Syringe feeding and bunny burrito difficulties.

My six-month-old Netherland Dwarf bunny, Toby, went into the vet on Monday morning because of lethergy and a lack of appetite. The vet thinks it's probably a hairball and gave me both a laxative and some Oxbow Critical Care to syringe feed Toby (as well as to give him a bit of pineapple juice each day.)

Thankfully, Toby started eating a bit on his own later that day and is now eating just a bit more than half the amount he usually eats, so at least he's getting food in his tummy.

For the life of me, I can't syringe feed this rabbit. The first time I got help from a friend that works as a receptionist at the clinic. The next day my boyfriend and I spent ALL EVENING trying again and again to bunny burrito Toby and give him the syringe, but he WON'T do it. He completely freaks out when ever the syringe is put near his mouth; and wrapping him in a towel in the bunny burrito method is practically impossible because he refuses to stay still long enough to even start wrapping him.

The laxative is easy -- I actually just smear a bit on Toby's paw and he licks it off. Unfortunately this workaround doesn't work for the Oxbow because it's not sticky enough to stay on his paw.

Is there anything sticky I can add to the Oxbow to make it stick to his paw (this would be the easiest and less stressful method for this rabbit.) Honey? Could I mix some extra laxative in with it to make it stick...?

OR is there anything I can do to get this rabbit to stay still long enough to wrap him up? I've tried pressing down on his head and covering his eyes but he scrambles away after two seconds.

I'm running out of ideas. I need to give him some Oxbow to make up for the other half of the food he's not eating on his own, but I don't know how else to do this without stressing the poor guy out so much that I'm hurting him more by it than helping.

Banana?

If he is eating some by himself, can you tempt him using fresh veges and things?

If he has a blockage then he really needs to be hydrated too because that will help sort his gut out. Can you, as well as giving him plain water, also give him some water laced with something he might like (like apple juice, cranberry juice, or if he likes a particular fresh veg, try cutting that up or soaking it in water to make some special water for him?).

I can try the banana tonight, but I'm not sure it will work. Before I figured out the smearing on the paw trick for the laxative, I was trying to put it on lettuce that he loves, but he only touched the lettuce without the laxative. He's pretty clever. The smell tips him off I think.

He's actually been drinking the same amount as before thankfully. The drinking he never had much of a drop in at all. Still between 80mL - 110mL roughly a day.

The method I finally found was to put them on a table about midrift high with their bums to you, you put one hand across the back of their neck / shoulders and hold them firmly down whilst leaning over the top of them. You then use the other hand to insert the syringe into the side of their mouth and squirt.

No idea if it will help though :?

Could you mix the banana in with the CC to make it stickier?

Mine also are tricky with meds too, so I make a sandwich with a leaf on each side and the med in the middle. That works quite well. Irrelevant to you now you have found something that works, but potentially useful in the future.

Maybe you could just ply him full of fresh, if he eats that. That can help buns out of stasis.

Did the Vet administer pain relief?
Is your Bunny pooing? If not did the Vet rule out an obstruction?
I hope the 'Laxative' is not Liquid Paraffin ?(which will coat any ingesta and make it impossible to hydrate)

Did the Vet examin your Bunnies teeth? Although he is young Dental problems are still a possibility, particularly as he's a Nethie (a breed prone to Dental problems)

A 'Hairball' is a secondary symptom rather than a primary problem. The guts have usually slowed down for another reason, hence the ingested fur builds up.

Syringe feeding is often a stressful proceedure for a Bunny and should only be used as a 'last resort'. Stress alone can cause the GI tract to slow down.
Here is a thread about syringe feeding

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=116738

I hope your Bun feels better soon

Hmm, I like the sandwich idea. When I tried (and failed) with the laxative on the lettuce he could smell and see it there and wouldn't eat it. But maybe if I roll the Oxbow up enough in lettuce maybe it'll mask the smell enough to trick him into it.

Rabbits can't eat hunny, can they? Too sugary?

Jack'sJane prompted my memory. I meant to ask how he decided it was a hairball, and forgot, sorry.

So, how did he decide it was a hairball?

Jack's-Jane said:

Did the Vet administer pain relief?
Is your Bunny pooing? If not did the Vet rule out an obstruction?
I hope the 'Laxative' is not Liquid Paraffin ?(which will coat any ingesta and make it impossible to hydrate)

Did the Vet examin your Bunnies teeth? Although he is young Dental problems are still a possibility, particularly as he's a Nethie (a breed prone to Dental problems)

Click to expand...

Yes, he is pooping. The poops are a bit smaller than usual though, but he does seem to be pooping on a regular basis. The laxative is not paraffin, I believe it starts with an "L". They also said his teeth looked good, so no problems there.

Sky-O said:

Jack'sJane prompted my memory. I meant to ask how he decided it was a hairball, and forgot, sorry.

So, how did he decide it was a hairball?

Click to expand...

Um, I don't actually know. I took him in at 8:30 a.m. and went to pick him up at about 11:30 a.m. when they called me. The vet I'm seeing is rabbit-savvy though, so I trust her decision.

The vet herself was in another surgery when I picked Toby up, so the person I talked to was a technician I'm assuming and wasn't the one who checked him out.

beans_etc said:

Yes, he is pooping. The poops are a bit smaller than usual though, but he does seem to be pooping on a regular basis. The laxative is not paraffin, I believe it starts with an "L". They also said his teeth looked good, so no problems there.

Click to expand...

The laxative might be 'Lactulose' ?????

If so its important to make sure your Bun has a good water intake.
Does he normally have Fresh Veggies? If so that will help add to his water intake.
If he is eating a bit for himself and is pooing I would personally hold off the syringe feeds as he clearly finds the proceedure very stressful. I would try to tempt him with a variety of Veg ( as long as he is used to them ) and encourage him to drink. Bunnies tend to drink more from a bowl than a sipper bottle.
Exercise is a very important factor in promoting gut motility so hopping about 'free range' (supervised if outdoors) will help

First off, I checked the brand of the laxative, and it's called "Laxatone".

*Sigh* And secondly, I tried a few different things tonight:

1) Mixing the Oxbow with applesauce. Toby loves applesauce, but as soon as the Oxbow was mixed in he could smell it and refused to touch it.

2) Wrapping the applesauce/Oxbow mixture up in thick romaine lettuce. No luck either. He nibbled the end of the lettuce but when he got to any trace of the slurry he walked off.

3) Tried much less slurry, this time no applesauce mixed in because it got to be too droopy and too much to wrap, so I thought maybe if I greatly reduced the amount. Nope. He completely ignored the lettuce.

I finally just washed all the Oxbow residue off the lettuce and just gave him the veggie clean, and he chowed down. If he won't eat the Oxbow at least he'll fill up on fresh veggies. I just have to clever a rabbit to get away with tricks I guess.

Good news though is when I came home from work today all the pellets from the morning that were in his bowl were gone like they used to be. I gave him a bit more like I used to, and he's eaten most of them again. Other than the few small poops I'm still seeing on the floor of his cage, he seems to be eating pretty good again.

I will try increasing the amount of veggies he gets instead maybe instead of the Oxbow like you said. As long as he keeps eating the way he has been today I'm not as worried anymore. I'll keep an eye on his poops and see if they go back to normal size.

Sorry, and yes, Toby is still drinking the same amount he used to. He used to be on a bottle but I've switched him over to a bowl lately -- when I measure it out to be refilled though, it seems he's drinking the same amount.