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  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

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my poor bunny :( finally some positive news

N

nina83

Warren Scout
Hi all i'm new to the forum and proud mummy to 2 lop eared bunny rabbits, Miffy and Parsley. Miffy's just been taken back into hospital....she was admitted on new years eve due to not eating/drinking and not pooping and her temperature was high, they kept her in for 3 days and she was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection and we brought her home on Thursday and she was like a new bunny hopping round everywhere but today she'd stopped eting and was really floppy and lethargic and her legs were splaying out behind her so we rushed her back to the ER vets who have said she's now anorexic and has no gut sounds and ? GIparasite so they re-admitted her then i get a phonecall 2hours later from the vets to say they were very concerned about the sporadic eating and took a blood test which has showed serious problems with her liver and her parasite score was off the scale and they're transferring her to a rabbit specialist hospital in the morning. Now my question is does anyone know the chances of her surviving this coz i've been crying on and off for the last few hours at this possibility she's my baby :(
 
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Im very sorry to hear how sick your rabbit is :( Is coccidia the parasite your vet was talking about, particularly the hepatic variety?
 
Yes i think that's what they were talking about, Parsley our other bun had the E parasite in August last yr and they were both treated up until October for that as Parsley seemed fine, i dont know if the 2 are connected atall
 
This is a really good, easy to understand article on Coccidia:

http://www.galensgarden.co.uk/herbivores/health/coccidiosis.php


This extract talks about hepatic coccidiosis:
Hepatic (liver) coccidiosis in rabbits is caused by only one species, Eimeria stiedae. E. stiedae causes the bile ducts to thicken. The main symptom is growth retardation and it is rarely fatal, but in advanced chronic cases the rabbit can develop a 'pot bellied' appearance caused by enlargement of the liver. Treatment is with sulfaquinoxaline.
Click to expand...

The treatment we have had most success with before is Trimethoprim oral suspension. Its an aniseed flavoured liquid antibiotic from the sulphur family.

The dose rate is 4ml per kg body weight twice daily for 7 days. As coccidia is contagious good hygiene is essential and this includes the use of JEYES FLUID and boiling water on all surfaces and equiptment the rabbit has been in contact with. Jeyes must be well rinsed to remove any traces of Phenols before the rabbits come into contact with cleaned items. Note it is extremely toxic to cats.

All other in contact rabbits should be treated with the trimethoprim and other rabbits 'on site' should be treated with a cocciostat such as Coxoid (amprolium hydrochloride) which can be purchased online and given constantly in the water for 7 days.
 
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oh thankyou so much i was trying to find information on it earlier but it didnt say the mortality rate and it's good to know i'll need to get Parsley treated too was gonna ring the vets in the morning anyway (miffy's at the emergency vets) to see whether he needed to be treated and funnily enough we just miltoned the cage yesterday and made sure it was properly washed off so no bleach remaining.

She's not pot bellied so hopefully it's not the chronic stage she only started being poorly on 27th where she was diagnosed with upper respiratory infection then got worse by New yrs eve and as you can see from my avatar pic she enjoyed christmas day....that's miffy with her head in the present bag we put dill in it and they spent the next 4 days crawling in the bag to see if there was anything left in it hehe
 
These links may prove useful too:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=100711&highlight=coccidiosis

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=100210&highlight=coccidiosis

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=99949&highlight=coccidiosis

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=97494&highlight=coccidiosis

Did your other rabbit test positive for E. Cuniculi? EC can attack the liver and cause renal failure.....was the new test a titer test for EC antibodies or a test for coccidia concentration?

EC can also cause hind leg paralysis, which would explain her splay legs :?

Here is a link on EC:
http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rwf/articles/ecuniculi.htm

Were both your rabbits treated with Panacur (Fenbendazole?)
 
Yeah every single test he's had has shown higher levels of the parasite but since November they've not been able to get any blood from him and i'm to take him back in Feb to see if they can get any blood unless he showed any signs of illness before then but aside from when he was first ill in August (fell flat on his face and couldnt walk) you would'nt know there was anything rong with him. They've both had 4 courses of Panacur since August, the last being in October, Miff'ys bloods came back off the scale for the parasite but i dont know which parasite it was
 
I think the most important thing is to find out which parasite you are dealing with and what treatment your vets are administering.

Please read the links I have provided as they will give you a good understanding of what is happening (on EC and Coccidia) so when you speak to the vets tomorrow you know what they are suggesting and why, or even if what they are suggesting does not seem the correct path to take.

Incidentaly I get the impression you are in the US, is that right? As medication may trade under different brand names over there.

Please let us know how you get on and I will keep everything crossed for you.

Sooz x
 
No i'm in the UK. I think that's why they're sending her to a specialist hospital tomorrow that's deals with diagnostics i've just got everything crossed that whatever'swrong with her they can treat. I did tell them about Parsley have the EC though so it's proably more likely that it's that espeically as she's been poorly with this chest infection and it does seem to affect them more when they're unwell am i right??

