how to tell if a baby cottontail is dying?

Question

My lttle brother found a 2week old baby cottontail stuck in a window box.we brought it in the house and put it in a box with a towel.we fed it grass and gave it water. it has been in the box for 2 days now.and its behavior had normally been farley calm in the daytime and active at night.2night on the third night in the box it is laying on its side and wont get up it is breathing slowly. and its eyes look like their in pain. this started about 4hours ago , and yes the kids in the house have been picking him up like every fifteen minutes...that is a no no ...sorry! is he dying?if he is what can i do ...help!!!Pray for him please

Answer 1

They cannot live in captivity. I don't know why but I tried many times and they never lived. Touch them as little as possible.

Answer 2

Yes, it sounds like he is dying. The only chance this poor animal has is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. You can find one here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm
Contact one immediately! This is what you should have done when you first found the rabbit. Wild animals are not like domestic pets. You can't properly care for one and have it survive unless you have had the proper training.

This is the best site for info on orphaned wild rabbits: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html

It states: "Many people mean well when they contact HRS after discovering an "abandoned" nest of wild rabbits. Often they wish to "rehabilitate" them with some advice from others. The reality is fewer than 10% of orphaned rabbits survive a week, and the care that people attempt to provide can be illegal, unnecessary, and potentially harmful. The best thing you can do is put the bunny right back where you found him, in the general area, as the Mom will only come back at night to call and find him. Leave the area. If injured, please contact a Wildlife Rehabilitator or rabbit vet immediately....the best thing you can do for a wild orphaned baby bunny is to get in touch with a skilled rehabilitator."

Please get this bunny the help it needs before it dies!

Answer 3

Yes,it is dying.They cannot stand being handled.You should have let it go as soon as it was freed from the windowbox.The best thing you can do for it is to put it outside ,in a quiet,dark place,like under a bush,in the grass,and hope that it will revive.Get him away from those kids,right now and it might have a chance.Rub a little sugar water on it's tongue before you put it outside,then just leave it alone.

Answer 4

FIRST!!!! Do Not pick up the poor little rabbit any more! This is a living creature - NOT a toy! It sounds like it's dying. I'm sorry to say you have probably killed it. It has not ate - rabbits don't eat grass ( hope the grass didn't have insectisides). And why in Gods Name did you not just let it go. Next time don't bring a wild animal in the house and use it as a pet/toy, have some respect for living things. And yes I'll pray for him!

Answer 5

The best thing to do is to call a vet or emergency animal hospital and ask for their advise. I know from experience that sometimes the nurses there will give you great advise on what you can do at home.

Answer 6

If that's eyes are open, then you definitely can pass forward with grass/hay. you need to use grass outdoors that HASN'T been dealt with with something. Or puppy shops (and Walmart) will carry packs of rabbit hay. as quickly as that's eating hay/grass and starts to act petrified of you, that'll be the time to launch it. Rabbit youthful are incredibly self-adequate. :) i do no longer advise cow's milk. instead, pass to a puppy save (Walmart might have it) and get KMR, a kitten milk-replace formulation. no longer the domestic dog formulation. :(

Answer 7

They are very vulnerable to pneumonia when young. Make sure she does not get temperature changes. You are repeating my experience with one, word for word. We stayed up all night and gave it water with an eyedropper, but it died. I hope that you will have a better result.
Good Luck.