my ickle pickle needs help!!!

hi all you bunny lovers!!!:wave::bunny::rabbit2:
i am a new member from the uk, in need of your help please!!!

i have an ickle dutch bunny, called pickle, whos 1 and a half years old.
shes a house bunny:angel::bunny:

last monday i had to take her to the vets because she refused to eat and just lay still all weekend.
very unlike her as she usually eats all the time and hardly ever sits still!!she loves snuggles, and gives bunny kisses all the time, but not at the weekend, she just wanted to be left alone.she never even cleaned herself like she usually always does.:rabbit2:

the vet checked her over and said it was her molars.:mrgreen:
they needed filing down because they were sharp and rubbing on her tongue and inside her cheeks
i felt sooooooooooo bad!!!!
like a really terrible mummy!!! although the vet said i noticed it really early
i love her sooooooooooo much, shes my best friend, and shes my ickle daughter!!!! :bunny:my ickle pickle!!!


i collected her later that day, thankfully she was ok from the op, the vet gave me some fibreplex to feed her,from not eating for so long and said she would take at least 12 hours to recover
she carried on to refuse to eat the next day, but wednesday she was eating only soft food like banana, a little greens, thats it.
she started to act like herself again, just not eating properly

friday she was the same so i took her to the vets again
they said she had bruising in her mouth and she was in pain which is why she only wanted soft food:!:
because she had eaten so little, her poops were very little and very black, and there were hardly any about unlike normal there are loads and they are big and round
the vet gave me some more fibreplex to give her for the next few days, gave her an injection for pain and gave me some drops to give her for the pain, 3 drops a day called metacam for dogs, believe it or not!!!
but she said it was fine for my bunny.
anyway she said to keep giving it to her until she starts to eat properly again
heres the thing,
she is behaving like she use to which is good, but she refuses to eat hay, so her poos are still very small and black, and again she is hardly pooing!!!

last night she was trying to go for a wee and poo for ages in her litter tray but nothing would come out!! her little body kept shaking trying to strain it out but it wouldn't happen
i massaged her belly but she just kept fidgeting in her litter tray lying down, trying to wee, lying down etc...

she has been drinking water all the time since all this started last weekend.
im really worried about her not eating her hay!!!

i know i have gone on abit, i just saw how much i have written!!!

but i really dont know what to do, i just want her well again.
shes my bubba!!! i want her back to normal:angel::bunny:

if anyone can help or has any advice, pleeeeaaaase help my ickle pickle!!!!:bunny:

thank you

joey
xx:rabbit2:

It sounds as though your Bunny needs to see the Vet again. If a Bun stops eating for just a few hours their tummy stops working properly. The Vet can give a gut motility medication to try to get things moving again. You may also need to syringe feed Pickle as her guts are obviously very empty.

Metacam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and it can have the side-effect of causing gastric ulceration. This is a particular risk if the Bun is not eating much. So your Vet may need to prescribe an anti-GI ulcer medication such as Ranitidine (AKA Zantac) or Cimetidine (AKA Tagamet). Obviously ulceration of the GI tract will cause tummy pain which will stop a Bun wanting to eat too.

I would advise you to take Pickle back to your Vet this morning as the symptoms you describe of her straining to poo and wee are a matter of considerable concern.
Good luck and please keep us posted

Aww Poor ickle pickle. I agree with Jane, i think you ought to pop her back to the vets this morning. She much be in so much pain trying to go to the loo Poor baby. Keep us updated - hope everything turns out to be ok xXx

ickle pickles waiting to go to the vets AGAIN!!!.....

HELLO AGAIN!!!!!:wave:

thank you for your advice!!!
ickle pickle has an appointment at 6.10, i spoke to the vet on the phone who said she shoud be eating normally by now, which she isn't!!

i will let you know what happens.

at the moment we may as well live at the vets!!!!:lol:

and its so expensive!!!!
almost £100 last monday!!!:shock:

have n't been billed for friday yet, and then theres today!!!

she was only £23.00 to buy!!!!

my boyfriend O/H (that means other half right???) bought her for me 2 days after i told him i didn't want a rabbit for a pet. but he went and got her as a "making up" present because we had a big argument!!! he turned up with this very ugly ginger baby bunny!!!!:rabbit2:
just her and a bag of bunny food!!! that was it!!!

i was not impressed!!!

but since that day, almost 1 and a half years ago me and pickles have such a strong bond!!!
shes my ickle ugly bug!!!! and i wouldn't change her!!!!

i now have another problem with her, since last monday, she has refused to wee in her litter boxes both in her cage and aroud the house!!!

she wees on her hay nest, in her cage and on the floor about 2 hops away from her litter tray in the house!!!:evil:

does anyone know why shes doing this????

she just uses her litter trays to lay in!!!


also, if i get pet insurace now, because i have n't up to now,( i know thats stupid of me but it was my O/H job to do that, i should have known i should have sorted it out!!! men!! huh!!!:lol would she be covered for her teeth??? which were filed last monday, just her molars.

thanks again for your help!!!!

joey and ickle pickle:bunny: xxx

They won't cover you for any problems she already has. So you'd still have to pay for dental problems.

I hope the appointment goes well.

It would be worth re litter training her, however, she might just be doing it because she feels really rough, or else, if she is having bladder and bowel problems she might not be going to wee, but just weeing when she can't hold it in any longer. So it might be worth asking the vet to check her bladder too.

As above said, they are unlikely to insure for problems already there so you may have to pay for future dentals.

hey there!!!!

the vet said pickles teeth are fine and there is no soreness, now hes concerned about her kidneys!!!:shock:

i have to take in a wee sample tomorrow so they can see if there is a problem there, because when he felt her belly near her kidneys she really didn 't like it!!:evil:

he gave her a steroid injection which he said would make her very hungry,
and to feed her baby food aswell as more fibreplex.

shes not shown any hunger yet, does anyone no how long it takes for the steroid injection to kick in??

shes still not eating hay or her food, has anyone else ever experienced this with their bun buns???:?:


thanks for the advice about telling the vet about her weeing everywhere, not in her litter trays!!:angel:
it just seems shes never going to get better!!!

he also said to feed her anything at the mo, just to get some food in her belly, any advice what to feed her???

shes eating banana, parsley, carrot tops, broccoli, apple and salad mix, but very little of each

he also said shes lost alot of weight, he weighed her, but he said she was still "portly" and that she still has reserves whils shes not eating!!!
i covered her ears when he remarked on her weight, after all, shes a lady!!!!

and shes boooo beeee ball to me!!!
i know she needed to loose some weight but i didn't want her to loose it like this

If she has lost it quickly that will be putting her liver under strain, and this is particularly the case in an obese bun. It might be worth asking for bloods to see if the kidneys and liver are struggling.

You need to make sure she is fully hydrated, because if he kidneys are struggling she will need to be kept hydrated.

When my buns don't eat, the first things they start to eat are grass, dandelion leaves and basil although if your bun hasn't had any of those before be careful introducing them. You can also try oats, but because she is struggling I would suggest soaking them in water (regular rolled oats, not flavoured or anything). Also just keep persevering with the things you have tried.

Has he suggested syringe feeding her?

If she was uncomfortable in her belly is he certain its her kidneys as opposed to her gut?