5 wk old bunny with diarrhea - What can I do?

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jimmywalt

jimmywalt

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I have a very sweet baby bunny that's just over 5 weeks old. It has developed diarrhea. We removed it from it's mother and siblings and put it in it's own cage. It doesn't seem to want to do anything but lay down.

We have rolled oats, hay and water in it's new cage, but it doesn't seem interested in eating.

I did give it some water in a syringe into it's mouth. I also gave it a little room temperature Gatorade in the syringe. That seemed to pick it up a bit. It moved around the new cage a bit, but still doesn't seem right.

The other siblings are doing fine and they are still with the doe.

What can I do for this little bunny? I don't want to see it die.

Thank you.
 
Removing it from its mother likely stressed it out - weaning starts a change in the ph of the stomach/digestive system. If it hasn't been away too long, I'd put it back in with them (if it has anything contagious, the littermates would've caught it already). Make sure you have plenty of hay in their cage. Don't give it much gatorade, the sugar in it isnt good for it - if you want to give electrolytes, try pedialyte instead.

What's the consistency of the diarrhea, and what color is the baby? I've noticed quite often baby hollands around that age get some soft feces stuck in the fur around the rump without any serious medical conditions.
 
Pretty watery diarrhea. The baby is tort color. We have been giving them all a lot of hay daily.

I'm concerned with putting it back in with it's mother and siblings. I don't want it to die there tonight, or tomorrow when we are at work and have the others have to be with it if that happens.

It is a Holland Lop, and it a bit larger than a man's hand, so it's not tiny (and almost 6 weeks old too).

It has fresh hay, rolled oats and water in it's new cage. I pray that it turns around and is better in the morning.

Thank you for your help.
 
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Unfortunately this morning when we woke up we found that it had died. :-(
 
Sorry to hear that, Jimmy. :(

They go downhill pretty fast once the diarrhea starts. It might be a good idea to find some of the plants I mentioned -- and the onion greens Michael spoke of -- so you have them handy for the future. You can have a corner of your yard devoted to useful bunny plants. They can also be air-dried for winter.
 
MaggieJ":1sw413bf said:
Sorry to hear that, Jimmy. :(

They go downhill pretty fast once the diarrhea starts. It might be a good idea to find some of the plants I mentioned -- and the onion greens Michael spoke of -- so you have them handy for the future. You can have a corner of your yard devoted to useful bunny plants. They can also be air-dried for winter.
Click to expand...

I keep a patch of garlic chives just for rabbits, at the first sign of any GI issues I feed a hand full --as a general rule -- if they eat the garlic chives, they live, -- if they do not, they die. [ I have a known residual cocci problem]
 
michaels4gardens":3u3c9x58 said:
MaggieJ":3u3c9x58 said:
Sorry to hear that, Jimmy. :(

They go downhill pretty fast once the diarrhea starts. It might be a good idea to find some of the plants I mentioned -- and the onion greens Michael spoke of -- so you have them handy for the future. You can have a corner of your yard devoted to useful bunny plants. They can also be air-dried for winter.
Click to expand...

I keep a patch of garlic chives just for rabbits, at the first sign of any GI issues I feed a hand full --as a general rule -- if they eat the garlic chives, they live, -- if they do not, they die. [ I have a known residual cocci problem]
Click to expand...

What are garlic chives? Something you can purchase at the grocery store in the spice/cake isle? Thank you!
 

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