Aileen
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Flopsy Rabbit Syndrome[u:9f092f8e49][b:9f092f8e49]FLOPSY RABBIT SYNDROME[/b:9f092f8e49][/u:9f092f8e49]
This condition is characterised by a progressive paralysis of the rabbit that will lead to death of your rabbit unless treated promptly.
Symptons to look out for
Unless you know what to look for with this condition,the first signs is a healthy rabbit lying limp in its cage,upon examination,the rabbit has little or no movement of any limbs (allmost like its spine is broken)and just "flops" in your hands.If your allert to the condition you can often spot the early signs before the rabbit has progressed to total Paralysis.
The progression of the condition can vary between rabbits. Sometimes a rabbit can be perfectly healthy and yet an hour later is dead in its cage! Other rabbits can gradually get worse over several hours and remain in a paralysed state for several days. Rabbits with a rapid onset of the condition can rarely be saved.
I have found that most of the rabbits I lose are between four to ten weeks of age - when the doe is weaning them. However other people have found that they seem to lose adult rabbits.
Treatment for the condition:
TREATMENT.
A Vitamin E deficiency could be the cause of Flopsy I went to buy some crushable Vitamin E tablets so i have them in. . . I know breeders who have tried the Vitamin E remedy with generally good results.
The otehr thing you can use and soem breeders do prefer it is Endeavon E which is a powdered horse vitamin E supplement
, it is expensive but it lasts a long time. This Vitamin E powder (and perhaps all Vitamin E tablets?) cannot be mixed with water as it reduces its effect so I mix it with Natural Yoghurt.
As soon as you do find a rabbit with paralysis then give it a dose of Vitamin E. If it readily takes the mixture from the syringe and chews it up and swallows it . If the rabbit makes no attempt to swallow the mixture and allows it to dribble out of its mouth, then the rabbit is very poor. If you do find them very flopsy then prop your rabbit up in a carry box, using rolled up material to hold up the rabbit’s head and to stop the rabbit falling over on its side. If it is cold weather then better to place your rabbit on a hot water bottle. Some rabbits will recover very quickly, some can take several days to improve. If they are only slowly improving then you can give the rabbit some Nutrapet and water as well via a syringe. Once your rabbit has fully recovered and is back in its hutch or own cage then you can continue to give them Vitamin E for a few more days.
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