spent all day sunday nursing a sick rabbit >_<

xBurntBytheSunx

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 16, 2003
Messages
1,022
i lost my first rabbit to diarrhea, so i guess this time i was more prepared. one of mine got a case of it sunday and i had to spend all day force feeding her food/water through an eye-dropper.

not exactly enjoyable. when i found her she was as limp as a wet rag, so i was extremely happy she pulled through. its kind of frustrating though b/c i have two books on rabbits and neither talks about treating diarrhea, how susceptible they are to it, or how they head straight into a death spiral once they get it.

i would think something so dangerous to rabbits, and something so relatively simple to treat would have a lot more information written about it in rabbit-care books and websites.

oh well, glad my latest scare is over. however i'm never ever feeding mine raw fruits or veggies again. its only pellet mix and timothy hay for my girls from now on :p
 

Rick & Brandy

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Messages
45
hi. What kind is she? I am glad she is ok! I am wondering, did you give alot of veg or fruit? I have a few rabbits myself, they can have a small bite of veg about every 3 days.( i use either a small slice of carrot, romaine or banana.(it realy depends on the size of your bunny) One little tip: only give them the small treat while they are out of the cage.) Yes too much will give them runs, and yes, the runs will kill them rather fast!(some get it if you change the kind of pellets too) So my best advice IF she does get them again, yes try to feed her and instead of water, try pedialite to rehydrate her faster. ( I had to use it on my Holland lop after surgery a few months ago)
 

RoachGirlRen

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Messages
994
It's really best for rabbits to have plenty of dark leafy greens in their diet so I wouldn't swear off fresh foods entire. Timothy hay should make up the bulk of the diet, pellets only a small portion (about 1/4 cup per 5lbs of weight), and leafy greens most of the rest with occasional low-sugar veg and fruit. Where people generally run into issue with "the runs" is if they feed watery leafy greens like lettuce, or sugary fruits and veg (including CARROTS) fed too often. What were you feeding when this happened?
 

xBurntBytheSunx

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 16, 2003
Messages
1,022
thanks for the pedialite tip ;) that may come in handy sometime

i have two dwarf rabbits. i gave them a slice of apple which i guess was too much. i'd read not to feed them fruits/veggies for six months and i hadn't. i thought a slice of apple wouldn't be a big deal for two healthy rabbits but apparently not so.

what kind of dark leafy greens would you suggest? can i over feed leafy greens?

i guess i'm just spouting off, but i like to know a lot about my animals before i choose them, but considering how serious it is and how easy it was to treat, i found nothing about this in books etc before hand. i had to run specific searches for it on the internet after the fact. i'm still pretty angry i lost my first rabbit, who was such a nice pet, after losing him to diahhrea after giving him a couple baby carrots.
 

RoachGirlRen

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Messages
994
Most rabbit books are kinda lousy tbh. I suggest looking at info from enthusiasts' orgs (kinda like arachnoboards!) when researching animal care. I haven't found many rabbit books with up to date information on nutrition & health care, and a lot of the info is based more on production than pet care anyways.

Anyways, whenever you introduce something new to the diet, you have to do it gradually. And you can technically over-do leafy greens, yes. But, if you start out offering a small ammount a few days out of the week then gradually upping to daily (or close to), I think it should benefit your bunnies in the long run.

How old are they though, before I go saying that? Baby bunnies (under 12 weeks) have pretty sensitive stomaches and it's best to stick to just pellets and timothy hay until they're a bit older.

At any rate, when they're "of age," rabbits can have most dark leafy greens. Kale, collared greens, brocolli raab, escarole, endive, parsley, basil, cilantro, beet greens, mustard greens, mint, carrot tops, etc. Keep high oxalate greens (ie. spinach) to a minimum - they can have them, just don't feed them overly often.

Ammount really depends on the rabbit. You can safely feed a rabbit of six pounds about two cups of greens and veggies at maturity (over a year of age). For younger rabbits I'd feed more like a cup, less still for rabbits under 6 months. Not sure how that translates to dwarf rabbits though; perhaps weigh yours and feed a proportional ammount to the above mentioned?

Out of curiosity, have you checked out rabbit.org? They have some good husbandry info if you're finding the books a tad lacking. rabbitsonline.net also has a DETAILED medical library; you need to register (free) but it's well worth it.
 

zonbonzovi

Creeping beneath you
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
3,346
+1 on what RoachGirlRen said. Here's another site: http://rabbithaven.org/. This is where my rabbits came from and the owner is very knowledgeable & helpful if you have an emergency.
 

arachyd

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 4, 2008
Messages
539
Rabbits can certainly have greens. The problem is that ALL dietary changes must be made very gradually. They are highly susceptible to digestive upset which is often fatal. Individual rabbits can also react differently to different types of greens. I once fed a small amount of leaves from broccoli or cauliflower (can't remember for sure) to my rabbits. Most had no reaction, one developed severe diarrhea but was nursed through it and one developed gas and intestinal stasis which killed him quickly. If you are feeding a good balanced pelleted feed and hay that is sufficient. Sufficient is also boring for the rabbit so if you want to you can supplement its diet with a couple of berry leaves, rose leaves, 2 or 3 raisins or a leaf of fresh basil. That is plenty for a rabbit. They don't need a large amount. If the rabbit does develop diarrhea one of the quickest cures is a spoonful of plain dry instant (or not instant) oatmeal. You can also use oatmeal as a treat. It's best to feed spinach and other greens containing oxalic acid very sparingly as they tend to cause kidney stones.
 
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