Fire ants and bunnies?

Question
Hi,
So my bunny Rudy was bit by a lot of ants..not to where it covered him but maybe 15-20..
My mother and I gave him some Benadryl and it seems to be helping with the swelling, I'm just still concerned. So far it looks like he is sleeping..I have been checking on him hourly to make sure he is breathing okay. What should I do next? I'm scared to take him to the vet because most likely they'll put him down. Before this all happened he was perfectly fine but my mother decided to give him to a friend of ours..well I got him back but he was just skin and bones..now I'm not saying she abused him..she's been raising bunnies her whole life..but I don't know if maybe he got depressed and didn't eat or if maybe he caught something from the other bunnies..I've raised him since he was 2 months old. I just don't want to lose him. I haven't been able to find anything about fire ants and bunnies..if there's anything else I should do please let me know! Thankyou soo much!

Sincerely,
Katie and Rudy

Answer
I have no idea what the affects of fire ants would be but I would imagine that it would be the same as a bee sting.  There is absolutely no reason a vet would recommend an animal be put to sleep unless it is severely suffering.  Is the bunny eating, drinking and pooping?  If so he will probably recover.  However, if he is swollen or having difficulty breathing he needs to go the the vet immediately.  If you do not trust your current vet you can attempt to locate a rabbit savvy vet here:

http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

If you have any further questions I suggest that you ask Dr. Dana Krempels.  She may know more about fire ants.  I do think she will recommend that you take your rabbit to the vet also.

I wish I had a better answer for you.

Good luck

Pam