I recently got a pet rabbit. It’s a tiny dwarf rabbit and probably only about 6 weeks old. It’s more than likely been weaned too early from its mother, but that’s unfortunately pretty normal in Thailand. The first few days I had it, its appetite was amazing and it seemed very healthy. In fact, it was eating me out of house and home. Then on the sixth day, it began to develop diarrhea. On the seventh day, the diarrhea got worse until its feces were basically nothing but liquid. Diarrhea in a rabbit can be quickly fatal as they dehydrate fast, so I knew it was serious and I had to act quickly.
The one good thing was that mine still seemed to have a lot of energy and, when I picked her up and turned her on her back, she struggled which was a good sign. The more lethargic the rabbit is, the less chance they have of surviving diarrhea so make sure you treat your rabbit at the first signs of diarrhea. Getting your little bunny hydrated is the first thing you should do.
First of all, I mixed up a cup of rehydrating fluid. I put about 4 ounces of clean water in a cup and added a teaspoon of sugar, one eighth a teaspoon of salt and one quarter teaspoon of baking soda. I then tipped her onto her back, and fed her this liquid with a syringe. I tried to get her to take some every hour and, slowly, she began to drink more of it.
After about eight hours of her still continuing to take the liquid, I slowly added some food to her diet. I made up a mixture that would hopefully stop the diarrhea. Rice and bananas are very good for this as rice dries up the diarrhea and banana adds potassium, which animals need when they’re sick as they lose potassium through watery feces. So, I mixed up a mixture of cooked rice, rabbit pellets and some banana and fed her a little bit a couple of times an hour. She liked the mixture and would take at least a quarter teaspoon every time. It was laborious work, but at least she was eating.
I continued with the rehydrating fluid and the rice mixture for 24 hours. At the end of it, she was looking more alert and starting to hop around the room. The day after she was beginning to bite the bars of the cage trying to get out when I put her in there, and also started to play with her toys again.
I did continue with the fluid and the rice for another 24 hours, then slowly re-introduced pellet food to her diet. I didn’t add any vegetables or fruit for another 3 days, just to make sure she was completely over the diarrhea. Then I gave her just a tiny slice of apple one day as a treat and, the day after, added a little bit of cucumber and carrot. One thing to remember, most rabbits cannot tolerate leafy green vegetables so, as much as they might like it, vegetables like lettuce are not good for them and can actually cause diarrhea.
The other thing that’s important when a rabbit has diarrhea, if it begins to get feces around it’s rear-end, you are going to have to make sure it stays clean. A butt bath is usually about the only thing a bunny can tolerate as they hate water. I checked my little girl every couple of hours and every time she was really soiled I had to tip her onto her back and clean her off with a soft tissue. Then I put about 2 inches of water in the bathroom sink and a little animal liquid soap. I put only her back legs in the water, soaped around her rear-end and rinsed her off twice to make sure she was completely free of soap. Then patted her off with a soft towel and left her to dry.
She hated the bath, but keeping her covered in feces would just have made sure she stayed sick and also attracts flies which can lay eggs and cause even more problems.
A week later, she’s fully recovered and doing well. I think the most important thing I did though was to keep her hydrated so, if this happens to you, make sure you get your little pet to take enough water or rehydrating fluid to stay hydrated. Only a few hours without enough fluid, and your little friend can die. Also make sure, after your bunny’s bout with diarrhea, keep checking the water bottle for the next few days to make sure he or she is getting enough fluids.
I’m not a vet and rabbit health care is not my expertise. This is is only my experience but maybe, if you have the same health problems with your bunny, it may help you.
