HELP! SOMEBODY PLZ HELP! (Rabbit disoriented.)

[funnies50]

I took Coco out to feed her two minutes ago. I called her name and she didn't respond and come running over like she normally does. She's not eating and is acting really lethargic; she's not running right and her head is lolling backwards when I pick her up. She bumped into a couple of things and her eyes are partially closed.
HELP! Is something wrong with her???? Please tell me this isn't harmful!
I gave her a bath last night because she got a drop of burrito sauce on her head, but I've given her a bath three times over the last three wks or so...nothing abnormal happened. Help me! verreaction:
:SOSSOS:

 

[Susie570]

Oh man... head lolling back really sounds bad.

It could, possibly, be an ear infection from the bath. :/
For the moment, see if you can hold her and get her to eat and drink normally... it's important she doesn't get dehydrated and that she keeps food in her system.

We just had a discussion about ear infections on here, not sure if that would help you or not. I'm afraid to offer treatment advice.

I hope she pulls through this, but for future reference, it is generally NOT recommended to give rabbits baths. If they get a little dirty, it's better to wipe them with a damp cloth. I really hope she recovers.

 

[cmfarm]

Has she been pooping/peeing? Is it normal looking? Has she had any new foods lately? Any other symptoms, even if the seem random?

 

[funnies50]

Oh man... head lolling back really sounds bad.

It could, possibly, be an ear infection from the bath. :/
For the moment, see if you can hold her and get her to eat and drink normally... it's important she doesn't get dehydrated and that she keeps food in her system.

We just had a discussion about ear infections on here, not sure if that would help you or not. I'm afraid to offer treatment advice.

I hope she pulls through this, but for future reference, it is generally NOT recommended to give rabbits baths. If they get a little dirty, it's better to wipe them with a damp cloth. I really hope she recovers.

I gave her baths several times before and she was perfectly fine. She would dry herself off and then eat as much as possible. She was also just fine last night after the bath and I partially dried her off like always. <br /><br /> -- Fri Apr 24, 2015 11:02 am -- <br /><br />

Has she been pooping/peeing? Is it normal looking? Has she had any new foods lately? Any other symptoms, even if the seem random?

Yes she has. I don't know if you count cilantro as a new food because she hasn't had that in a few weeks. Hopping seems a little lopsided but her poop is normal looking.

 

[MaggieJ]

What you are describing sounds serious, Funnies50. Are your parents home? Is a visit to the vet a possibility?

Syberchick makes a good point about it possibly being related to bathing her. If she got water in the middle ear, I think that could affect her balance.

I wish I had better advice to offer you but in all the years I've raised rabbits, I've never seen anything like you are describing.

Is Coco your only rabbit? If you have others, isolate her from them and be sure to wash and change your clothes before going near your other rabbits. This is to avoid infecting them, should it turn out to be something catching.

 

[Susie570]

I gave her baths several times before and she was perfectly fine. She would dry herself off and then eat as much as possible. She was also just fine last night after the bath and I partially dried her off like always.

Ok, understand that I'm not trying to be mean here, but just because you were able to bathe her and not see an immediate problem, does not mean that no harm was done. I'm not saying that's the issue, but if there is head tilting and she's acting dizzy, it sounds like an ear infection. It could easily take several days for an ear infection to set in and get bad.

The problem is, water will get down inside a rabbit's ear canal and get stuck there. They can't get it out.
Also, a rabbit's fur has a hard time drying properly, so they can get chilled, especially if they are very young.

I don't want to offer you medical advise on how to treat her issue, I'm hoping others with more experience will step in and give you more advise. In the meantime, you need to keep her from running into things and hurting herself.

 

[funnies50]

I gave her baths several times before and she was perfectly fine. She would dry herself off and then eat as much as possible. She was also just fine last night after the bath and I partially dried her off like always.

Ok, understand that I'm not trying to be mean here, but just because you were able to bathe her and not see an immediate problem, does not mean that no harm was done. I'm not saying that's the issue, but if there is head tilting and she's acting dizzy, it sounds like an ear infection. It could easily take several days for an ear infection to set in and get bad.

The problem is, water will get down inside a rabbit's ear canal and get stuck there. They can't get it out.
Also, a rabbit's fur has a hard time drying properly, so they can get chilled, especially if they are very young.

I don't want to offer you medical advise on how to treat her issue, I'm hoping others with more experience will step in and give you more advise. In the meantime, you need to keep her from running into things and hurting herself.

Thank you so much! Sorry, I'm really worried since she never acted like this before.
That actually seems the most reasonable, since she seems a little cold-ish and she's disoriented.
Again, thanks so much for all the help. <br /><br /> -- Fri Apr 24, 2015 11:23 am -- <br /><br />

What you are describing sounds serious, Funnies50. Are your parents home? Is a visit to the vet a possibility?

Syberchick makes a good point about it possibly being related to bathing her. If she got water in the middle ear, I think that could affect her balance.

I wish I had better advice to offer you but in all the years I've raised rabbits, I've never seen anything like you are describing.

Is Coco your only rabbit? If you have others, isolate her from them and be sure to wash and change your clothes before going near your other rabbits. This is to avoid infecting them, should it turn out to be something catching.

