First aid for rabbits
This article is incomplete because it lacks depth or is unfinished. Help by expanding it.
Choking
- vgr1, Choking
- Bunny Guy's Blog, Bunny EMT Skills: How to Help a Choking Rabbit
- Missouri House Rabbit Society - St. Louis, Helpful Information, search for 'The "Bunny Heimlich" for Choking Rabbits'
The following are a few experiences with choking rabbits.
- big_cocoa_puff. (2020). Cocoa Puff's story
- u/murkylotus. (2019). So, Pepper choked tonight.
- u/caycay_. (2019). My rabbit choked on pellets this morning! Advice needed!!
- u/SuckinLemonz. (2016). Help! My Bunny Choked
- u/Oncidiinae. (2015). RIP - Update on Rowley the choking bun. He's developed pneumonia with lots of fluid in one lung. He's staying in an oxygen tank on antibiotics for a little whole.
- u/blackxdahlia. (2014). Something I learned when my bunny started choking...
- u/caffeineassisted. (2013). Rabbits Choking
E-collars
E-collars (AKA elizabethan collars or ecollars) are occasionally used for rabbits to prevent them from chewing on stitches, incisions, or the rest of their body in general. Most of the time, a hard e-collar is not very practical due to the inability to eat their cecals and movement difficulty. Other alternatives made with socks and other objects are often more comfortable for rabbits.
Some more resources on using e-collars and alternatives for rabbits:
- Special Bunny, Surgeries
- Jänis Jrabbit Abel. (2020). Sophie's bunsie
- u/CandidDeer. (2019). Marilyn sporting her mint green Medical Pet Shirt a few days after her spay. Her surgery was last Wednesday. Mary is happy to have had her onesie and sutures removed today. Here's to further good recovery!
- u/CandidDeer. (2019). Before her mint green onesie, Mary had been wearing this here, made out of one of my leggings. So cute looking, but it wasn't practical.
- Columbus HRS. (2018). Skipper after his neuter
- Ana Luisa Suarez. (2018). Make This Adorable DIY Sock Onesie For Your Kitten
- Francis & Charlie. (2013). Medical Pet Shirt: alternative to an e-collar (recommendation/review)
Some e-collars and alternatives available for purchase:
Syringe feeding
When a rabbit needs nutritional support, syringe feeding with a liquid food is often effective. Oral nutritional support provides calories, nutrients, electrolytes, and fluids as well as help to rehydrate stomach contents and stimulate normal GI motility. The recommended intake is 50ml/kg body weight divided into 3-5 meals per day.[1]
Critical Care is what is commonly fed to rabbits requiring nutritional support. This product can be obtained from your vet or some pet stores and online retailers. Otherwise, you can use your rabbit's normal pellet feed and grind it to powder and mix 1:1.5 with water to form a paste for feeding. Any remaining formula may be refrigerated for 48 hours.[1]
For further instructions in syringe feeding methodology, see Medicating your rabbit#Oral medication.
Further reading
- Petfinder, Mary E. Cotter in consultation with Gil Stanzione, DVM, Help! My rabbit is sick and I can’t reach my vet!
- Kinenchen, Is my bunny sick?
- Laura K. Lathan, DVM, First Aid For Rabbits
- Margaret A. Wissman, D.V.M., D.A.B.V.P., First Aid for Rabbits
- Georgia Williams, Bunny First Aid
- SmallAnimalChannel.com, Quick First-Aid Rabbit Care
- Jay E. Hreiz, VMD, First Aid in the Domestic Rabbit
- Designer Bunnies, Rabbit First Aid
- Bunnies and Sunshine, River's tummy troubles. - How to trick a sick rabbit into drinking water.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Keeble, E. & Meredith, A. (2006). Rabbit medicine & surgery: Self-assessment color review.
