. You might want to ask the Vet about that.

 
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