Rabbits New Bunny help

[Candy]

My husband bought our son a rabbit, Alice, last Monday. We have a house full of guinea pigs so, we pretty much knew what she would need. It took about three days to get her to eat any veggies, apparently they weren't a part of her pet store diet. So she was fine until last Friday, when she started having a wet behind and legs. I washed her with small pet shampoo and got her all cleaned up. That evening her tail was dripping wet again. Then she was completely soaked the next day. I couldn't figure out why she was wet .. my only thought was that maybe she was laying in her urine. Sunday I googled it and found out that she has diarrhea from the veggies. She was eating romaine, carrots and celery. Monday I stopped the veggies and she has been dry since last night. Today after work I washed and dried her rear end again since it is staying dry now. Poop is back to the correct shape but is still a little slick and sticky, but way better than Friday-Monday.

My question now is how do I feed her veggies if they make her sick? I feel so guilty feeding the guinea pigs in front of her, and not giving her any. She hops over to where I'm feeding them like "Where's my salad lady?" She is eating her hay and pellets as well as drinking normally. This is starting to stress me out. I know she doesn't need any veggies until her poop is back to normal, but what then? I wasn't feeding her that much to begin with. Since she is a baby I was giving her about what I give the guineas.

Any advice would be great. I haven't had a rabbit since I was little and this was definately an uplanned pet. My husband told my son he could have it and I almost fainted. I have her in a 2x4x2 c&c, with a shelf. She has a litterbox, water bottle, heavy food bowl, a hay nest as well as a rabbit sized cozy cup. I have her on fleece over towels with a vinyl table cloth underneath, until I can find some coroplast that isn't white.

 

[ppqppq]

The veggies are good for her, but if she is not used to them you should introduce them slowly. Start with 1/4 cup a day maybe and slowly increase the amount over a couple of weeks. Celery has been a bit of a trouble maker for me before with bunnies. You might want to have her on a good variety of lettuces (except iceberg) and some other veggies before you try adding in small amounts of celery again.

I have owned many rabbits in the past and they all ate lots of vegetables after a while, but I did have trouble if I didn't introduce them slowly. Also if she is a baby, she may not have been completely weaned yet when you got her, compounding the change of food issue.

 

[Candy]

Thanks for the advice. I will start back slowly, after the poop dries out more. I didn't give her much celery. I always buy the celery with the most green leaves, because my pigs love it. That's what I gave her it was mostly leaves, but I will leave that out from now on. I'm not sure about her exact age. I know she is a baby because they had a three rabbits that were exactly the same I would say she is about 2 - 3 months old. I'm really not sure and of course they were no help. I'd say she weighs about 2 pounds right now. Still pretty small but not tiny. I'll include a photo of her.

Thanks again for listening and offering advice.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Baby bunnies should NOT be getting any veggies at all til they are about 5 or 6 months old. Lettuce should be minimal even then. Parsley, carrot top, dandelion greens, cilantro are best.

You should be feeding alfalfa though.

Baby bunnies from pet stores usually have coccidia or pasturella issues so you need to take her to a vet for a fecal.

Is there a reason your husband bought the bunny?

Bunnies shouldn't be bathed either. They can go into shock. Please go to House Rabbit Society Rabbit Care Guide and read up

 

[Candy]

The bunny didn't so much get a bath as have her rump and part of her underbelly washed. She looks like a himalayan mostly white with gray markings and pinkish blue eyes. About a quarter of her body was crusty, smelly and brown. She had poop all in her fur. I didn't see any way around cleaning her off.

I won't give her anymore veggies. I tried giving her a half romaine leaf and diarrhea is back so no more. Other wise she seems fine. She wasn't sick until I started feeding her veggies, so I think that is the problem.
If she isn't better by tomorrow I will take her to the vet first thing Friday morning. I have a great small animal vet who takes care of our five pigs. I have alfalfa for her too as well as Timothy Hay.


My husband bought the bunny because my son asked for it. I don't have any other excuse. I was upset about it, but I couldn't take her back and break my son's heart. We, or I should say I, will take good care of her.

Thanks for the help. I need it.

 

[Sarah84]

I had bunnies at one time, I started out just feeding alfalfa hay, and pellet for the first 3 weeks I had them. Then I started with 1/4 cup of organic spring mix, when I Introduced carrot I put a pinch of shredded carrot in, and the same with any other veggie I added, but I only added new veggies in once a week, if that. They have to start out really slow, or thats what happens. I would let his/her system settle down for awhile (a few weeks) take him/her to a vet to get checked out, then start over again.

Best of luck You may want to check out this site---> Binkybunny They are extremely helpful, and super knowledgeable!

 

[Silverbeat]

Part of the reason that your rabbit was having runny stool is because you were feeding her veggies that are mostly water [romaine and celery] and sugar [carrots] with very little nutritional value.
A good daily salad should consist of:
1 part kale
2 parts green or red leaf lettuce
2 parts herb [cilantro, dill, parsley, etc]
1 part silverbeet [swiss chard], dandelion greens, turnip greens, etc.
You'll notice that all of these are dark leafy greens, except for the lettuce. That is what you want most of the salad to consist of.
As others have said, at this young age she should be eating a tiny amount of greens if any.
Please also read this article by Dana Krempels regarding runny stool and other health conditions in rabbits: Rabbits: The Mystery of Poop

 

[Candy]

Thanks for all of the great advice. You are all wonderful. I have learned a lot.

Unfortunately I awoke this morning to a hysterical 6 year old telling me he got up thirsty and went to get his drink he had left in the "pigs room", before he went to bed. When he went in he found his bunny had died overnight. She seemed fine when we went to bed. But the poor little thing didn't make it. I was going to take her to the vet tomorrow, he is closed today. I feel so bad. I have learned a very important lesson here. I don't know if the bunny was sick when we got her last week, she went down hill so fast.

RIP - Alice 2-13-10

 

[1frankie7]

I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[Sarah84]

Oh goodness, I'm so sorry for your loss. Binky Free little bunny!

 

[Catayn]

Oh my, poor bunny.
Diarrhea can really kill a bunny in a very short time, I don't know if so short like that, but it seems poor alice was already dealing with health problems before you got her.
I am so sorry for your loss. RIP baby Alice.

 

[Silverbeat]

Catayn is right, diarrhea can kill a bunny [especially a baby bun] in a very short period of time. I'm sorry for your loss.
Please think of adopting a bunny when/if you and your family are ready.