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Rabbit cant move

22 10:14:18

Question
Hello, i wonder if you could help me at all. Over the past few years i have had lionhead rabbits and bread. 3 of my rabbits have died at a young age, one a few weeks old one a few months and one was 2. My sister has just taken one of my rabbits who is a year and a half and she is a house rabbit and is loved very much. Yesterday she was fine one minute then the next she was collapsed on the floor. She cant move at all and my sister is feeding her water and shes just eaten some grass. With my rabbits when this happend they died about an hour later but this little one is keeping strong. My sister dosnt want to take her to the vet as she wants her to stay with her as she knows her and its breaking her heart. Do you have idea what could be wrong with the rabbit and if there is anything that could maybe save her? Thankyou very much

Answer
Dear Joanne,

I hope the bunny is okay.  But as you have read in my questioner introduction, when you have a veterinary emergency like this, you must get the bunny to a vet immediately via:

www.rabbit.org/vets

An internet volunteer is not always online, and help may come too late.  In this case, I probably cannot be of great help, except with the information here, containing emergency instructions:

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

But if your bunnies are dying so frequently, there may be something wrong with their genetics, their husbandry/care, or something else in their environment, and you need to re-examine everything about your keeping of the rabbits.  Please go to:

www.rabbit.org/

and link to "House Rabbits 101" to check the information there on housing, diet, etc. and be sure that you're not doing something that is contributing to their illness.

Unfortunately, the only way to know why they die is to have a necropsy done very soon after death.  But to find out what is going on with your bunnies and stop these tragedies at the source.

I hope this helps.  I hope the little bun will be okay!

Dana