Cookie

Question
QUESTION: My rabbit was taken to the vet and was pronounced with "Snuffles". She has a bacteria in her head. I also have another rabbit and I have moved the sick rabbit away from her. Is it normal for my sick rabbit to not eat or drink while having snuffles? I gave her food and water but she has not eaten it. I let her out to run around and she was lethargic but she ate a little bit of grass. I am not sure if not eating or drinking is a side effect of Snuffles but I wanted to make sure. Thanks. I know snuffles is serious so anything you have to say would help.

ANSWER: Dear Lily,

I think you should read this immediately:

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

This will help you determine just how sick Cookie is, and whether she needs immediate attention from a vet more experienced with rabbits.  If Cookie is now on medication, be sure it's not anything ending in "cillin" if it's being given orally, as oral penicillins are deadly to rabbits (e.g., amoxycillin).  

While a bunny may act a little bit under the weather from an upper respiratory infection (sometimes unhelpfully called "snuffles"), it's not normal for him to not eat or drink.  This could indicate that she is far more ill than you might suspect, and will need the help of a more experienced rabbit vet.  If she has a fever or is hypothermic, this should be considered an emergency.  Please use the list linked here to find a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Also please read this:

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

which will help dispel some of the myths and information often disseminated about "snuffles".  What's most important is to make sure there is not a systemic infection going on, which can be fatal.  And if your bunny is not only inappetent, but also not producing fecal pellets, please read this right away, as it could save her life:

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

I hope this helps.  

Dana

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

QUESTION: My rabbit seems to have gotten worse. I am using the medicine Enrofloxacin. I am supposed to give her 1mL per day for 14 days but I don't know if she will make it that far. She has not gone to the bathroom for two days. She is also only 8 months old. Her head is beginning to tilt to the side and her third eyelid is showing. I am surprised she made it through the night. She is usually a very active bunny but she just lays in the same place. She won't get up to get water so i have to give it to her. She can only drink if i squeeze the bottle. I was wondering if you had any other advice.

ANSWER: Dear Lily,

If her head is starting to tilt, then you must read this immediately:

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

Her lack of fecal production suggests she is suffering from ileus.  If you want to save her life, you MUST read this and follow the instructions:

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

If you have not already taken her temperature, this is *critical*.  Instructions can be found here:

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

If this is an inner ear infection that is becoming worse or going systemic, the enrofloxacin might not be enough.  Injectable Penicillin-G Procaine would be the next antibiotic to ask the vet about giving your girl, and you should not wait.  If this is given intramuscularly, it can start to work within 15 minutes and it honestly could save her life.

Also make sure she has analgesia.  In a case like this, I'd ask the vet about Banamine instead of metacam, as it is more powerful and it sounds as if your bunny needs this pain relief.

DO NOT give up on her.  She does not have to die, but you MUST read the links I have sent you and follow the instructions.

Dana

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

QUESTION: Can rabbits die from too much banana? I have been mixing bananas with water and feeding it to her. She is enjoying it and she already seems better. She will walk around a little although she is still a little lethargic. She won't eat her pellets and I did not want her to starve or die from dehydration. She is acting a little better. The vet does not open until Monday but I am doing what I can to keep her alive. I feed her every hour and she is eager for it too. Should I keep giving her this food or should I vary her diet or should I not be giving this to her at all?

Answer
Dear Lily,

If she's eating anything, then that's good.  The water/banana mix will keep her hydrated, and though banana isn't ideal (high in starch and sugar), she needs to keep her blood sugar up with anything you can get her to accept right now.  At this point, the worst that banana would do would be to make her gassy or make her intestinal flora unbalanced, so keep pediatric simethicone at the ready and give her 1/2cc or so twice a day to help prevent gas pain.

See if you can add a little bit of pellets soaked in water and made into mush and also mixed into the banana, so she gets a bit of fiber.  It's important to keep her hydrated and eating so she'll be strong enough to handle this illness.  Every little bit helps.

I hope she'll be fine.  Hang in there!

Dana