Lathargic 3 month old

[Firedanc7]

I’ve got a kit that has been very lethargic the last few days. It’s hot. Hi 80’s low 90’s. Their siblings are not like this. All my rabbits have an ice pack for themself. I brought her in last night for a few hours and she pretty much slept on my lap or chest for a few hours, barely rousing when I needed to get up and do something. They just stayed very relaxed in my arms. I put her back with sibs around 9 pm when it cooled down. This morning, other than laying down it appears she hadn’t moved. All the rabbits greet me when I come check on them. She hasn’t. I’ve got her in a cage in my house now. She slept maybe 30 mins in my arms then I put her in the cage. She is certainly perkier than before I’m wondering if she may be sick vs heat stress. Eyes look normal. No sneezing or coughing. She clicked a bit last nite which seemed to be commmunicating contentment. No other abnormalities/signs of illness I can see. Thoughts?

 

[tambayo]

Water & Food.
Rabbits need to eat in order to keep things moving to the exit, if she has stopped eating/drinking due to heat she won't start up on her own so easily. You may need to entice if not force her to drink and eat to keep things ticking over inside.

 

[Firedanc7]

Water & Food.
Rabbits need to eat in order to keep things moving to the exit, if she has stopped eating/drinking due to heat she won't start up on her own so easily. You may need to entice if not force her to drink and eat to keep things ticking over inside.

Makes sense. Inside she has drank but not eaten either fresh greens or pellets. Would u feed her the milk good for rabbits or is there another way to get her to eat? I’ll hold her again in a bit and try hand feeding. Who knows if that’ll help. Does with my dogs.

 

[Sagebrush]

Make a slurry of pellets and water and use a syringe to get it into her mouth. Just do a little at a time to prevent her accidentally breathing it in

 

[Alaska Satin]

@Sagebrush is right: keeping things moving is critical.

In addition to trying a pellet mash (which, unfortunately, I have found most rabbits that are off their feed have no interest in), offer her anything that might tempt her to eat. Greens like dandelion flowers and leaves, chickweed, wild plantain, parsley, kale are sometimes well-received. Even things I usually avoid because of sugar content, like bits of apple, can sometimes convince a rabbit to take something in. These foods are not only tempting but also help with hydration. It always seems better to have a rabbit decide to eat of its own volition, although there are certainly times you have to force the issue.

Critical Care for Herbivores is a good thing to keep on hand. It's a powdered dietary supplement, and you can adjust the consistency easily, which is helpful. I've found that this is the food most likely to be accepted by rabbits whose guts are out of sorts. It seems to taste good to them, and has easily digested nutrition that becomes quickly available to the animal. Also, pellets, being plant material, have to make a double trip through the gut to nourish the rabbit; rabbits that don't feel good and/or have diarrhea or other elimination problems don't always want to eat cecotropes.

The other thing to try is to give her some Benebac or other animal probiotic. In a pinch I've even used plain yogurt; some rabbits will eat it, other have to be forced. No matter what her original problem is, if she's stopped eating, her gut microbiome will be out of balance.

 

[Firedanc7]

@Sagebrush is right: keeping things moving is critical.

In addition to trying a pellet mash (which, unfortunately, I have found most rabbits that are off their feed have no interest in), offer her anything that might tempt her to eat. Greens like dandelion flowers and leaves, chickweed, wild plantain, parsley, kale are sometimes well-received. Even things I usually avoid because of sugar content, like bits of apple, can sometimes convince a rabbit to take something in. These foods are not only tempting but also help with hydration. It always seems better to have a rabbit decide to eat of its own volition, although there are certainly times you have to force the issue.

Critical Care for Herbivores is a good thing to keep on hand. It's a powdered dietary supplement, and you can adjust the consistency easily, which is helpful. I've found that this is the food most likely to be accepted by rabbits whose guts are out of sorts. It seems to taste good to them, and has easily digested nutrition that becomes quickly available to the animal. Also, pellets, being plant material, have to make a double trip through the gut to nourish the rabbit; rabbits that don't feel good and/or have diarrhea or other elimination problems don't always want to eat cecotropes.

