I just bought a baby rabbit from the pet store and am now hearing about something called RHD is that common?

Question

my baby bunny is not eating or drinking i just bought him from the pet store is this also common for babys?

Answer 1

RHD is not too common a problem in the states, more so in Europe, Austrailia, New Zealand, etc. If you have had your bunny more than a day or two you shouldn't have to worry at all, rabbits will not survive more than 24-48 hours after they are exposed to it.

I'm not sure how long you've had your bunny, but being in a brand new enviroment is very stressfull for them. Make sure your bunny's food is very accessible. When I first got my bunny she didn't even know how to drink from a water bottle, she could only drink from a bowl. Start with some heavy dishes or bowls on the floor of the cage. (if they aren't heavy they will get knocked over or even picked up in your bunny's mouth and thrown constantly) Either get them from your local pet shop, or use your own eating dishes. Some decorative dishes and bowls use lead in the paints or glazes which can be very harmfull to your bunny. Make sure you dump the old pellets and rinse the water bowl daily.

For pellets you should offer only the plain pellets. Oxbow makes a good one for babies, Bunny Basics 15/23. The pellet mixes that have the dried fruits, veggies, and little biscuit type pieces are too much for a baby to digest. Growing babies do not to be limited on their pellet intake so make sure your bunny always has enough in his/her dish.

Bunnies also should always have plenty of hay available, alphala hay is great for them as babies because it helps them put on weight, but timothy hay is fine too. You can even use hay as bedding. I think it would be hard for any bunny not to eat when surrounded by hay. Just line the cage floor with layers of newpaper, then cover with about an inch of hay. Remove soiled areas and add a bit of fresh hay on top daily. Replace all of it about once a week.

If your bunny is at least 12 weeks old you can begin to offer vegetables, but only one at a time, at not more that 1/2 oz. Rabbit.org is a great website and they have a listing of appropriate veggies to give.

If none of this works, and your bunny still isn't eating in the next day or so, you should find a vet who works with rabbits in your area, just to be sure there isn't a problem.

Good luck!

Answer 2

RHD is not common in the states. I don't think you have to worry about that. More than likely it is due to how young your rabbit is, stress, and possibly what you are feeding it.

In most cases, especially for a baby bunny I'd recommend feeding the same feed as the person you got the rabbit from. That will help reduce the stress on your baby bunny. However, the pet store has probably not had that bunny long and got it off some local rabbit breeder that collects rabbits for them. So they've probably already changed the feed on it once and sometimes the rabbit feeds pet stores offer are not the best in the world.

Two good feeds that I highly recommend are Heinold Feeds (the 17-17 Family Ration is very good) and the Purina Feeds (the one with 16% protein).

First, don't feed your rabbit vegetables, lettuce, grass, or fruit. All of these can give your rabbit diahrrea and upset it's eating. Doubly so since your rabbit is a baby. Babies especially can handle that kind of food.

Check it's rear end and make sure it doesn't have diahrrea. If your rabbit does, take it to the vet and have him/her take a stool sample. Then they can give you some medicine to take care of the diahrrea. You might want to pick up some timothy hay for your baby to eat on. The roughage and fiber will help if it does have diahrrea or it will help to get it eating if it doesn't.

Babies are more susceptible to stress and dying from stress. So definitely take the fact that it is not eating very seriously if you want to keep your rabbit alive. Make sure to give your rabbit plenty of water if it has diahrrea. Otherwise it will get dehydrated.

Answer 3

This might be a problem. There are a few questions: how old is your rabbit? are you feeding it plain pellets, water and timothy hay? How much are you feeding it? When are you feeding it? I can help you more if you join my yahoo group All_time_rabbit _lovers.