Thanks so much for all the information, it's nice to know i'm not alone. Havent read through all of one of the links yet but how did your bunny with the Conn thing get on?
 
nina83 said:
No i'm in the UK. I think that's why they're sending her to a specialist hospital tomorrow that's deals with diagnostics i've just got everything crossed that whatever'swrong with her they can treat. I did tell them about Parsley have the EC though so it's proably more likely that it's that espeically as she's been poorly with this chest infection and it does seem to affect them more when they're unwell am i right??

Thanks so much for all the information, it's nice to know i'm not alone. Havent read through all of one of the links yet but how did your bunny with the Conn thing get on?
Click to expand...

Its a very long story but out of all the rabbits who went down with the coccidia, the suspected infected rabbit here (I run a rescue) and the two suspected carriers survived but our foster carer lost a lot of rabbits because the vet concerned failed to administer the correct medication immediately.

Thankfully my vet suggested the use of the trimethoprim which we passed on to the other people concerned (a couple of other rescues also fostered with her). No more rabbits were lost after this stage.

The first outbreak: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=97494&highlight=coccidiosis

When it reached us: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=100210&highlight=coccidiosis
 
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Ahh right oh i'm so glad your bunnies were ok, i've just finished reading that thread.......do u think i'd be better sterilising everything just incase? You see my bunnies are house rabbits and hey more or less have free range of the downstairs and can go upstairs on special occasions so is there anyway the bug could get onto the carpet? Coz PArsley does some territorial droppings everytime we hoover up and they jump on the furniture so does that need to be sterilised too??


I really admire you running a rescue centre, it's my dream when i retire to do something like but but i dont know if i'd be able to give them up lol
 
We've got a steam cleaner so i'll get my OH to do the lounge tomorrow while Miffy's not here and get Parsley checked out at our normal vets in the morning. Well one good thing has come out of me getting whiplash and a ?slipped disc it means i'm off work so can actually keep my eye on the buns hehe!!!

I've just been crying my eyes out reading these links you've given me it's so sad :(
 
nina83 said:
We've got a steam cleaner so i'll get my OH to do the lounge tomorrow while Miffy's not here and get Parsley checked out at our normal vets in the morning. Well one good thing has come out of me getting whiplash and a ?slipped disc it means i'm off work so can actually keep my eye on the buns hehe!!!

I've just been crying my eyes out reading these links you've given me it's so sad :(
Click to expand...

Sorry about that, and you need to excuse all the nastiness on some of the more heated links, it got very heated and emotional for those involved.

The point I was trying to make is that with the correct treatment the prognosis is good.

I really must go to bed now. :oops::oops:
 
Well Miffy's now at Ashleigh Veterinary rabbit specialist centre and m VERY impressed he gave her an extremely thorough examination and said that clinically he can't find anything obviously wrong. He's repeating her blood tests tomorrow morning once she'sgone 24hours without Baytril as he feels that may have affected her blood results last night and he's doing an x ray of her skull to check her teeth. At the moment it's looking like EC however he's not ruling out underlying dental problems but at root level so fingers crossed she'll be better soon xx
 
nina83 said:
Well Miffy's now at Ashleigh Veterinary rabbit specialist centre and m VERY impressed he gave her an extremely thorough examination and said that clinically he can't find anything obviously wrong. He's repeating her blood tests tomorrow morning once she'sgone 24hours without Baytril as he feels that may have affected her blood results last night and he's doing an x ray of her skull to check her teeth. At the moment it's looking like EC however he's not ruling out underlying dental problems but at root level so fingers crossed she'll be better soon xx
Click to expand...

Sounds like she is in expert hands! I do hope the results show nothing serious, or at least something treatable.

Did you find out which parasite your original vets were refering too?

Sending lots of (((vibes))) for a speedy recovery.
 
Sooz22 said:
Sounds like she is in expert hands! I do hope the results show nothing serious, or at least something treatable.

Did you find out which parasite your original vets were refering too?

Sending lots of (((vibes))) for a speedy recovery.
Click to expand...

Thankyou so much :) They think it's the EC as Parsley has already tested positive for it but they didnt notice and leg splaying today and the vet feels it might have just been because she's weak. I think she was glad to see us, she was climbing up me for cuddles and Miffy doesnt do being held she likes to come to you
 
nina83 said:
Thankyou so much :) They think it's the EC as Parsley has already tested positive for it but they didnt notice and leg splaying today and the vet feels it might have just been because she's weak. I think she was glad to see us, she was climbing up me for cuddles and Miffy doesnt do being held she likes to come to you
Click to expand...

Yes she would have difficulty functioning in that state. I really hope they are able to help her, she sounds lovely.

BTW if its not coccidia as we disscussed last night dont worry about the steam cleaning and Jeyes ;)
 
Things have gone downhill VERY fast, the vets just rang she's now bleeding a lot from her mouth so they're going to sedate her and x ray her lungs and c where the bleeding is coming from...i dont think my baby's coming home :cry::cry::cry::cry:
 
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