Okay. Thank you so much, MaggieJ! I'll try to get her to the vet. Thanx guys.

 

[MaggieJ]

Funnies50, I do not know what has caused your rabbit's illness, but there is a disease called Wry Neck or E. Cuniculi that has some of the symptoms your rabbit is showing. Here is a link to a very good webpage about it. If after reading it, you think this may be the problem, then talk to you parents about taking the rabbit to the vet. Be sure to print off the page and take it with you.

https://barbibrownsbunnies.com/wryneck/

For other members, please be aware that Funnies50 had her rabbit out to a restaurant last evening. (See the thread Annoying Lady for details.) I think it quite possible that this ailment is related to stress -- an outing and then a bath is a lot for a rabbit to cope with in one evening.

 

[Susie570]

Thank you so much! Sorry, I'm really worried since she never acted like this before.
That actually seems the most reasonable, since she seems a little cold-ish and she's disoriented.
Again, thanks so much for all the help.

We're here to help. I don't want to scare you, this might be treatable, but it also might be fatal.
Keep her warm, don't let her bump into things, get her to a vet if you can.
Do you know if you have any vets who are good with rabbits nearby? I don't know how much a visit might cost, but if you can take her to someone who knows rabbits you should.

Rabbits being dizzy and bumping into things is usually not something that can fix itself. Most likely, she will at LEAST need a rabbit-safe antibiotic... and the sooner you get the situation addressed the better. Rabbits can go downhill VERY fast. Best of luck with your bunny. :/

 

[funnies50]

Okay. Thanks!
Yeah. She...just plummeted off my bed (I caught her, thankfully) and then crashed into my bed once I put her down.
I'll see what I can dooooo...*whimper*

 

[Susie570]

For other members, please be aware that Funnies50 had her rabbit out to a restaurant last evening. (See the thread Annoying Lady for details.) I think it quite possible that this ailment is related to stress -- an outing and then a bath is a lot for a rabbit to cope with in one evening.

Right, and I agree it may be related. It's hard for us to know the cause, just trying to help offer some advise for care until she can get the bunny to a vet.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

It is hard to say what is wrong with her, but there are a couple of things you can do to hopefully help her.

First, get her warm. Put some towels in the dryer and wrap her up in them. Fill a screw top bottle with HOT water and wrap it in another towel and place that near her. If you have a heating pad, you can place that under her as well. Make sure that whatever heat source you use she is able to move away from it if she gets too warm.

I would also offer her an electrolyte solution. I prefer the homemade type that you can find here: homemade-electrolytic-solution-t14844.html

However, you can also give her Gatorade or another "sports drink". Most of those contain high fructose corn syrup, which is why I prefer the homemade solution made with molasses or sugar.

You may need to force feed her some fluids- you can use a small syringe or if you don't have that, a turkey baster would work. Be very careful to only give a drop or two at a time so she doesn't accidentally get it into her lungs. I would give the solution to her warm so it doesn't chill her stomach.

 

[Susie570]

Okay. Thanks!
Yeah. She...just plummeted off my bed (I caught her, thankfully) and then crashed into my bed once I put her down.
I'll see what I can dooooo...*whimper*

Look... you're very young, funnies and this is probably your first rabbit. Rabbits can be great pets, but they are so delicate in many ways and there is a LOT to learn about them. If she doesn't make it, please don't beat yourself up about it.

As a start though, if you end up getting another rabbit, PLEASE make sure the rabbit is AT LEAST 8 weeks old. Older is better. There are just so many things that can happen to very young rabbits, even breeders who keep kits with their moms for the full 8 weeks often end up losing some of them.

I really hope the bunny pulls through this, if it's wry-neck it might be treatable, but might be very expensive. Please keep up posted.

 

[funnies50]

It is hard to say what is wrong with her, but there are a couple of things you can do to hopefully help her.

First, get her warm. Put some towels in the dryer and wrap her up in them. Fill a screw top bottle with HOT water and wrap it in another towel and place that near her. If you have a heating pad, you can place that under her as well. Make sure that whatever heat source you use she is able to move away from it if she gets too warm.

I would also offer her an electrolyte solution. I prefer the homemade type that you can find here: homemade-electrolytic-solution-t14844.html

However, you can also give her Gatorade or another "sports drink". Most of those contain high fructose corn syrup, which is why I prefer the homemade solution made with molasses or sugar.

You may need to force feed her some fluids- you can use a small syringe or if you don't have that, a turkey baster would work. Be very careful to only give a drop or two at a time so she doesn't accidentally get it into her lungs. I would give the solution to her warm so it doesn't chill her stomach.

Thank you so much...I'm really worried :tornado: <br /><br /> -- Fri Apr 24, 2015 11:36 am -- <br /><br /> Thank you so much guys. I really, really appreciate all the help
I'll keep posting, try Mama's stuff and take her to the vet if it gets really bad.
Once again, thanks SOOO much. :blush:

 

[Susie570]

I'll keep posting, try Mama's stuff and take her to the vet if it gets really bad.
Once again, thanks SOOO much. :blush:

Please don't be mistaken... it ALREADY IS really bad.
A bunny who can't keep her balance is a very sick bunny.
She needs a vet.

