Rabbit is losing weight.

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

I have seen a lot of questions related to rabbits on this site and I really hope u can help me. I have this baby rabbit (guess 45 days old) who has stopped eating for the last couple of days and is loosing weight rapidly. All he does is lies down and sleep, does not move at all and does NOT even clean his shit. His poop seems to fine however his urine is too smelly and dark yellow in color.He eats little when I feed him personally.

He has lost weight in last couple days and has grown weak. Since rabbit is not a common pet in my city hence I do not have pet clinic where I can take him to. I gave him 'Normet' after I did some research on the web and found worms could be reason for this. However he does not seem to benefit from it and his health is deteriorating.Could you please suggest of  some medicine/treatment for his recovery. I came accross the following medicines as per one of your articles. Do you suggest giving these to the baby ?

Antibiotics:
1. ciprofloxacin at 20 mg/kg Q 12 hours
2. metronidazole at 20mg/kg Q 12 hours
Anticoccidial:
1. Ponazuril (20mg/kg Q 24 hours) or Toltrazuril (UK and Europe)
2. Trimethoprim sulfa or Albon

ANSWER: Dear Ashwin,

Your rabbit is very sick and needs the attention of a good rabbit vet, even if you have to drive some distance to find one.  Please use the list linked here to find one:

www.rabbit.org/vets

If he is weak and lethargic, you don't have much time.  You MUST get him to the vet right away, or he will die.  He is very likely severely dehydrated from the diarrhea.  Please read this:

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

for more information.  You can bring this with you to the vet, if you can't find one who is a rabbit expert:

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

But the bunny needs more help than you can give him at home.  He needs subQ fluids, possibly antibiotics and anti-parasitic medications, depending on what the vet finds, and also force-feeding with Critical Care or other recipe (there's one here:

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

you can use) until he's able to eat on his own.

Please waste no time getting him to the vet.  His life hangs in the balance.

Dana

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

QUESTION: Thank you Dana, for your immediate response.I took the rabbit to a Vet who gave him antibiotic and fluids ,medicines suggested by you.

Sadly I could not save the baby rabbit.


I have six i.e three fully grown and three baby rabbits who were staying along with the infected one .
Is there a possibility of them getting infected too?
As of now I do not notice any symptoms of infection passed on to other.
However in one of the fully grown rabbit seems to have developed what is called "conjunctives" in humans in the left eye.
There is little white discharge from her eye.The eye has become slightly watery but She can completely open her eye.
She keeps cleaning it with her claw.

I am from India and it is 1:30 am here.Could you please suggest a household cleaning method to control the infection for the night.

Also
1)Could you please suggest medicine for the eye problem?
2)Kindly suggest some medicine/antibiotic which can be given to all the six to avoid any kind infection or diseases?
3)Could you please recommend a medicine to improve the immunity in rabbits which can be given on a daily basis?


Is there a possibility of any infection being passed from rabbits to human as I have a small kid.

Kindly reply.Thanks

Answer
Dear Ashwin,

The problems your rabbits are having are not contagious to humans, so you can at least not worry about that.

I am sorry about the loss of the baby.  Once they stop eating, it is very difficult to save them without heroic measures, and I'm not sure how easy it is to find a rabbit expert veterinarian in India.  If you have a baby rabbit with diarrhea, then this will help:

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

For respiratory infections:

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

and the same article above will explain what can cause runny eyes.  This is very often related to dental problems, so please also read:

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

For the time being, just a warm compress on the affected eye will make the bunny feel better.  But there isn't anything you can do at home to treat an infection like this.

To answer your questions:

1.  The veterinarian will (I hope) be able to determine whether the eye needs medication.  The problem needs to be diagnosed first.  A corneal ulcer will be treated very differently from an eye that is inflamed because of an underlying dental problem or due to glaucoma.  So I cannot tell you what medicine to use because I do not know what is causing the problem.

2.  Do not use antibiotics prophylactically. This will only promote the selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  Instead, learn to be very vigilant for any sign of illness in rabbits, so you can catch it early and treat it before it becomes a real problem.  Here's some help:

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

House rabbits are much easier to monitor for health problems than if they are outdoors, and you can learn about litterbox training, etc. here:

http://www.rabbit.org/care/new-bunny-index.html

3.  The best way to keep anyone's immune system strong is to provide a healthy diet, calm, clean surroundings, and a good quality of life with play time, exercise and all the things a human (or any animal) would enjoy.  Here's information on healthy diet, which is a good first start:

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

and all the best information on rabbit care is available here:

www.rabbit.org/

I Hope this helps, and that all your rabbits will stay well and happy!

Dana