| Home Page
Cooley's Creations - Glass Etching
Cooleys Creations - glass pg 2
Etched Glassware - Sample Catalog
Cooleys Creations Ordering Information
Cavies - Basic Care
Feeding your Cavies
Rabbits - Basic Care
Firstaid for Rabbits
Common Concerns for Rabbits
Teas - Treats- Remedies
Cooling down your rabbits and Flystrike Info
Breeding to Selection
Showing ABC's - Tattooing to Writing
Pet Rabbit Information
Quarantining to Culling
|
|
|
Questions and Answers about Diarrhea, Copropaghy, Sore Hocks, Lumps, Ear and Fur Mites.
*Please remember that the answers are the Opinions of Cooley's Critters Rabbitry and friends of the Cooley family that also raise rabbits.*
Please also note that we here at Cooley's Critters Rabbitry are not Veterinians nor do we intend to imply that we are. We do have medical backgrounds but not for animals. What we may *suggest* as a possible treatment for your animal is based only on what we have or our close friends have had work for us/them.
If your animal is sick, and you are not sure what the cause or problem is....Please take your animal to the vet pronto.
|
| |
Common Questions and Answers
This page is full of common questions and concerns that you may have while raising rabbits. You will find some questions you may have and then find the answers in how to control the situation and prevent it from happening again in the future. Thank you and I hope that the answers are of some help to you.
|
Am I sick? Or is this normal! |
| |
Questions & Answers
Question: My rabbit has diarrhea, what should I do?
Answer;There are many reasons for diarrhea. They are all caused by some of the same things and some of different things. Most diarrhea's are treated
in the same manner. Make sure that your bunny stays hydrated as best as possible. Rabbits that have diarrhea, dehydrate in a quick fashion if it doesn't
stop, the bunny can die within a short amount of time. We like to keep Gatoraid and/or Pedialite on hand for those times when a rabbit does get diarrhea. The electolites in both drink products can really help. We also take away the pellet type feed and give nothing but hay. Grass hay seems to be
the best. Other than that we tend to leave the rabbit alone, and let it take its coarse. When the diarrhea has stopped, then gradually start the bunny back on regular feed. You would also want to see what could have possibly caused the diarreaha. Diarrhea is mainly caused by stressed. Rabbits are an animal that is easily stressed from strange smells, animals, preditors, people etc. Try to eliminate the stress factors.
Mucoid Enteropathy seems to be one of the more common and most deadly of all the diarrheas in rabbits that are under 8 weeks of age. M.E. is usuallyfatal, and the rabbits that do survive it, tend not to be as healthy as others. It seems to me that if we have a rabbit that survives M.E., then those are rabbits that seem to stress easy over little things. I usually do not go overboard in trying to save one of these babies.
Question: My rabbit is eating some of his/her poo droppings that look like little clusters of grapes, why?
Answer;This is called Coprophagy, (the eating of night poo-pellets). This is perfectly normal and the rabbit, without you knowing it will eat most of it. This is the poo-pellets that helps put back in the good bacteria and some of the essential nutrients back into the rabbits system. Most of the time the rabbit will eat this type of poo-pellets, (sorry about the wording, but site won't allow more descriptive words) directly from the rectum. Please don't try to stop your rabbit from doing this, as it is normal and important to the rabbits proper nutrient balance. Hope this helps even if it sounds gross.
Question: What can I do to prevent sore hocks?
Answer;I would provide a sitting board for my rabbit and make sure that it always stays clean. Always make sure that you keep your rabbits toenails
cut short. Nails that are to long can cause the rabbits feet to tilt resulting in to much pressure on the heel, which can cause pressure point tenderness which can lead to tissue breakdown. Check the floor of your rabbits cage. Make sure that there are no rough spots, no wetness and that the floor is a sturdy floor. If the floor boughs to much, then it can cause the same type situation
as too long of toenails. It causes the feet to tilt causing pressure point tenderness. Make sure to replace the floor if it gets bad. It is easier to
replace the floor than it is to treat sore hocks in my opinion.
Question: My rabbit has sore hocks what can I do?
Answer; If your rabbit already has sore hocks then you should make sure that the hocks stay clean. You might want to treat the hocks by putting some Preperation H on the hocks, (this really helps heal them)if it is in the begining stages. You can also put a sitting board in the cage that is a peice of drywall. Just peel off the protective covering so that the chalky surface is exposed. The chalk tends to draw out any pus or infection that might be present. If the hocks have open sores or abcesses you will need to be more aggressive with your treatment. You would want to make sure that you drain any and all pus type matter from the hock and then flush out the wound with betadine or
iodine. You may need help to do this from another person. You would then want to use an antibiotic creme or my personal preference, Florazoladine
Spray, (great for killing all 3 forms of staph germs). You can then loosely cover the hock with a wrap. I would suggest the self sticking horse wrap.
