PLEASE HELP

I have a nine month old lop eared, We have only had her for about a week. She was breathing today but was "shaky" this is normal for buns sometimes so I was not too conerned, about an hour ago my husband came in the living room and said something was wrong with her, She was laying on her back in her cage and he said she made a "screaming noise" that woke him up. She is breathing but is "floppy" will somewhat move her legs and head, but will not sit normal.

She has a runny nose and wet chin. Breathing is for the most part normal, but she will wheezy and breath deep if I move her or she tries to move her head, I cannot get her to a vet until the morning, it is 1am here....please tell me what I can do! I am in tears and so worried about her! She is such a sweetheart!

Shaky is not normal. It's never normal. I don't know where you heard that. Most likely she was hiding a very serious illness. If she's succumb to a pasturella infection it's a long road to treat them and they will never be rid of it. Plus any time you handle them and then handle another rabbit or get another rabbit you risk spreading it because they are never cured of it. Most who breed choose to put these rabbits down immediately. Some pet owners may save them and do some extra hygiene practices after that. Unfortunately at this point it's unlikely she'll survive long enough for treatment to help.

Oh, no.....

I so wish I could tell you something to help you get this poor bun through the night, but I can't think of much... except that the only possibilities I come up with are all bad. Like seizures. Or pneumonia.

I have never heard of shakiness being normal.

Are you SURE that the bun has been drinking? If not, you may need to force electrolytes. You can use Gatorade, Pedialyte, or homemade: post224598.html#p224598 . If this is seizure due to dehydration, you might have to syringe the solution subcutaneously, if you have a syringe. how-to-give-a-subcutaneous-injection-t8690.html

Is the rabbit eating? What has she eaten lately? Anything different?

Has she been pooping/peeing normally?

Was she in direct sunlight before/when this happened?

Does she hold her head way up/back?

I wish I had some comforting words. I am so sorry you have had to join RT under these circumstances. I don't know if there is anything you can do to help your bunny make it through the night. I think mainly you can only try to keep her as comfortable as possible. I hope the vet has some words of hope! But, I have to be honest, a rabbit this ill likely needs to be put down... and she may not even make it long enough to get to the vet.

I am so, so sorry!

I'm so very sorry you're going through this, Kalab. I didn't see this until now. Miss M gave you excellent advice regarding keeping the rabbit hydrated. If your rabbit is still alive this morning, the vet may be able to help, but do keep in mind that with a rabbit this sick it is likely kinder to put it down.

I hope you will continue to come to RabbitTalk in future. There is so much you will learn here that can help you prevent situations like this one. It sounds to me as though your rabbit may have been sick when you bought it. Rabbits are prey animals in the wild and because of this they are very good at hiding signs of illness or weakness. Stress (and even moving to a new, very kind home is stressful) may have brought the illness to the surface.

It's very sad, but this is not your fault so please do not beat yourself up for it. Another time you will be able to recognize problems sooner and perhaps head them off.