What to do if the rabbit has diarrhea, treatment methods

Rabbits endure any disease quite hard. A caring owner will immediately notice that something is wrong with the pet. Rabbits often pick up various infections, getting rid of which is very difficult. Any infection can cause diarrhea. Diarrhea in rabbits is considered a very serious problem. Most owners have no idea what to do in this case. If it is not treated in time, the rabbits die from dehydration.

Causes of diarrhea

Rabbits can develop diarrhea for a variety of reasons. The most common are:

• Incorrect food.
• mechanical problems.
• Infections.
• Hidden health problems

It is necessary to consider the main reasons in more detail.

Improper diet

Diarrhea in rabbits often occurs if its food was made from low quality ingredientscontaining mold, the toxins of which cause diarrhea. The same situation occurs if you give animals moldy hay. They are strictly forbidden hay, which has even a slight smell of mold.

The rabbit should receive daily fresh hay and grass in unlimited quantities. Their deficiency leads to flabbiness of the intestinal muscles, as a result, the movement of food through the intestines slows down. As a result, feces move very slowly in the caecum, which leads to an imbalance of beneficial bacteria. Thus, a large amount of hay and grass in the rabbit’s diet provide healthy intestinal microflora.

Vegetables and fruits in large quantities are contraindicated for these animals. They are high calorie foods. A high concentration of sugar and starch is very harmful to the gastrointestinal tract of rabbits, which leads to diarrhea.

Rapid changes in food or regimen often cause diarrhea, so any changes are introduced gradually.

Mechanical problems

If the rabbit suffers from obesity, then as a result of this, the animal simply cannot reach its anus to clean it. An imbalance in the intestines leads to diarrhea. Reduce the amount of high-calorie food and give more hay and grass. During this time, you need to make sure that caecotrophs did not stick to the back of the body.

The rabbit may suffer from joint disease, which also prevents him from cleaning his anus. Arthritis is usually diagnosed by a veterinarian who prescribes appropriate treatment.

Инфекции

Diarrhea in rabbits is often caused by a viral infection, such as rotavirus, coronavirus, hemorrhagic fever. A bacterial infection (coccidiosis, E. coli) can also provoke diarrhea. These infections disrupt balance between harmful and beneficial bacteria. Therefore, it is very important to ensure that the nutrition of rabbits is correct, avoiding dysbacteriosis, which is very difficult to cure.

Hidden health problems

Rabbits can develop diseases that slow down bowel movementswhich leads to diarrhea.

The following reasons can slow down the work of the intestine:

• Diseases of the urinary tract.
• Krivosheya
• dental problems.
• Upper respiratory tract infections.

In addition, diarrhea in this animal may occur due to the presence of worms, which help soften the feces.

Treatment

If the rabbit has diarrhea, it is necessary to examine the appearance of the feces. If it is very thin or watery, this is a sign that the animal is sick. The rabbit becomes lethargic and begins to move little. May refuse to eat or drink, sometimes losing weight. Diarrhea heavily contaminates the anus of the animal. It must be cleaned so that the rabbit does not get drunk on harmful feces.

With severe diarrhea in rabbits, the treatment is as follows:

• The rabbit cage should be cleared of all unnecessary itemsleaving only fresh hay and water. Then it is washed and disinfected. The bottom is covered with cotton cloth or disposable napkins, which must be changed as they get dirty.
• The treatment of the animal is carried out with the help of such a drug as a decoction of Potentilla. A tablespoon of grass should be poured with boiling water, cooled and poured into the animal’s mouth with syringe without needle.
• With diarrhea, a decoction of chamomile grass helps remarkably. Brew it in such a way that the solution acquires a light yellow color. It is necessary to give the animal one tablespoon three times a day. To cure a rabbit, you should do a course of 10 days.
• One can use activated charcoal. A quarter of the tablet is diluted in a glass of boiled water and soldered to the animal. Then be sure to solder the animal with a decoction of chamomile.
• A sick rabbit often freezes, so the cage can be heated with a lamp or the animal can be warmed with an ordinary heating pad with hot water.
• Diarrhea of ​​any intensity often dehydrates the body, leading to the death of the animal. Therefore, you should forcibly solder it with water using a syringe without a needle. For efficiency, water is diluted with a decoction of cinquefoil or oak bark.
• If the condition of the animal is very serious, drugs used in veterinary medicine should be used, for example, “Baitril“. It is injected subcutaneously, into the withers. The drug should be administered with an insulin syringe three times a day.
• It is good to treat with Linex. The rabbit should be given half a capsule twice a day. This drug normalizes the intestinal microflora, filling it with beneficial bacteria.

Prevention

As you know, the disease is easier to prevent than to treat it later. That is why prevention is extremely important.

• In order for the animal’s body to endure a variety of diseases, you can purchase the drug “Baycox“. Use it instead of drinking water.
• The animal’s food should contain fruits and grains in small quantities, or they should be completely removed from the diet.
• The pet should always have enough fresh hay and water.
• The cell must always be clean.
• Preventive therapy for worms should be done regularly.

Thus, the timely detection of diarrhea in a rabbit is not an easy task. The correct diagnosis should be established only by a qualified veterinarian who prescribes the correct treatment. Only joint efforts with a veterinarian can make the rabbit’s life long and happy.