Rabbit Emergency!! help!

Question
My 10 month old dwarf rabbit started having diarrhea at about 2:00 this afternoon. Over the course of the day he has become VERY lethargic and will not move. I called the vet and have a 9:00 am appt but i'm afraid he won't make it. I have tried to feed him water through a syringe to keep him hydrated but he won't drink it. Is there anything else I can do to help him?

Answer
Dear Lyndsey,

I hope you were able to get him to the vet.  This sounds extremely serious.  To get diarrhea to stop quickly, you can give him 1mg of Imodium per kg of body weight.  But it is critical to get him hydrated with subcutaneous fluids, since his intestine may not be able to absorb fluids given orally.

Please see:

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

for information on how to keep his body temperature in the normal range.  I hope he will be okay. But don't wait for an appointment.  Find a rabbit savvy vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

and call to tell them that you are coming NOW because it's a life-threatening emergency.

Dana