help with baby rabbit, already visited vet.

Question
QUESTION: Hi Dana,

My rabbit is 6 weeks old. Over the last week I noticed he was playing less and
less and I didn't see him eating as much as usual, not even showing interest
in his mama's veggies as usual.

On Wednesday we took him to our trusted rabbit vet, Dr. Harvey. She
prescribed 1ml Proviable KP twice daily. Today is Saturday and we took him to
the vet again. He had not gained any weight since the last visit. Although I
have not seen him eat, he has definitely pooped (I found this to be strange, as
if he only ate when I wasn't looking). I explained that he was also grinding his
teeth loudly. Dr. Harvey said it could be due to him not having the right
bacteria in his stomach. She prescribed .5 cc of Carafate Suspension to be
taken twice daily, as well as 5 cc of Critical Care 3x daily in addition to
offering him his mother's stool mixed with unsweetened apple juice (due to
difficulty in feeding him the Proviable KP).

I was also asked to call back again this coming Wednesday with a progress
report, since that is when she is back in the office). Wednesday seems so far
away right now, and I fear that I won't have any resources to turn to in case
my rabbit's situation gets worse. I have visited another recommended rabbit
vet office during times our regular doctor was unavailable, but did not have a
very good experience.

I find it very hard to feed him the full dosage of critical care without my
rabbit spitting some of it out and he sometimes grinds his teeth when I try to
feed him.

Any advice or 2nd opinion would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know
if you need more information from me.

Thank you,

Kathryn

ANSWER: Dear Kathryn,

If your bunny is in the care of Dr. Carolyn Harvey, she is in very good hands.  The Critical Care should help.  But the problem is the pain *now*, and it's possible that an imbalance of her intestinal flora is causing gas.

This can be remedied with a bit of pediatric simethicone suspension from any good supermarket or drug store (baby section).  Also try gentle tummy massage, preferably with an electric vibrating type massager. Bunnies find this very soothing once they get over the initial surprise.

Please also see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

for more information on your bunny's delicate and complex digestive system.  And if she continues to act "not herself," please see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sickbun.html

But I'm betting the simethicone and tummy massage will get her over this hump and on the road to feeling better.

I hope this helps.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Dana,

Thank you for your quick response. Dr. Carolyn Harvey has been very
knowledgeable and sympathetic when it comes to treating my rabbits.

I went out and bought Mylicon and administered .5 cc to Oreo (he only weighs
.61 lbs) every hour for the first three hours and then again 5 hours later. I'm
hoping it will work, he is still grinding his teeth and refuses to take the
critical care. I tried mixing the critical care with unsweetened apple juice, but
that didn't work either. Does it take a while for the simethicone to kick in?
He's finally starting to drink water on his own, so I'm hoping that means
progress.

Thanks for all your help.

Kathryn

Answer
Dear Kathryn,

If he is not producing poop normally, please also see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

If he's not better by today, please call Dr. Harvey's office and let her know that he's not better.  He really might need more aggressive treatment than what he's gotten so far if he's still in pain.

If you see any sign of runny stool, please see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/squirts.pdf

and ask Dr. Harvey about the possibility of E. coli overgrowth.  We see this very commonly (and have had cultures done to prove it) in baby rabbits who are (1) weaned too young and (2) exposed to human bacteria without the protection of their mother's milk antibodies.

Hope he will be fine soon.

Dana