clicking

Question
my feamle doe just had 4 baby kits about 3 weeks ago. and i have as well found alot of vets in my area that dont  know much about rabbits. and unfortunately we lost one on christmas eve.

the three survivors seem to being doing pretty well. my question is.

can u tell me if its normal at there age which is 3 weeks old to be making a clicking noise. they do it constantly and im not sure if their okay or if its just because there teeth are growing...

my fiance and i had some problems a week ago with our kits getting diahrria and i read it in a book that i got about bunnies that if you give them pedialite unflavored that it would help with the diahhrria, which it did, but it never said how much we should give them. and also when i bought the lactosbacillus powder it never said how much to give the babies as well. i looked on the internet to see if i could find out, call several doctors here in florida and almost every other state and they told me to give the babies 10cc that seems like way too much for their little bellies to handle.  how many cc's are okay to give them. for the lactosbacillus it didnt say as well. and is the lactosbacillus okay to give a grown rabbit if its displaying signs of diahhria? and how much would i give a grown rabbit?

can you please tell me how many cc's so that i know for the future to give the kits as well. our other female whose 2yrs old is pregnant as well.  and thats why i have so many q's.

i also heard that its okay to put the lactosbacillus powder in the mothers water to give to her incase shes passing on some kind of bacteria to the babies, is that okay to mix with if im already giving her a multi vitamin solution in her water?... and my last question. i do appologize if im taking up too much of ur time, is there some numbers or websites that have alot of good information on rabbits. ive been having trouble finding books and websites that have good info. is there some kind of data base where i can have a list of doctors that sepcialise in rabbits that i can call if i have q's. like i said the doctors here dont know much and when i tried to get the number of a breeder from a locally pet store they wouldnt give me that info. i assummed a breeder would know more...

thankyou for ur time.

sincerly,
vera guerrero

a bunny lover.

Answer
Dear Vera,

Before you do anything else, please read:

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

This explains the various possible causes and treatments of diarrhea in rabbits (starting with babies).  It is very unusual for babies to get diarrhea if they are being fed by their mother.  If they are, you should not be feeding them *anything*, as this will more likely kill them than help them.  DO NOT give them Pedialyte if the mother is feeding them.

The following might be helpful in getting you on the right track for feeding, if the mother is not feeding them:

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

and this, too, will help:

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

But I hope you will also read this MOST important article:

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

If you are in southern Florida, then please contact Dr. William Chavez at (305) 670-0611.  He is excellent, and wonderful with rabbits.  Unfortunately, he will be moving to California soon, so you don't have much time to see him!

The best rabbit vet in southern Florida is Dr. Susan Kelleher, and she can be reached at (954) 968-7171.  There are other vets in Florida who also will see rabbits, and they have varying degrees of experience and expertise.  You can find a list of good Florida rabbit vets here:

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

Lactobacillus powder will not likely hurt, if given fresh.  But I would defininitely *not* put it in the drinking water.  Not only will it make the water taste funny (ditch the vitamins, too.  Once they are in aqueous solution they are pretty much useless in a few hours. Your bunny, being an herbivore, gets the vitamins she needs from her pelleted food and her fresh greens.  You can read more about this here):

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

...but it also will promote the growth of other bacteria in the water, some of which could be harmful.  Keep the water in a bowl, and very clean and fresh every day.

For the best information on how to keep your rabbits healthy and safe, please visit:

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

and especially:

www.rabbit.org/

I hope this helps get you started.  Please write back if you have more questions, once you've read the articles above.

Happy New Year!

Dana