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Thumper The Poorly Bunny -Happy Update-

B

Brennan

Alpha Buck
I am a bit nervous about posting here, I am sure everyone is lovely here but a rabbit Yahoo group has quite honestly put me off..

As bunny lovers we all love to talk about our babies, and especially when they are poorly :( Most ppl don't get it do they, they think 'gawd its just a rabbit!!!' I know that is the impression I get!

Thumper is 5 months old and two weeks ago tomorrow his health started to decline :( It feels like a lifetime and I cannot believe it is just 2 weeks.. The story is v v v long and sad but to sum up at the moment he has an abscess, which anyone who has bunnies knows that this is not good news... He has had a very intrusive surgery which basically involved scraping all the affected tissue away, he now has a huge hole in his left cheek and that isn't even the worst part, his vet has always suspected an eye abscess so the poor bunny may lose his eye after everything he has been through :(

I just feel so sorry for him , he is very sad and sore (he has had pain meds) but he is just so sad - I have cut the story short - but I can tell you more if you want
 
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Well firstly 'welcome to the forum!!' :wave: everyone on here is FAB and all bunny mad :lol: so no problem too small etc... no worries there :D

As for thumpers absess I am so sorry to hear he is not well :cry: poor little mite... I dont have a lot of advice to give in this scenario but i'm sure someone will be along soon who does... do you know the reason behind it starting? did he have a problem with his teeth ?

Sure he gets lots of cuddles and attention while he is poorly, give him a nose rub from me :D

Healing vibes to Thumper :love:
 
:wave:
Sorry to hear about Thumper :(
My Lionel has had an abcess on his leg since he was 10 weeks old, he had it when i got him and nothing was done about it :cry:
He has had it removed 3 times as it has kept coming back, this time though (touches lots of wood) he seems to be doing ok, its been about 5 weeks since its last removal and it hasn't come back woohoo
He is on different treatment this time, a different antibiotic (can't remember the name) and he goes to the vets twice a week to have it injected this will be done upto Xmas then we will leave it and pray that its gone for good this time.
I am sure there is hope for Thumper yet, forgot to mention Lionel is now only 5 months old as well, poor wee buns!
Lionel sends lots of his vibes to thumper :D
 
emjay said:
As for thumpers absess I am so sorry to hear he is not well :cry: poor little mite... I dont have a lot of advice to give in this scenario but i'm sure someone will be along soon who does... do you know the reason behind it starting? did he have a problem with his teeth ?
Click to expand...

Well we are not 100% sure initially his eye was closed so we though he had bumped his eye on something, then we took him to the vets as it started to really swell, and we had it (kinda) under control (this is a v v v v short version BTW) Then on Friday he face was weeping so we realised he had a secondary abscess in his cheek. It's more than likely the two are related however it's hard to say.. He has been under twice now - the first was an x-ray/ultrasound which found nothing, and then yesterday to have his abscess brided :( Both times his teeth were checked but my poor vet cannot find anything...

The only other thing is we have a cat so it very possible she could have scratched/bit him and this was how it started :( It's hard to say as they are separated but one day they did managed to get close.... so it's hard to say
 
Hi Carly,

Im so sorry to hear what a rotten time you and Thumper are having :( .

I have a one eyed rabbit who lost her left eye to a retrobulbar abcess as do a few other members (abbymarysmokey and elve off the top of my head) so whilst this is a horrible prognosis to face its not inevitably bad news!

I have posted on your other thread :D
 
Well we have had a rotten 24 hours, :( He came home yesterday from having his abscess debrided and was v v quiet which I was expecting for sure. By 4 pm he hadn't eaten much save for a few pellets so I was really worried, I gave him some parsley (his fav) and he licked that up, but no go with the pellets..
So guess who was up every 2 hours syringe feeding him 'mushy pellets' :(

We went to the vets today and she has given him a shot of pan relief which is very strong (can't remember the name) as potent as morphine in a human, she also gave him a shot for his tummy and I have LOADS of things I have to give him to get his tummy better..

The good thing was that she was really impressed with the way his abscess is healing, even the eye one, but we have to stop working on it because he is poorly :( which is why rabbit abscesses are a nightmare..
 
Hi:wave:

Sorry to hear about dear Thumper.

One of my rescue buns developed an awful abscess in his cheek after falling and biting his cheek. He had to have the abscess removed and the wound was left open so that it could be drained. It eventually healed up in the end.
He was also prescribed a very strong injectable antibiotic whilst the wound was healing and had a prebiotic in his water whilst on the antibiotics. Is Thumper on antibiotics?

I have heard somebodys bun on here whom had developed an abscess that was tricky to treat responding really well to Metronidazole. I can't remember who that was. Will see if I can find the post for you.

Sending lots of vibes to you and Thumper. What bunny food is Thumper on?

Love and hugs,

Nicola and Harvey xxx
 
Princesscarly1978 said:
Well we have had a rotten 24 hours, :( He came home yesterday from having his abscess debrided and was v v quiet which I was expecting for sure. By 4 pm he hadn't eaten much save for a few pellets so I was really worried, I gave him some parsley (his fav) and he licked that up, but no go with the pellets..
So guess who was up every 2 hours syringe feeding him 'mushy pellets' :(

We went to the vets today and she has given him a shot of pan relief which is very strong (can't remember the name) as potent as morphine in a human, she also gave him a shot for his tummy and I have LOADS of things I have to give him to get his tummy better..

The good thing was that she was really impressed with the way his abscess is healing, even the eye one, but we have to stop working on it because he is poorly :( which is why rabbit abscesses are a nightmare..
Click to expand...

Was the shot vetergesic? Thats an opiate base painkiller, sometimes it can 'zone' the rabbit out for a while though.

