How can I take better care of my bunnies with limited resources?

Question

I bought a pair of bunnies (I'm not sure how old they were but one of them seems much younger than the other) off of a local vender along with some rabbit pellet food (yellow/unmarked). Recently I've been trying to fit some fresh vegetables into their diets, carrots, cabbage, and some string beans. Since I am in a foreign country right now, there isn't a specified area to buy pet supplies nor a local veterinarian (or not a certified one). The younger bunny, which a friend who has owned a rabbit before, is around 4 weeks old, which is much too young to be weaned off of the mother rabbit I believe. Recently he's acting a bit sluggish and what I thought was diarhea was probably just cepill pellets. He isnt very energetic and usually just lies there while the other bunny moves around, eats, etc. He does eat however so it isnt a problem. There is a little discharge around his nose and mouth area, yellowish in color. His breathing is very heavy, and puffing around the stomach area.

The local woman who sold them to me said they cannot be allowed to drink water, which is very surprising to me. Is this true? I doubt its getting enough water from the dry pellets nor vegetables they eat.

In regards to the water issue, it might have to do with the local water not being as pure, is it fine for rabbits to drink bottled water?

Answer 1

Firstly, he is old enough to be taken from mom, just barely. We wean ours at about five weeks. Water is a MUST, they need it just like we do, and since you are not at home give them bottled water. The yellow discharge means he's overheating, can be fixed with a frozen bottle that he can lay next to. If you don't get it fast, he could die. Carrots should be given as a treat, only a little bit at a time. Cabbage and lettuce can bind your bunny and cause something like the colic that horses get, also fatal.

Answer 2

Sounds like you have a lot of problems on your hands.

That baby sounds very sick in more than one way. First, it sounds like it has diahrrea. If so, it should be pulled off of its feed for 24 hours. The vegetables you are feeding it are probably causing it diahrrea. Secondly, if it has diahrrea, it definitely needs water badly because diahrrea will dehydrate it. For water, you can either give it bottled water or you could take the local water and boil it for an hour or so then allow it to cool. Boiling it should take care of any bacteria in the water that should make it sick. You may want to filter the water also if you use the local water. Or after you boil the water you could use an angled lid to allow the water to form as steam on the lid then fall into a pot or container. The steam water that has been boiled then falls into the pot or container should have killed the bacteria through boiling and should be free of contaminates by evaporating it then recollecting the water vapor.

You definitely need to take it to a veterinarian. It's not doing well at all. First, because of the diahrrea and second because it sounds like it has two more problems (a cold and pneumonia).

A rabbit can typically get over diahrrea or a cold or possibly both. Pneumonia is very hard for a rabbit to get over. A veterinarian may be able to help it, but it may already be too late for the rabbit. Pneumonia will normally kill a rabbit in 1-2 days. Pneumonia is denoted by the heavy breathing.

If you can't get rabbit pellets or have them shipped there somehow, then I recommend you feed them the way the old time breeders here in the United States did. Feed them a mix of stemmy hay (orchard grass, timothy, etc), about half that amount of a leafy hay (alfalfa or clover). For the rest, put in oats, barley, and corn. Keep a salt and mineral block in the pen for the rabbit to lick to get it's minerals and salt it needs. If you can get rabbit pellets shipped in, then I would. Many rabbit feed companies sell 25 pound bags of rabbit pellets. I'm sure you could probably get some shipped via UPS or something if UPS or a carrier ships there.

Good luck in your endeavors. I've been raising rabbits for 24 years, feel free to ask me any questions if you have more.

Answer 3

NEVER EVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT A RABBIT DOES NOT NEED WATER!!! Water is the most important part of a rabbits diet and without it, he will die within a few hours... The difference in energy levels is probably not a difference in age, but more of a difference of personality of the individual rabbit... You should be concerned however about the discharge around the nose and mouth... Go to a normal small animal clinic and request "Tetracycline" usually used for dogs and cats... Give him 2 mL by mouth twice a day for a week and it should go away... as for water, you should get a water bottle that is meant for small animals and rodents, or, you can fill up a crock style bowl full of fresh, clean water each day and place it in their hutch... The younger bunny will be okay without his mother, they can be separated as early as 2 weeks after she gives birth and live happy healthy lives... plus the mother doesn't like to keep them very long... Be careful when feeding rich greens that you don't feed too much of it because that could be a cause of some of your diarhea problem(i mean the rabbits') GET THEM WATER IMMEDIATELY!!! THEY WILL DIE IF YOU DON'T!!!

Answer 4

it is sick. You need to take it to a vet ASAP. Do not use human medication since that is way too high of a dosage. Also don't use antibiotics off the shelf. Antibiotics is really difficult to use and even vets don't do it right all the time.

For the time being, you want to keep the metabolism constant so keep it warm. Let it sleep and don't bother it too much.

One thing you can do if you can't get it to the vet is to get some probiotics for animals. Look it up and buy some online or at the pet store. Not all of them are equal so do your homework. Probiotics gets the bacteria in the stomach working and that relieves a lot of the stress in the body. It's helped with all types of animals so it will work on your bunny too. If you can not locate one at the pet store, go to a health food store. Human ones will work too.

Also quarantine that sick bunny. If it is contagious, you don't want the other bunny to get sick. And always wash your hand when you handle the other bunny after the sick one.

Answer 5

Ive never known any animal that doesn't drink water!
They do get some from the vegetables but I would give them water!
They also love apples and bread but bread being a carb only give in small doses.

Answer 6

Visit this website http://rabbit.org/ it helped me out tremenously when I first got my rabbits. It has a listing of the kind of veggies they can and can't have. And they have to have water...bottled is fine.

Answer 7

Give them bottled water immediately. All animals need water.

Answer 8

oh my god !every animal has to have water!i raise rabbits!and they definetly need water!veggies are good for rabbits!but i wouldnt feed it cabbage,it has been known to mess their intestines up!feed it grasses also!they love alalfa!they also love apples!for god sakes if you dont give it water it will die!