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Health Healthy Diet Common Illnesses House Rabbits House Proofing Litter Training Bunny Habitat Bunny Compassion About Your Bun  Ask a Question! Refer a Vet Find a Vet B.U.N.S. Rescue Fun Bun Stuff The Rabbit Ring  Bunny Rescue  Rabbit Board |
 Finding a Good Veterinarian Try offices that list rabbits and exotics, if they are not listed, chances are they do not work on rabbits. When you call, ask if they have a vet who works on bunnies. If not, hang up and call another vet. When you find a perspective vet, ask how many bunnies they see a week. It should be in the 20+ range. If it is 1-2 per week, try to find another one. The more experience, the better. You can also ask the shelter, rescue place, or breeder where you got your bunny if they can recommend a vet nearby. If you are bringing your bun in for neutering or spaying and they tell you to with hold food and water before the operation, then find another vet. Bunnies cannot vomit, so there is no need to with hold food and water A good vet will know this, and it may cause the bunny problems to go with out food anyway. Anesthesia for bunnies is not as straight forward as it is for cats and dogs. In the beginning of my bunny ownership, I lost 3 buns when I brought them to a low-cost spay and neuter clinic to save some money. Rabbits are expensive to spay and neueter, and it's tempting to try a cheaper vet because of the cost involved, but it is not worth it. The danger exists when the rabbit is coming out of anesthesia. If proper attention is not made to the rabbits health before anesthetizing, and during the time they come out of their "sleep", bunnnies can go into respiratory distress and heart failure can occur. There are anesthesias that are safer for bunnies than the ones typically used for cats and dogs, but they cost more. This is why it is more expensive to spay and neuter a bunny than it is for a cat. If your new vet is not aware of this, consider finding a different vet to spay or neuter your bunny. Using the Right Medications Some antibiotics are deadly to bunnies such as amoxicillin and pennicillin. These antibiotics will kill the healthy bacteria in your rabbits intestines and cause severe diarrhea and/or bloating that results in death in most cases. Some vets will prescribe amoxicillin along with another prescription of probicin. Probicin is a pill which will help re-establish the good bacteria in the intestines. Don't allow this for your bunny. There are so many safe antibiotics out there for bunnies, why take the risk? Some Bunny Safe Antibiotics: Baytril, Bactrim, Dual-cillin (procaine G with Benzathine), Chloramphenicol, Tetracycline, Sulfa-drugs based like Septra or TMS, Cipro, Diprofloxacin, Sulfamethazine, and Amalcacin. Topical: Tetracycline Good Bunny Pain Relievers Aspirin, Butorphenol (torbugesic), and Flunixin (banamine). Bad Bunny Antibiotics: Amoxicillin, Penicillin, Clavamox Remember, it is best to only give medications under the care and supervision of your vet. Does My Bunny Need a Vet? Sometimes it is hard to know if you need to see a vet. If you aren't sure, a vet visit is always the best thing; better safe then sorry! The most important thing to monitor as a bunny parent is intake and output. If your bunny is eating, drinking, and pooping nice healthy raisinette-type poops, you are probably OK to wait until your vet opens. If your bun is eating, but not pooping, you might be OK to wait, but a vet visit ir recommended as soon as possible. If he is not eating or pooping, and seems listless and mopey, this is cause for concern. Diarrhea is also cause for concern, especially if the diarrhea is severe. You should not wait to take your bun to the vet, these situations kill bunnies quickly. Soft poops can be helped by feeding your bunny uncooked oatmeal, along with fresh hay and pellets. Withhold fruits and snacks with high sugar content, as this will exacerbate the problem. Listlessness, severe diarrhea, bloating (your bunny seems fat and is not eating), and not pooping are all serious reasons to go to the vet as soon as physically possible. If you absolutely cannot go to a vet, and your bunny isn't eating or drinking, you can try to syringe feed him water and food. Try to feed him slowly so he will not choke. The following recipe is tasty and good for your bun: Bunny Porridge 1/2 Fresh Carrot 1/8 Apple 3-4 Fresh Broccoli Spears 1 Cup Fresh Spinach 2 Tablespoons Fruit Yogurt (not sugar free, aspertame can cause serious problems for bunnies!) 1/2 Cup Uncooked Oatmeal Water Put the carrot, apple, broccoli, spinach, and yogurt in a blender. Puree ingredients until smooth (add water to get it going). Add oatmeal and continue to puree, adding water until you have the consistency of yogurt and it can be fed from a syringe. You may also use different vegetables, but make sure you use oatmeal. The porridge is ready for feeding. Store extra porridge covered in the refrigerator, and do not use after more than 12 hours. Syringe feed your bunny water too, in order to make sure she is not becoming dehydrated. For bunnies that have diarrhea, feed them a serving of ben-e-bac once per day. Both syringes and ben-e-bac are available at our Bunny Products Store. |
Buy Stuff, Help Animals! Bunny Products Have a Bunny Question? Bun Chat Do Bunnies Purr? Gently stroke your bunny behind the ears, he might lightly vibrate his teeth and make a sound similar to a cat's purr. It signifies total contentment! -House Rabbit Handbook Got Fleas? Use Advantage topical treatment for cats. Follow the weight directions. We use it on our 200+ bunnies! |
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