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help my baby is acting strange

22 11:09:25

Question
unfortunatly i have tried all the suggestions and stuff but his not ressponding to anything and not his lying face down and his only just breathing . i dont have nayidea how this happened i have a really lagre cage with a wire wall down the middle and and the other rabbit and the baby are completely fine.
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
i have had my male rabbit for the past 2 or so years, and have breed him twice. i went outside to give him his carrot and he was actting funny normally he would run over and take it out of my hands and eat it this time he just sat there and looked at my. when i opened the cage and took him out he was all 'floppy' not realy resisting my holding him the why he used to. i put him on the grass and he just sat there and he didnt hop around like normal. so i brought him inside i live in australia so i thought maybe he was hot but i put him in a box with some water and he just lay down and didnt do nething. moved the box and he kinda wobbled his head around in a circle. i live a large distance from the vet and was wondering wat can i do?
-----Answer-----
Hi Katie,

1.  Make sure he is not overheated.  If his ears are warm/hot, take a cold pack, wrap in a dishtowel, and rest him on it.  

2.  If his ears feel cold, you may need to warm him up, he may be in shock.  Take a warm (not hot) water bottle and wrap in a dishtowel and place him on it.

3.  If it looks like he hasn't had a lot to drink (less than normal), give him fluids.  Pinch the skin and lift it up around his shoulder area.  If it takes a long time to snap back to normal, he's dehydrated.  If you have a syringe feeder kit, you can give him water orally (no needles attached of course).  If you have a needle attachment and he isn't taking in any water, you can give it to him under the skin in his shoulder area. Tent the skin up with your fingers and put the syringe in that area and depress the water in.  Make sure the needle has no air bubbles in it by pointing it upwards and pressing the plunger until all the air is gone and water squirts out.

4.  He may have been bitten by something, a bug that may have poisons.  Inspect him for injuries.  

5.  He could have an infection.  You will eventually need to get him to a vet for a checkup if he survives whatever happened to him.

Let me know what happens with your boy.  I'll pray for you both.

Lee

Answer
Hi Katie,

being an outside bunny, he could have had a number of things happen.

Was he overheated or too cold?  If you have a baby thermometer around, lube the tip with vaseline and gently slide it 1/2 inch up his rear end.  Once the reading is done, if it is lower than 101 degrees he needs warming up.  If it is over 104 degrees he needs cooling.

You could make up a box for him inside the house tonight, pad it with soft cotton towels or tshirts and place him in there with the appropriate warm bottle or cooling pad.  Keep him comfortable and pet him and talk to him.  Let him know you're pulling for him and you love him.

If you have an emergency vet service within an hour or so, it may be worth taking him with the cold/hot pack in his box of towels and trying to get there with him.  Call ahead so they know you are coming with a domestic rabbit in severe distress.

You could also see if he'll take a favorite treat.

You could, if you find any lumps or bites/scratches on him, and also if his temperature is higher than normal, give him a baby aspirin.  You could also with your fingers wetted with isopropyl alcohol, rub his ears to help cool him off (only if he is running a temperature).

I usually do not recommend this type of advice but as you are in the middle of nowhere you are his only chance.

Keep in mind if he's running a higher temp he has an infection most likely and this will still need to be diagnosed by a vet in order to give him effective meds to deal with whatever is causing it.

Pray for him.  I will too.

It is actually 1:30am here, so if you don't write back in the next few minutes, I will be signing off.

Lee