Infectious disease that causes lethargy?

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Rabbit Talk Forum

Help Support Rabbit Talk Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
R

Redwolff644

Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2015
Messages
19
Reaction score
0
I learned on Sunday that I can't leave my rabbits for more than 24 hours. My rabbit (#1) knocked over her water dish and succumbed to dehydration. Her cage mate (#2) survived because she knew how to use the water bottle. I moved the survivor (#2) to a different cage and cleaned out the old one. I'm giving you this info in case it is relevant. I separated my other two rabbits (I had 4), leaving one (#3) in it's original cage and moved the other (#4) to the cage below it. When I checked on them Sunday night, I noticed the one left in the original cage (#3) hadn't moved at all. I nudged her and she moved forward weakly, but "walked" on the tops of her front paws. I also noticed she had sat in her own filth all day, and her stomach was filthy. I picked her out and put her in a small container to move her. She put up almost no fight, which was unlike her. I called the breeder I bought her from (Whom I'm really not fond of, but she was all I could think of on short notice). She said it sounded neurological and recommended putting her down. I did it, reluctantly. Now, her previous cage mate, #4, seems lethargic. She doesn't seem to be eating or drinking. I may be mistaken but it looks like she may have also lost some weight, but again, I might be wrong. I moved her to a new cage and she moved a bit, but I want some one else's opinion. If its effecting my other rabbit, it's not neurological. I have 2 does and a buck left from my original 5. I don't want to lose another one.

Did you perform a necropsy of the dead rabbits to check for damaged organs or other signs of disease?
Honestly, this never even crossed my mind. I've had meat rabbits for about 2 1/2 month. I haven't even butchered the first one. I wouldn't have a clue what I'm looking for.

What are the temperatures like - rabbits easily succumb to heat stroke even with access to water.
Temp are low 80s. I'm working on getting them inside. I do provide each rabbit with a frozen solid gallon jug of water, plus a container of water changed twice a day.

What are their body conditions like ? Do they seem bony or not very muscular but have large/pot bellies ? Any diarrhea?
She doesn't seem bony or overly fat. She seems like a lean rabbit. I haven't noticed any diarrhea, but like I said, It seems like she hasn't been eating or drinking.
 
Did you perform a necropsy of the dead rabbits to check for damaged organs or other signs of disease?

What are the temperatures like - rabbits easily succumb to heat stroke even with access to water

What are their body conditions like ? Do they seem bony or not very muscular but have large/pot bellies ? Any diahhrea?
 
How are they kept? In a barn? All wire cages in shade ? Hutches in full sun?

"Lean" is not a good thing in a meat rabbit - what breed and age are they?

Any snot, weepy eyes or matted fur on inside of front paws?
 
They are kept in a wood and wire 2X2 cage, so 4 cages. They have a hutch area that is enclosed to get them away from the sun. The ice jug is kept in there. They are new zealands with a pinch of Cali thrown in. They are about 4 months old. THinking back, lean isn't the best term. Small would be better. I remember her being a bit bigger before. It's hard to describe. I didn't notice any snot or weepy eyes. She did have weepy eyes about a month ago, I bought terracycline but they cleared up before it arrived. I didn't notice matted fur on her paws, however, they are dirty. The hutch part has a wooden floor, so their paws are usually dirty. I'm working on getting all wire cages in my basement to take care of the heat and dirty floor.
 
If she's not growing but loosing weight and they are still young rabbits they might have some intestinal issues, possibly coccidia, especially if "she sat in her filth all day, her stomach was filthy" and the heat and dehydration may have pushed her over the edge.

If they are using their enclosed hutch area as a toilet then I suggest you put down an inch or two of wood chips in there and clean it frequently so they don't have contact with their wastes which they ingest when they groom themselves and then get even sicker

I would also offer more shade and string up a tarp or attach a sheet of wood to the roof so they don't get any direct sunlight

Good luck
 
Any tips on how to take care of her until it's over? She will hopefully be in her new all wire cage within a week.
 
