Sick bunny at the vets need advice

Question

Hi

my year old rex (house rabbit) was rushed to vets yesterday with lethargy, no appetitie, shivers and not being able to get comfy. The vets have warmed him up given him antibiotics, glucose, and are syringe feeding him but he just won't eat. they have no idea what's wrong. Has anybody had this happen to theirs? I am really worried he won't be coming back ....

Answer 1

I have had loads of bunny experience and have constant contact with my rabbit vet.

Bloat and discomfort will mean there is a digestive disorder, this could be anything from parasites to enteritis or colitis.

Other illnesses if you are in europe and parts of the UK could be Myxomatosis or VHD.

The discription that you have discribed could fit both catagories.

Urinary infections or organ failiure could also be a cause, VHD will cause this.

The rabbit should also have blood tests dones as well as the treatment that has already been provided.

Make sure your vet knows enough about rabbits to follow out these procedures. Cat and Dog vets are not always reliable enough and treat the rabbit the same way as they normally would a cat or dog. Rabbits are not expotic but are more delicate and therefore needa specilised small animal vet.

Answer 2

I feel your worry. I had a rabbit and he had kind of similar symptoms as your rex. I only found out the problem once they sadly did a autopsy. My rabbit had a couple of parasites called Encephalitozoon cuniculi

Baylisascaris procyonis. They catch it at birth from other rabbits in the cage or it is passed on from the mother. It's not curable but you can give your rabbit medication to extend it's life, or have a normal life.

I hope this helps

addition: Is your rabbit better? Did you figure out his problem? It breaks my heart to see a sick rabbit.

Answer 3

Really, they need to find out what is actually going on.  Have there been any x-rays taken?  Blood work and urinalysis?  He needs to have diagnostics done to determine what is wrong.

If he is not eating he may have gone into stasis.  This is very dangerous and require intensive nursing (which it sounds like he's getting) and motility drugs.  Basically, it's impossible to say without knowing exactly what is wrong.

Is your vet an exotics vet?  How many rabbits does your vet typically see?  Look around to find the best vet you can in your area, this site may have some helpful recommendations:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.h...

Good luck