Charlie

The little guy in the foreground is our mini lopp-eared bunny, Charlie- or Charlie Brown, as I call him, just because he is brown, not because he is like the real Chuck. Charlie is our happiest rabbit, but he became ill yesterday, as he has done, unfortunately, many times before. We know he's down when he stops eating and doesn't come running from his cage when we open it. Yesterday morning he turned down his favorite treats and stayed in, so we knew it was another episode. For rabbits, not eating can become life-threatening in a short time. (Most impulse rabbit buyers don't know this, but that's a story for another day.) So we know that we immediately launch into syringe feedings of anti-gas medicine, belly massage on a heating pad, pain shots and fluids given under the skin. Usually, this is all that is needed, and in a few hours he's back munching away. Yesterday, he didn't improve, so we went to his special rabbit vet- not too many veterinarians know how to care for a rabbit; they are considered exotics. He was x-rayed and no intestinal obstruction was found, so we went back home with an additional medicine to improve gastric motility. He got a shot of Valium at the vet's office and had the munchies afterwards, which is common. He did eat some hay, but wanted nothing else, and this morning still is not himself. So I'm a bit worried about my boy and hope that when I go home in a few hours, he'll be better.