Well, I took her to the veterinarian last Friday, and I followed their medicine exactly as directed, and she has been getting better, but she's still not eating or drinking as much as she usually does! And her poop is taking shape much better, but it's not totally normal yet!! What should I do??????????
2007-07-12 04:08:23 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
This has been happening about a few days since I got her a companion rabbit, which was July 1st. And my veterinarian said that she has been stressed and that's why she's getting sick. But the other rabbit isn't in the same cage as my rabbit, just beside her in another spare cage.
2007-07-12 04:10:44 · update #1
& she is currently in the bonding process with the other rabbit we adopted.
2007-07-12 04:11:25 · update #2
It may take a while for your rabbit to fully recover, so be patient. Make sure that she has UNLIMITED access to Timothy hay and water. This will keep her digestive system moving.
Yes, do not feed her pellets until her appetite returns to normal. And then only give her a small amount, gradually increasing it every day until it reaches her normal, limited amount of pellets.
You could try washing some fresh greens (romaine lettuce and parsley are popular favorites) and try offering that to her. Keep them somewhat wet and that will help hydrate her, as well as stimulate her appetite.
Really, nothing can replace a good rabbit-savvy vet. Make sure that your vet is experienced with handling rabbits: not all vets are!
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.html
Check out www.rabbitsonline.net to learn more about your bunny, ask further questions, and meet other bunny owners!
2007-07-12 12:59:10 · answer #1 · answered by Colette 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the medicine from the vet seems to be working, trust the vet's opinion. I will only advise anyone to distrust vet advice if the animal takes a turn for the worse in reaction to treatment, and vet makes excuses. KNOW this, that vet went to school for years to know what they do, they know more than the people in answers, as a general rule. THANK YOU for being the sort of owner who does vet their pets. The bonding over food suggestion? Might food competition add to the stress, instead of helping to bond? I'm NOT SURE, ask your vet first, they usually have no problem with answering follow-up questions from their patients' owners. Shows them you care. As for reduced intake levels, these ought to level off to old quantities' amounts as soon as your bunny is okay with the new one. A rabbit off it's feed is an upset bunny, for sure, but if it's mending elsewise, ask your vet if this is normal.
2007-07-12 04:29:30 · answer #2 · answered by ihatepenndot 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes in the summer they don't eat as much as they usually do due to the heat. It's common for rabbits. Don't feed your rabbit any treats like vegetables, fruit or grass. That will only make the diahrrea problem worse.
Make sure your rabbit gets plenty of water. It will need it becaue diahrrea tends to dehydrate a rabbit.
One thing you can do is pull your rabbit off of its feed for 24 hours. The bacteria that causes diahrrea lives off of the food in the stomach. By pulling the rabbit off of it's feed it removes the food out of the stomach and the bad bacteria out with it. The next day feed it about half its normal ration or feed it a small handul of timothy hay.
Another thing you can do to help is give your rabbit a small handful of straw, timothy hay, or orchard grass hay to nibble on. The fiber and roughage helps fight against diahrrea.
Another thing you may want to do is make sure you keep the water and water bowl clean. Clean water is vitally importan to keeping your rabbit from getting diahrrea.
One thing some rabbit veterinarians recommend is to add a little bit of bleach to the water. Used at the right amount it doesn't hurt the rabbit whatsoever and it helps keep the bacteria levels in the water down. It works like chlorine in the water. Use regular bleach. Look at the back of the bleach bottle. If it says to use 1 cup of bleach for a load of laundry then the dosage to use is 1 teaspoon per gallon of drinking water. If it says to use 3/4 cup of bleach for a load of laundry, then use 3/4th's of a teaspoon per gallong of drinking water. A few years ago some of the bleach companies slightly increased the concentration of their bleach, so you have to account for that. What most people use is standard Clorox bleach. You'll notice that if you use that you won't have the green algae tending to form in your water bowls anymore. Algae in the water bowls is a sign that there is bacteria in the water and bowl.
2007-07-12 05:23:40 · answer #3 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Rabbits are very nervous. The best thing is to help them bond over food. Bring out a big pile of munchables, and put them on the floor together to share. A bunny who hasn't been around other bunnies, will see, that the other bunny will eat the food, and not her/him. This is how I got my rabbits to like my puppy.
2007-07-12 04:13:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Call your vet. No one on this board can diagnose or estimate when your rabbit should feel better.
Your vet has the most experience with your rabbit and with this particular ailment of your rabbit.
Until you talk with your vet, try putting your rabbits in separate rooms and see if that helps your rabbit's stress level.
2007-07-12 04:12:10 · answer #5 · answered by Catherine F 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