The tummy shot would have been metaclopromide which is a gut stimulant.

You may find him more willing to eat his pellets if they are soggy, I soak ours in pineapple juice but apple juice can work well too. They cant resist the sweet flavour and it also is not so hard to chew.

Offer him probiotics too though as sweet foods can encourage the bad gut bacteria to multiply.
 
He is on antibiotics - septrin as Baytrill was not working, I am feeding him Super bunny excel which he has had since I got him and his loves them, I have tried soaking them which he ignored, I may try the juice idea though!

I have just given him approx 3ml of science recovery - not too well though, he hates being syringe fed, he bit it several times, pulled it out of my hand and tossed it to one side... He is very bossy like that! :lol: I have also got to give him:

fibreplex, biolapis (in his water) and also metoclopramide orally tonight - all for his tummy

Then for his abcess/eye problems hypromellose eye drops, exocin eye drops and acular eye drops + his antibiotics, so he is a walking medicine cabinet!
 
Awww...dear Thumper.

I have typed metronidazole into the search box and found a few stories. It was Elve whose bun was prescribed metronidazole for an eye abscess. See links below:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=101183&highlight=metronidazole

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=96302&highlight=metronidazole

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=92480&highlight=metronidazole

Metronidazole works on anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that doesn't need oxygen) So may be effective in treating your bun.

Hopefully Elve will come along later and post.

Snuggles to Thumper :love:

Nicola and Harvey xxx
 
Sorry guys I have a few threads I am posting on to get different ideas... I am getting quite desperate with bunny, the syringe feeding is really 'bothering him' but I need to get something inside him... I tried soaking his pellets and he kicked the bowl over in 'disgust' I tried cutting his hay into tiny pieces no reaction... But if I offer him a green - he will eat it :( I just gave him a 1/4 cup of kale and he literally snatched it out of my hand, so he is eating but he only wants greens... After his op my vet said to watch his greens and the antibiotics he is taking will make his poos lose... trouble is now he is only eating his greens and is doing the tiny poos - it's like the absence of greens has triggered is anorexia :cry:

I know neither is good but is it better for him to eating something - ie greens and possibly get the runs or not eat much and have firm poos
 
Princesscarly1978 said:
Sorry guys I have a few threads I am posting on to get different ideas... I am getting quite desperate with bunny, the syringe feeding is really 'bothering him' but I need to get something inside him... I tried soaking his pellets and he kicked the bowl over in 'disgust' I tried cutting his hay into tiny pieces no reaction... But if I offer him a green - he will eat it :( I just gave him a 1/4 cup of kale and he literally snatched it out of my hand, so he is eating but he only wants greens... After his op my vet said to watch his greens and the antibiotics he is taking will make his poos lose... trouble is now he is only eating his greens and is doing the tiny poos - it's like the absence of greens has triggered is anorexia :cry:

I know neither is good but is it better for him to eating something - ie greens and possibly get the runs or not eat much and have firm poos
Click to expand...

Can you wrap some mushed up pellets soaked in juice inside a spring green leaf like a roll and feed it to him? If he takes it you can add his medication into it in future too.
 
Sooz22 said:
Can you wrap some mushed up pellets soaked in juice inside a spring green leaf like a roll and feed it to him? If he takes it you can add his medication into it in future too.
Click to expand...

I will try I am soaking some pellets as we speak in pineapple juice as the apple juice wasn't tempting enough :(
 
Need lots of ideas for tempting food for bunny, he is eating but limited amounts we just got back from the vet and she checked his tummy and it's quite empty still, he has had another 2 doses of pain meds, but I need some tips... I saw someone mention porridge - how do I do this? I have plain porridge oats - do I just soak them?

Any other foods bunnies are greedy over?
 
I'm not sure if porridge oats are a good idea if his tum isn't right as the oats swell :?

Did you say Thumper is on burgess excel pellets?
If so he may find the junior/dwarf variety easier to eat at the moment as the pellets are very small, making it easier for him to eat.

Is he eating hay at the mo? My dental buns love the Herbal Garden mix by Rosewood. It comes in a packet and costs about £2. I mix some in with chopped up hay to try and encourage them to eat. Have you tried a few different hays to see if there is one in particular that he may take to? Alfalfa King do a lovely soft second cut timonthy hay which may be easier for dental buns to eat as it's a lot softer.

If Thumps is on long term pain relief it may be wise to give him an antacid drug such as ranitidine to prevent a tummy ulcer from developing. You would have to run that past your vet.

Loads of vibes heading Thumpers way!!!

Nicola xxx
 
Nicola3 said:
I'm not sure if porridge oats are a good idea if his tum isn't right as the oats swell :?

Did you say Thumper is on burgess excel pellets?
If so he may find the junior/dwarf variety easier to eat at the moment as the pellets are very small, making it easier for him to eat.

Is he eating hay at the mo? My dental buns love the Herbal Garden mix by Rosewood. It comes in a packet and costs about £2. I mix some in with chopped up hay to try and encourage them to eat. Have you tried a few different hays to see if there is one in particular that he may take to? Alfalfa King do a lovely soft second cut timonthy hay which may be easier for dental buns to eat as it's a lot softer.

If Thumps is on long term pain relief it may be wise to give him an antacid drug such as ranitidine to prevent a tummy ulcer from developing. You would have to run that past your vet.

Loads of vibes heading Thumpers way!!!

Nicola xxx
Click to expand...

I did ask my vet and she said if he would eat them then it's ok, I just wondered how to make them.. He is on the Dwarf Excel at the moment - but he wont eat his pellets, I did buy some Timothy Hay but he wont eat it :( He liked the 'cheap' hay better the herbal mix garden is a good idea - can I get my hands on that today? are you allowed to say where its available?
 
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