If you hold a bunny too much can it give it diarrhea and cause death?
When I purchased my 1 month old baby rabbit the store owner said if you hold him too much it can give him diarrhea and can die? Is this true? I thought it sounded kind of off the walls.
Not true. The store owner’s an idiot and is covering their *** because they sold you a rabbit that is too young to be weaned from its mother. That increases drastically the likelihood of your rabbit developing mucoid enteritis- a usually fatal intestinal infection that causes- you guessed it- diarrhea and death! It has nothing to do with the rabbit being held too much. It has to do with the fact that at 1 month old, it’s just barely begun eating solids, and should still be getting its mother’s milk to help its digestive tract adjust to its changing diet. Rabbit kits shouldn’t be weaned until 8 weeks of age (2 months!) and should be kept by the breeder for a week or two after that to make sure they are doing okay without their mother and gaining weight. Now if your rabbit develops diarrhea and dies, the shop owner will tell you that you held it too much and that’s why it happened. Should you notice loose stools in your new pet, get it straight away to a vet. At that age, it’ll be dead within 24 hours without vet treatment should such an issue develop.
Maybe if it is stressed, but lettuce will give it diarrhea and death, but i dont think if you hold it the right way, and dont hold it 24/7 it will be fine
EDIT: Forget what i said, the store keeper WAS covering up his shit! Its only 4 weeks!!!! It should be AT LEAST 7 weeks old! WTF!!!!!!!!!!!
4 weeks is really young for a rabbit to be sold. They shouldn’t be weaning until 6 week and not sold until 8. There is a chance that even with the best care, it will still die just because it was weaning and sold too young. Even young rabbits weaned at the right time can die after they are sold. Young rabbit just have a delicate digestive system and any small change can cause problems.
Holding a young rabbit can cause stress. This in combination with diet change and a new home can be too much and lead to diarrhea and possibly death. It is best to not handle the rabbit too much and try to keep the amount of stress to a minimum. Don’t give any veggies or new foods as this could push the rabbit over the threshold of what is can handle.
If this rabbit does die, don’t get another one form that pet store. Go to a breeder or get an older one. The rabbit will have a better chance of survival if it is kept with its mother until at least 6 weeks, preferably 8.
I agree with everyone else. He was covering up his tracts, because the bunny will probably die without it’s mother’s nutritious milk. I would call the police because it is illegal to sell babies before they are 8 weeks old. They should take care of it. I’m so sorry that that happened. Try not to hold it too much though and don’t kiss it. The mother’s milk contained things essential to keeping the baby from getting sick, and without those, it is extremely easy to get them sick. Make sure the baby is warm and has grain, hay and water at all times. I hope he lives :\ I would call the place you got it from and talk to them.