Mama's suggestions, I believe, are just to help her until you can get her to a vet.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Mama's suggestions, I believe, are just to help her until you can get her to a vet.

Yes- consider it "supportive care", not a "cure".

 

[funnies50]

I'll keep posting, try Mama's stuff and take her to the vet if it gets really bad.
Once again, thanks SOOO much. :blush:

Please don't be mistaken... it ALREADY IS really bad.
A bunny who can't keep her balance is a very sick bunny.
She needs a vet.

Mama's suggestions, I believe, are just to help her until you can get her to a vet.

Thanks Syberchick!
I got her warm. Now what?

 

[Miss M]

I gave her baths several times before and she was perfectly fine. She would dry herself off and then eat as much as possible. She was also just fine last night after the bath and I partially dried her off like always.

I understand... but I have to agree with Syberchick. She could have an ear infection or at least water in her ears from the bath, which is causing disorientation. Having one or both of your ears blocked up can cause you to run into walls or even have trouble walking. This happened to me a few years ago during a particularly bad allergy attack.

I would try treating her for swimmer's ear -- an inflammation of the ear canal caused by trapped water. You may need someone to help hold her. At the very least, you should wrap her securely in a towel, leaving only her head free. Holding one ear up, drip about 5 drops of rubbing alcohol into it. Massage the base of the ear gently. Wait about 30 seconds, and then tip her whatever way is necessary (over another towel) to get the alcohol to drain out, again massaging the base of the ear, and pulling gently on the ear in different directions to try to help the water break up and drain. The alcohol should have mixed with any water in the ear, and should help it to drain out and then help any that is left over to evaporate. Then do the other ear. I would do this only once.

It would be best to do this with someone to help you, as that can help lessen the stress on the rabbit. Even if all the other person does is help support the rabbit, talk to the rabbit, pet the rabbit's head while it's being turned and messed with, etc.

You need to try to correct this quickly. She is in a stressful situation, and stress can kill a rabbit pretty quickly.

It is possible that she managed to eat something toxic, as cmfarm may be suggesting, so consider carefully any houseplants or outside plants she has had access to. The timing makes me strongly suspect the bath as the cause, though.

In the future, rabbits are much like cats. They rarely, rarely need actual baths. It is much better to spot-clean with a damp cloth -- with a tiny amount of soap, if necessary -- than it is to bathe a rabbit. You can also rub cornstarch into the area you want to clean, let it sit for a few minutes, and then brush it out. A rabbit that actually needs regular baths has some sort of health problem. Baths are stressful for rabbits, and can create a situation in which bacteria which are naturally present in the rabbit (but which the rabbit is usually able to fend off with its immune system) are able to overwhelm the rabbit and cause Pasteurellosis, or something else. E. cuniculi will also take advantage of stress to strike.

A damp rabbit is a vulnerable rabbit. Even on a hot day, if you have had to bathe a rabbit for some reason, you must get the rabbit dry as quickly as possible. The rabbit's coat is such that it will hold water much too long. Even if the rabbit does not display signs of being cold, it could be chilled to the point of being sickened by the diseases I mentioned above. Use a blow dryer (but set no higher than "warm") to thoroughly dry the rabbit's fur.

It is much better to avoid bathing the rabbit, though. I have bathed one rabbit, and done that only once. It was a kit that managed to jump out of my daughter's hands into a pile of poop and pee. Even then, I did not actually put the kit in water. I scrubbed it with warm, wet washcloths with a little soap until it was clean, used a couple more without soap as a rinse, toweled it almost dry, and then blew it completely dry. He didn't get wet all the way down to his skin. blogs/24carrot/2011/08/12/this-is-what-happens-when-you-are-a-troublemaker/ (Sorry, I'm having to fix the pictures on my blog, so I had to link to it on my old blog. "ILovebunnies" is now "Galadriel".)

Wow... lots of replies while I've been typing! I'm posting this as is, though, with a few links about bathing rabbits:

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bathing_rabbits
http://rabbit.org/faq-grooming/
http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/Bat ... ies-RO.pdf (PDF file) <br /><br /> -- Fri Apr 24, 2015 11:00 am -- <br /><br /> I added to your title, to make it better for searching and things like that.

 

[Zass]

Everyone is correct about it being worse than it looks with rabbits, because they hide signs of illness, we often do not see symptoms until it's quite serious.

MSD's advice of keeping her warm and giving electrolytes is where I would start too. Is she still eating and drinking on her own?
Make sure she has the option to move away from any heat source, so that she doesn't overheat too.

We would also understand if your parents are hesitant to take the rabbit to the vet since the cost is sometimes absurdly high.

So don't feel too down if you don't go and you end up losing her. When something goes wrong with a rabbit...there is a always chance that there was nothing that could have saved them.
Rabbits can be fragile like that. :clover:

 

[cmfarm]

Thinking back about your other post about her not drinking water, maybe she is dehydrated? Or maybe since she is more natural fed she isn't missing out on some vital vitamins. I would defiantly try some electrolytes if you can, that might help.