# Bunny Medicine Cabinet



## Ms. Research (Jul 27, 2011)

I didn't want to post this in disease because being prepared for emergencies, IMHO, is a great idea.   And not every emergencies leads to disease.  Who figured that buns can have allergies, which is not a disease.   Knowing what to look for also is a great idea, because how fast it can go down hill and quick decisions need to be made.  Thanks to the *Three Little Ladies* for their very informative site.   I really appreciate your hard work.  

Does anyone have any more suggestions than listed?  If so, pro's and con's.  I'm not politically correct and really want different opinions.  Then I can make INFORMED decisions.  I guess this comes with age.  Oh well, appreciate the opinions.    

http://www.threelittleladiesrabbitry.com/medicinechest.php


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## Ms. Research (Jul 27, 2011)

OK, I'll start the questions.

I read about giving bunnies that are not eating or have loose stool, Nutri-Cal.  I've also read, in other books and on other sites, that papaya and banana will do the trick as well?  

What experience have you had with both ways?

Edited to say:  I know drugs are a necessity sometimes.  But I find trying to work with other methods can also have the same results.

Biosol

Effective medication used against enteritis. Is sold in some pet stores under the name Dry-Tail. Dry-Tail is a very diluted form of Biosol. Some people will recommend anti-diarreah medications such as peptobismal.Bisol would be a better solution, *as the anti-diarreah medications can cause the digestive system of your bunny to stop working, and dont actually attacj the cause.*

This is what I'm concerned about when using man-made drugs.  I would like to have more choices, herbs, fruit,  to consider so I can do what's best for my buns.


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## M.R. Lops (Jul 28, 2011)

Here's a site that lists different medicines and uses for bunnies: http://www.fuzzylop.com/4_first_aid_kit.htm


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## Ms. Research (Jul 29, 2011)

M.R. Lops said:
			
		

> Here's a site that lists different medicines and uses for bunnies: http://www.fuzzylop.com/4_first_aid_kit.htm


Thanks M. R. Lops for the interesting post.  

I was wonder regarding temperature.  Can you take a temperature by a rabbit's ears?  My Better Half is a home and commercial inspector and uses thermal readings throughout his job.  And we have access to three of them.  Would this be OK?  

Thanks for the great information.  I like to get all this together ahead of time.  To be prepared.


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## M.R. Lops (Jul 29, 2011)

Ms. Research said:
			
		

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I don't know if you can take their temp. by the rabbit's ears.  I found a few sites that say that you should take their rectal temp though.


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## Ms. Research (Jul 29, 2011)

M.R. Lops said:
			
		

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Hmm, I read to see if a rabbit was overheated, you feel his ears.  And to cool him down, put a cool cloth on his ears to help.  I just assumed you could use this tool, which does show heat loss and temperature of the area.  Thanks for the input.  I think I'll look into this further.  I would rather do this than use rectals.


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## M.R. Lops (Jul 29, 2011)

I guess you could always try it and see.


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## maggies.family (Jul 30, 2011)

Thank you both for the great site referrals!  I have them bookmarked!


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## dewey (Jul 30, 2011)

Ms. Research said:
			
		

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Maybe try both ways then compare them to see which reading is correct, and which method results in less stitches.  j/k  

Seriously though, my buns much less mind having their south half messed with than their north half.  :bun

It seems to me like the ears wouldn't be the best way for gauging temp, since, if using the somewhat outter ear area, it carries heat away and could be hotter than the actual body temp or not placed correctly (like as in a human ear reading or armpit reading), and otherwise, getting something placed deeper in the ear where it seems like it'd need to be to get a good reading might not go over so well with the bun.  (They can freak when a drop of oil goes in, lol.)  But I'm just typing from the hip on that and could be so totally wrong, lol.

I don't even take their temps.   (I would if needed.  Rectal method.)


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## Ms. Research (Jul 30, 2011)

dewey said:
			
		

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I have to agree with your hip shot.  Thanks.

Edited to add:

When would you feel a bun needed the rectal method?  Is it wise to have one?


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## M.R. Lops (Jul 30, 2011)

Honestly, I've never even taken any of my bunnies' temps. before.  Rabbits are pretty healthy animals and most problems can be fixed by talking to another breeder.  Pretty much, if you keep their cage area clean and feed your buns a healthy diet, then you shouldn't have any problems.


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## Ms. Research (Jul 30, 2011)

M.R. Lops said:
			
		

> Honestly, I've never even taken any of my bunnies' temps. before.  Rabbits are pretty healthy animals and most problems can be fixed by talking to another breeder.  Pretty much, if you keep their cage area clean and feed your buns a healthy diet, then you shouldn't have any problems.