You can find it in any ranch and home type store or your local Wal Mart in the pet section. Clean the infected hocks daily and treat until the sores are
closed and the fur starts to grow back.
There are a lot of new kinds of sitting boards on the market that are great. Bass Equipment and Extrona make some very nice ones. They are not very
costly in comparison to the price of treating badly infected sore hocks.
Question:My rabbit has some fur loss on the back side of the ears in the neck and shoulder area, and at the top part of the base of the tail. The rabbit also appears to have dandruff. What can it be? and how do I treat it?
Answer;Your rabbit probably has fur mites and to treat it is relatively simple. I have used Listerine mouthwash with great success. You would just soak a cotton ball in the Listerine and dab on the area infected until the you see the fur has started to grow back. You can also use a cat flea and tick powder/spray. You would want to be careful using these products though as not to get any in the rabbits facial area. The other thing that can be used is Ivermectin. You would want to give the rabbit a SQ shot in the scruff of the
neck. Please check out Rabbit Dosage Calculator Site for the amount youwould use for the size of your rabbit. You would also want to repeat this in
about 10-14 days to insure that you have killed all the mites and their eggs.
Question: My rabbit is scratching at it ears and their is some brownish looking crust in the ear. What is it and how do I treat it?
Answer;Sounds like your rabbit may have Ear Mites. I found that using mineral oil or baby oil tends to drown the little things quite nicely if not to
infected. When using mineral or baby oil, you would want to take an eye dropper and squirt it into the ear. Your rabbit will not really like this, and will
shake its head trying to get the oil out. The oil will also loosen up some of the crusty stuff for easier removal. I will normally follow up with another treatment in 10-14 days. You can also give a shot of Ivermectin for this problem to. Follow the directions as above for fur mites.
Questions: My rabbit has a lump on it. What should I do?
Answer;This is a situation where I would suggest taking your rabbit to a vet. Unless you are experienced with dealing with abcesses, a vet would be the best thing. This way you can make sure that it is properly taken care of and treated accordingly.
|
Stick out your tounge and say "Ahhhh" |
| |
Edit a custom page for your Web site:
Even though we are breeders by choice, I strongly recommend spaying or nuetering your pet rabbit
or guinea pig if you are not planning on breeding him/her.
You may say things like, I only have one, so it can't get pregnant or he is never around a doe, or I
only let one out of the cage at a time, or any other various reason why you shouldn't get your animal altered.
The reason that I suggest that you get your animal altered is for its own health sake. Rabbits and
Guinea Pigs that are not use for breeding and remain in tack are more likely to get cancer. Getting your rabbit or guinea pig fixed can reduce this possiblity greatly. It can also help with the mood swings that your pet can have.
The cost of altering your pet can range from .00 - .00 but the cost of treating Cancer in an unbred, unaltered pet can range from - start to finish treatment. Altering your pet is
uncomfortable for them for a couple of days. Cancer can make your pet uncomfortable for a lifetime.
I have been told by lots of pet owners that their pets have actually made better pets once they were
fixed. Their animals haven't been so tempermental and moody.
I do suggest though, that you do this before your rabbit or guinea pig reaches sexual maturity,
especially for your bucks. This can be as early as 4 months. By altering the bucks before they start
spraying can prevent them from ever getting into the habit. Once they have started that habit
though, altering them may not fix that spraying habit.
Before you make the descission to fix your pet, make sure that you talk to vets in your area. Make
sure that you find a rabbit/guinea pig friendly vet. Make sure that the vet has done this proceedure
before successfully. Rabbits and guinea pigs don't handle going under anesthia very well, this is
why it is so important to find a good vet knowledgeable with doing this delicate proceedure.
*Please note.... Even with very experience Vets, not all animals make it through being altered but the
risk of this happening are well worth the prevention of Cancer paining your pet.
After proceedure concerns;
For the first couple of days after having the proceedure, your pet may not be as perky in his/her
actions.
They also may not eat nor drink very well. As long as they are drinking though, I wouldn't worry to
much for the first few days.
Your rabbits poo pellets may be a lot smaller also. When they start to eat more, the poo pellets will get back to normal size.
If you are altering an older rabbit, (one that has already shown signs of sexual maturity) then don't
expect him/her to stop right away the outward signs of wanting to mate. Some bucks will circle
around your feet, but this should stop when the hormones have leveled out.
Good Luck, you are making the right descission in caring about your rabbits/guinea pigs health.
|
|
|
|
|
