Rabbit Health Question

Question
Hi.  I have lived for the last four years with four lovely rescue bunnies.  One morning in March of this year, I had to take one of them to the vet as he was quite clearly not himself.  He wasn't eating, was very subdued and didn't want me to go near him.  The vet felt a lump which she was unsure of when checking over his tummy.  This turned out to be a lympnode which had become enlarged because of some kind of infection. The vet gave him antibiotics and I had to syringe feed him recovery solution and fibreplex until he recovered.  Whatever this infection was it then unfortunately proceeded to pass to my other three bunnies even though they do not stay in the same indoor hutch as the bunny who first had the bug.  I ended up having to syringe feed and look after all four of them intensively over a six week period until thankfully they all recovered.  It was all in all a horrendous experience.  The vet still has no idea what this bug was although it seemed to be a stomach bug affecting gut motility.  This morning the first bunny who was ill originally is showing similar symptoms again.  The lump, again assumed to be an enlarged lympnode, is inflamed as it was before.  The only thing I have done differenly in the last couple of week is change their brand of hay.  My vet has accordingly given me fibreplex and recovery solution again.  She has also given him an injection of antibiotic as she suspects an infection again.  My concern, other than getting him back to his usual self, is that my other bunnies are now potentially at risk of becoming unwell also if this is the same bug as before.  They all live in an indoor hutch which has been divided so that two live together and the other two (including my unwell bunny) live separately as they don't get on.  Is there anything that I can do to minimise my other bunnies risk of catching this bug (assuming that it what it is)?  Any advice you can offer me would be very much appreciated.  Have you ever experienced similar?  With Kind Regards.

Answer
Dear Elizabeth,

I think you might want to find a vet who is more experienced with rabbits for a second opinion.  You can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

or perhaps through the Rabbit Welfare Association in the UK:

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/

There are no "bugs" I know of that affect intestinal motility, but GI slowdown is often a rabbit's first physiological reaction to illness/pain/stress.  Please read:

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

and

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

The GI slowdown may have been a side effect of the illness, but it is not a primary disorder.

Second, there are very few bacterial pathogens--if any--that are easily transmitted between rabbits.  I think more extensive diagnostic testing might have been done to better determine what was actually going on there:  blood work (complete chemistry and blood count), listening to the lungs, intestines, etc., and *especially* checking the teeth.

You don't give me the location of this mysterious "lump," but I have never heard of a rabbit having detectably enlarged lymph nodes from an infection.  If you can describe this "lump" in greater detail (size, shape, location, whether or not it is attached to underlying tissue or moves freely with the skin, texture, etc.), then I will be better able to help you.  But I strongly suspect that this is not something easily contagious, despite the previous experience.

Have all the bunnies been vaccinated against myxomatosis?  I'm assuming they have, but this is very important.  Giving antibiotics for a problem like this is usually a safe course of action, but it's best to try and determine where the infection is (and what the most likely pathogens are) to really get a handle on the problem.

I hope this helps.

Dana