I have to agree with your reply.  I guess I just want to be prepared, if a rabbit gets ill and I can't get a vet or breeder right away, to be able to have some data to share when I do get in contact with them to ask questions.  I would even come here, but you need data to be able to explain over the phone or on a computer what's going on.   But dewey's explanation made me see that my theory would not work and I will not try it on the buns because it would be incorrect data.

Why try something when someone has given you a detailed reply of why it would not work.   All I know is that when a rabbit gets sick, bad things could happen very fast if you are not on the ball.


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## M.R. Lops (Jul 30, 2011)

Ya, rabbits don't get sick that often, but when they do, they are good at hiding it, and most of the time, by the time you figure out what's wrong you have to work fast or sometimes it may already be too late.


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## Ms. Research (Jul 30, 2011)

M.R. Lops said:
			
		

> Ya, rabbits don't get sick that often, but when they do, they are good at hiding it, and most of the time, by the time you figure out what's wrong you have to work fast or sometimes it may already be too late.


Sad but true.


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## dewey (Jul 30, 2011)

M.R. Lops, pretty much same here.  

Not saying there wouldn't be a time & place for it to be used, of course, but I really can't think of a time I'd feel it was really needed...most illnesses or issues I'd come across here would usually have symptoms that can either be eye-balled or eliminated off a list of common things with the help of other breeders like M.R. Lops said, for, in my case, treating at home, etc.


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## CESpeed (Jul 30, 2011)

Both websites are GREAT!  Thank you for posting this information.  Also, thank you for pointing out that good care in the beginning takes care of most problems before they begin.  I have three cats and I'm used to keeping them clean and I have been very forunate that they have required very few vet visits and I'm glad to read that the same should be true of rabbits.


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## SarahMelisse (Jul 31, 2011)

Does anyone have remedies or preventatives for fly strike? Maybe some sort of herb to plant near the rabbitry that would repel flies? I don't have a problem yet, but I also keep chickens which tend to attract a LOT of flies.


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## Ms. Research (Jul 31, 2011)

SarahMelisse said:
			
		

> Does anyone have remedies or preventatives for fly strike? Maybe some sort of herb to plant near the rabbitry that would repel flies? I don't have a problem yet, but I also keep chickens which tend to attract a LOT of flies.


I feel that way with the mosquitoes around here.  We don't have flies, but LOTS of mosquitoes.  But the flies down the shore called "greenheads", well they bite to hurt.    I'm trying to find something myself that I can put in the area of their permanent outdoor run.   Hopefully like yourself, looking for something I can plant near the outdoor run.  

If I find something, I'll post.  Hopefully someone else is reading this and can give some kind of hint to where to look.  Maybe even those raising larger livestock could help.  

I believe in preventative management.  If I can head something off before it happens, makes life much easier.


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## SarahMelisse (Jul 31, 2011)

Ms. Research said:
			
		

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Me too! I rather not find creepy fly larve on my rabbits....


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## M.R. Lops (Aug 1, 2011)

SarahMelisse said:
			
		

> Does anyone have remedies or preventatives for fly strike? Maybe some sort of herb to plant near the rabbitry that would repel flies? I don't have a problem yet, but I also keep chickens which tend to attract a LOT of flies.


I have been worried about this myself.  I have found maggots in my litter boxes about a month ago and I started freaking out.  But after talking to some people on here and then finally getting ahold of a couple of my local vet.s I found out that you have nothing to worry about unless your rabbit has an open sore.  So, as long as your rabbits don't have any open sores and their fur is dry, then you shouldn't have any problems with flystrike.  But, to keep away flys is a pain.  I have one of those fly strips that I hung up, and it does catch some of the flys but not all of them.  I recently switched all my cages to stackable wire cages with pull-out trays which are a lot easier to keep clean, than the indoor plastic bottom cages that my buns were in before.  And I haven't had a fly problem since I switched to the pull-out tray type cages.  Just keep your cages very clean and you should be fine.


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## SarahMelisse (Aug 1, 2011)

M.R. Lops said:
			
		

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Thanks... That makes me feel a lot better! I'm a liitle hesitant to hang up fly strips because I ALSO keep bees (I have quite a few hobbies...lol) and I don't know if the bees would be attracted to the fly paper scent. But I do have the pull-out tray wire cages so it should be easy to keep things clean and tidy like you said.
Thanks again for the advice!


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