Clumsy bunny

Question
my bunny (born the 5th) is two weeks old (and one day) and hes been walking for a while now (about 3 days) and today when i took him out so he can play with his brothers i noticed that he started to run kind of fast and when he tries to stop he falls to the side. i think he doesnt want to eat either because his mom came to him but he wouldnt eat. whats wrong?

Answer
Hi

It is really hard to say.  Occasionally smaller rabbits are born with what is called the double dwarf gene.  They usually don't live more than 4 or 5 days but I have had them live up to a month.  These rabbits don't have the ability to digest food and their time on earth is limited.

I personally would have the rabbit examined by a vet.  It is very possible that it could have a problem with its teeth or its middle ears.  If he wasn't so young I would say it could be his personality.  Some rabbits will do the floppy thing when they are tired.  I have a panic attack whenever I see my house rabbits do it because it looks like they are about to drop dead.

If he isn't eating he may have swelling in the stomach which can cause GI stasis.  The best way to tell if he is eating is to see if his belly is round.  I have to tell you honestly that rabbits that are only 2 weeks old and are sick don't have a very good chance of survival.  There is something called fading kit syndrome and nobody really knows what causes it but it is most likely a genetic defect.  Usually these bunnies are ok at first and then suddenly they become lethargic and just fail to thrive.

I honestly don't even know if I could tell you what was wrong with him if I saw him, but the only thing I can tell you is that if he is suffering and the vet feels there is no hope then it is best to cull him.  I wouldn't do that until he is examined by a vet though.

Sadly young rabbits die.  It is just part of life and that is part of the reason that rabbits have babies every 30 days.  It is survival of the fittest and although I hope your baby is ok I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't make it.  Please please whatever you do don't let him suffer.  If he completely stops eating and you cant get him to the vet then do what you have to do.

I hate giving advice like this because I hate to see any rabbit die, but I have a firm belief that if an animal, any animal is lacking quality of life then it is better to euthanize them than to let them suffer.

Good luck Pancracio and I hope your bunny gets better soon.

Sincerely,

Pam