The other thing to try is to give her some Benebac or other animal probiotic. In a pinch I've even used plain yogurt; some rabbits will eat it, other have to be forced. No matter what her original problem is, if she's stopped eating, her gut microbiome will be out of balance.

Make a slurry of pellets and water and use a syringe to get it into her mouth. Just do a little at a time to prevent her accidentally breathing it in

Great I will try this.

 

[Firedanc7]

@Sagebrush is right: keeping things moving is critical.

In addition to trying a pellet mash (which, unfortunately, I have found most rabbits that are off their feed have no interest in), offer her anything that might tempt her to eat. Greens like dandelion flowers and leaves, chickweed, wild plantain, parsley, kale are sometimes well-received. Even things I usually avoid because of sugar content, like bits of apple, can sometimes convince a rabbit to take something in. These foods are not only tempting but also help with hydration. It always seems better to have a rabbit decide to eat of its own volition, although there are certainly times you have to force the issue.

Critical Care for Herbivores is a good thing to keep on hand. It's a powdered dietary supplement, and you can adjust the consistency easily, which is helpful. I've found that this is the food most likely to be accepted by rabbits whose guts are out of sorts. It seems to taste good to them, and has easily digested nutrition that becomes quickly available to the animal. Also, pellets, being plant material, have to make a double trip through the gut to nourish the rabbit; rabbits that don't feel good and/or have diarrhea or other elimination problems don't always want to eat cecotropes.

The other thing to try is to give her some Benebac or other animal probiotic. In a pinch I've even used plain yogurt; some rabbits will eat it, other have to be forced. No matter what her original problem is, if she's stopped eating, her gut microbiome will be out of balance.

Yeah she has a variety of greens and grasses and just not interested. I’ve got powdered kitten milk which I’ll give a try to and carrots or apple. She is drinking today so that’s good. Thx for the tips

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Yeah she has a variety of greens and grasses and just not interested. I’ve got powdered kitten milk which I’ll give a try to and carrots or apple. She is drinking today so that’s good. Thx for the tips

I'd suggest something like banana instead of carrots

 

[Firedanc7]

I'd suggest something like banana instead of carrots

Thx. I wouldn’t have thought about that

 

[Rabbit Tree Farm]

Thx. I wouldn’t have thought about that

See if she'll take some broadleaf plantain...i swear my rabbits will eat that when they won't eat anything else...and if i can get it in them it seems to work wonders. I make sure they get it in their mixed greens regularly. Seems to keep tummies on track.

 

[Firedanc7]

See if she'll take some broadleaf plantain...i swear my rabbits will eat that when they won't eat anything else...and if i can get it in them it seems to work wonders. I make sure they get it in their mixed greens regularly. Seems to keep tummies on track.

The banana part or the outer peel? She drank a bunch yesterday and ate a little bit of greens. She was spunky after two days and a nite inside. So I put her back out with sibs last nite. This am she is not quite back to total lethargy but lower than last nite. I had to actually put her body on her ice pack as she wasn’t moving.

I now wonder if I just need to grow her out in my house or see what nature does. She is not growing as the others are. She’s a beautiful rabbit and sweet nature.

If anyone has thoughts on growing her out indoors I’d be curious.

 

[Bunnies4me]

How is she doing now? Recovered?

Best to get her well enough to 95% indoors then put her back outside, but be careful not to put her back outside too early. I had a really close experience with one of my buns last year, and he pulled through, some of the things may help yours too: https://rabbittalk.com/threads/sick-rabbit-help.35908/post-356193
You may need to syringe feed, also ensure it is fed at blood temperature, even though chilled might be nice in the hot weather to us, it can be too much of a shock to them.

See if she'll take some broadleaf plantain...i swear my rabbits will eat that when they won't eat anything else...and if i can get it in them it seems to work wonders. I make sure they get it in their mixed greens regularly. Seems to keep tummies on track.

Agree with Rabbit Tree Farm here, plantain is wonderful. Also try feeding a few herbs, often the smell can be quite appealing and help get their appetite back on track - try mint, rosemary, basil and coriander, but in moderation.
Re banana, depends on the rabbit. The skin is better for them than the fruit from the perspective that it is high fibre and lower sugar, but the fruit has its benefits and is still good. Some of mine love the skin, but others won't touch it, again moderation is key.
Good luck!