Shock in rabbits

Question
Lee,
Please bear with me but I am not used to emails and Im sure to goof up.  We have 4 beautiful bunnies and although I love all animals can not imagine myself being bunniless again.  One of our young ster. boys
fell from our daughters arms and at the time seemed
fine - no apparent pain, hopping fine, just a little quiet, which is not surprising as it was a noise that frightened our daughter which made her loosen her grip & him flip out of her arms.  She is very protective of him, as she has lost a couple of much loved bunnies, but she says he isnt eating much (although he has some of whatever she gives him)and she says if she tries to pick him up he growls & hops away. She wants us to take him to the vet, but we dont seem to have any good rabbit vets here - they know how to sterilize but little else so Im not sure that as there is nothing to see that they will be any help.
We know rabbits get scared easily but could the above possibly be fear or shock? and if so what can we do about it.  Bunny is a rex and the only other thing that is a little different this week  is that our weather is warming up - temp about 25deg. Our daughter wants to pick him up but is nervous because of his fall, when she is normally very confident.  Please please let us know your ideas very soon as our daughter is convinced he is going to die and is very worried.  We are prepared to take him to the vet if you think its necessary but as I have said previously, I have my doubts as to whether they can do much - this by the way is from personal experience.
Thank you very much
Gerry Wilson


Answer
Hi Gerry,

first, I would go to the House Rabbit Society web site:

www.rabbit.org\vets

and see if you can find a recommended rabbbit vet in your area. There may be one in a neighboring state that is close to you.

Second, I don't know how old your daughter is, but perhaps she is too young to be picking up the rabbits.  Generally I don't recommend picking them up unless it is truly necessary, as in my experience with many rabbits, they don't like being picked up all that much.  And some get afraid if your hold on them loosens and they try to wiggle out and escape (as what sounds like it happened with your daughter).

I would watch what his intake and output is tomorrow.  If it appears off, and he appears not to be excited about his food like he normally is, I would take him back into the vet (or the rabbit vet if you have been able to find one) and see if they can do an xray of his back, legs and pelvis so that you can rule out any breaks or areas that appear injured.  Rabbits mask pain so he may not be making any sounds but he could still be injured.

He is grunting at your daughter probably because he remembers the dropping incident and is grunting to say "I don't want to be picked up/Don't pick me up again."  It's a nicer way of showing displeasure than sinking their teeth into your hand, usually the last resort for them.

So watch him tomorrow, watch his mobility, watch if he eats and drinks like normal and poops and pees normal, and if he is excited for fresh hay and food he likes.  If he's off, consider going back to the vet for xrays.

Now, of course, if he collapses unexpectedly or has any weird breathing problem or something like that, get him to any vet or emergency animal clinic right away.  

But right now, you need to calm your daughter down, and keep her from stressing about it.  You'll watch him closely tomorrow, he seems to be fine except for being a little miffed about the whole episode.  We don't need to spend time worrying about things that haven't happened and most likely won't happen.  And it bothers him that you're stressing out.  If he doesn't seem right, you know what the next step is.  And you all may need to re-evaluate as a family the 'rules' as to when you should be picking up rabbits.  Myself, I only do it when absolutely necessary as they have a natural dislike for it.  I only pick them up for going to the vet (into their carrier, out of their carrier), and for nail trims.  And I always have a small treat after it's all over to reinforce the fact to them they get something good at the very end.

Rabbits pick up on human stress even more than cats and dogs, as they are prey species and spend a lot of time reading other predator animals.  If she is stressing out around him, your rex boy is picking up on her stress, and it is causing HIM to stress out and act more nervous.  So it is possible some of his unusual behavior is that he is picking up on her and your stress, and that is stressing him out.

Write back anytime, Lee