For digestive issues cutting out pellets and any fresh foods and feeding grass hay and a plain oatmeal :shrug:

I've read of other members give some sort of electrolytes

A stool sample checked by a vet could diagnose a coccidia infection and appropriate dewormer
 
I can't offer a ton of great advice, because this is my first year with rabbits, but I can tell you. 2 weeks ago I had a similar issue, and everyone on here gave me great advice. I will say that when my Cal was refusing to eat someone suggested Parsley as it is an appetite booster. I gave my Cal 2 smallish leaves every few hours, and in no time she was eating like normal. I also filled her water bowl half way with powerade, and filled it the rest of the way with water.

I hope that helps! :good-luck:
 
I have a youngster now I am working with that if I had not done what I have done, I would have already lost the animal.
A Holland lop youngster, the runt of the litter, and about 9 weeks old. The others in the litter are fine.
Well last evening, I noticed it was not looking good. I thought a diarrhea problem, but not looking like that now.
First thing I did was to get a dose of dri tail into it, by a eye dropper. Then mixed up some electrolytes and put that
in water. I eye droped that into the bunny. Kept it up during the night on and off. I have the bunny in a new carrier
in the house. Temperature plays a big part in recovery also.
So this morning, I mixed a batch of BOUNCE BACK, electrolytes, by Manna Pro, I got from Country Max the other day.
Got that into the water, and the bunny drank that on it's own. That was a big step forward.
I have put different things in the cage for bunny to munch on, but it was not eating.
Finally I put some granola cereal in a small bowl in cage and bunny started eating. Again a BIG step forward.
I was going to try mixing some puree of some sort and hand feeding it somehow today.
Bunny eating on it's own will work better though.

You isolate the animal from the others. Get a fast start on getting liquid and food into animal.
Not too cold and not too hot of room temperatures. Wear gloves if you have to, to help prevent the spread
of bacteria. Make sure water is clean every time, and the dish is clean. Hay is a biggie for fiber to help the
intestines do their work. Kept in some kind of hay racks and not on the floor. Wire floors are better than wood floors.
Make sure the poop and urine openings are clean. If there is buildup of any kind, then the rabbit can't pass it's
urine/poop. You can dry bath or wet bath this area.

I don't like putting animals down. I isolate them. Work with them. Because if I can cure a animal, it beats
not trying. But it may depend on what disease, etc, you are working with.
 
Looks like I'm going to start with parsley, Gatorade, Oatmeal, and if I can find it, dri tail. I will also check for buildup around the backside. Thanks for your ideas everyone. <br /><br /> -- Wed Jul 15, 2015 12:14 pm -- <br /><br /> I gave oatmeal and orange gatorade. I cleaned off their hind area, and I did confirm they have diarrhea.
 
Biggest part of getting rid of cocci is dry and clean. My problem happened with rabbits on shavings on the floor of colonies and I put frozen water containers in. The condensation soaked the floor and I started having deaths. The 3-5month olds seem to be at the biggest risk. Scrape everything down. You may want to wipe the wood with vinegar. You can also use bleach but it has to dry fully before you return the rabbits and then it forms a harmless salt. This can be difficult in high humidity and heat. Put in clean, absorbent bedding anywhere there's a solid floor. If the food and hygiene changes don't help you can get a stool sample checked by a vet or just start treating for cocci but treatment can be annoying and I didn't find it helped anywhere near as much as getting the place clean and dry. You usually measure the cocci meds into a container of water, fill your bottles from that, and change it frequently.
 
Nursing a rabbit with gi ailments back to health can take a lot of time and patience, and you may lose them no matter what you attempt.

You've been given some excellent advice though.

Smethicone infant gas drops can be used to help relieve discomfort if she's gassy. It's usually worth trying whenever they refuse feed.

The kit seeming smaller than when you got it is a huge red flag, since they should be growing like weeds at that age.
I agree that treating for dehydration with an electrolyte solution was the right way to go.
Gatorade makes me a little nervous because of it's high sugar content. My favorite over-the-counter electrolyte is unflavored pedialyte, sold in the "baby" section off walmart.

I'm not telling to you get it, or switch what you are using, or anything, just sharing my thoughts on the subject.
 
Huge thanks to Akane. I just started using water jugs in my hutches to cool them down. I didn't know that the condensation could lead to this. I'm fairly certain this is the cause. While I'm moving them in a to all wire indoor cages in a week or two, I will clean out my wooden cages like you said. To Zass, I will pick up some pedialyte tomorrow. I appreciate everyone's help. Only other question, and I will probably be able to find this on the internet, is what meds do I give for cocci?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top