Need help with poorly bunny please! (UPDATE)

We recently bought a male Dwarf Lop to go with our 6 month old female house bunny. He seemed to be settling in well, we're waiting until he's old enough for the snip (he's a bit over 10 weeks old) before we bond them so they're kept seperate for now.

I noticed before going to work today (4.30pm GMT) that he hadn't been eating as much as he usually does, his pellets were untouched and there wasn't much poo. I had to go to work but let my partner know to check him when she got home. She rushed back from work at 7 and he was still pretty much the same apart from a really sludgy (almost slimy) bit of poo. We contacted the oncall vet who advised us to bring him to the surgery tomorrow morning at 9am but in the meantime she provided us with Fibreplex (which we were told was for diarrhoea) and Supreme Science Recovery (for nutrition as we're not sure how much he's eaten).

It's now 3am and we're deliberating over whether to get the on call vet out or wait until tomorrow. He's still not eating of his own accord but has been receptive to syringe water (we've read that it's a good idea to keep him hydrated) and we managed to get him to take some of the Science Recovery from a syringe too. Still no poo as yet, although he is weeing. He's also not as sprightly as he usually is but will hop about if he needs to use his tray or get away from his syringe wielding, frantic owners!

We're wondering whether syringe feeding him the Science Recovery stuff is a good idea? His tummy feels a bit bloated, almost hard on one side and when I massage it he seems to lean on my hand or lay down on it while I'm doing it. Neither of us can sleep, we're both really worried and unsure what to do.

Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated!

Could you call the on call Vet and tell them what is going on? I have no advice but know from experience once a bun shows signs of being sick they can turn very ill quickly. A Vet could tell you if you need to take him in now or wait.

It's a very dangerous and serious situation as my bridge bun Monty passed away because of this.

You're dealing w/ bloat, and I bet it's hard on the left side.

There is 2 ways to get bloat, some sort of gas inside him, or he chew on a piece of carpet or furniture. If the bloat is caused by a piece of furniture, there is very little chance of recovery.

Case 1) Bloat caused by chewing furniture

If it is a piece of furniture or carpet, it's blocking the small intestine, and surgery is needed to get it out. That kind of surgery is high risk.

Case 2) Bloat caused by gas. The gas can be from a piece of fruit like soft pear that has too much soft stuff, but usually it's due to a bun who doesn't have enough fiber (hay stem) in his system.

I believe your bun is in case 2. Because he can pee, but no poos. That's quite easy to treat.

Go to any 24 hr. drug store, get some infacol or Ovol, give him 2 ml every 2 hr., that will reduce the gas level.

Get him to see a vet tomorrow, and get your vet to prescribe the following, as bloat is caused by GI stasis

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=124510

How is your bunny this morning?I really think he needs to see a vet ASAP as It sounds like he may have a blockage

Hi, thanks for the replies! I fell asleep in a worried stupor at some point after making the post.

The bun is pretty much the same. The vet said it doesn't look good as the right side of his tummy is quite hard and apparently the petshop we bought him from may have been underfeeding him as we've only had him a few days and he's been eating fine with us up until yesterday.

He's been given 3 injections, one to get his system moving, one for the pain and an antibiotic. We've also been given Zantac Syrup and Baytril to give to him twice daily.

He's pretty cold and we have him wrapped in a towel in his carry case... He hasn't moved much at all since we've got home really. Neither of us have slept properly all night and we're still really worried about him.

The way the vet reacted after examining him lead me to believe she didn't think his chances are very good.

Oh I'm sorry to hear that. You're doing everything right though, and taking him to the vet was definitely the right thing to do.

I would imagine he has to go back to the vet to be checked in a day or so?

I'm thinking of you, hang in there ok?

aussiebun said:

Oh I'm sorry to hear that. You're doing everything right though, and taking him to the vet was definitely the right thing to do.

I would imagine he has to go back to the vet to be checked in a day or so?

I'm thinking of you, hang in there ok?

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Yea, we've decided to try and help him through the night and then go back tomorrow if nothing improves.

Thanks for the support! It's horrible ATM, there's nothing we can do apart from rub his tummy. I feel like we're on death watch.

Oh.......the poor little baby. Does he want to be held and comforted? Lots of good vibes for him and you both too.

bunnytoes said:

Oh.......the poor little baby. Does he want to be held and comforted? Lots of good vibes for him and you both too.

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Thanks

He's fine being held, infact he's even more docile than before. I can definately feel something in his stomach but it seems to be shifting towards his bottom! Fingers crossed!

That sounds like a good sign. I keep coming to check if there is good news.

Well that sounds positive!

I know how awful it is, but you're doing everything right so hang in there and see what the vet says in the morning.

I know you know this but it's critical that bun goes back to the vet first thing in the morning - we get lots of people on here that leave it way too long.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on, we're all thinking of you and your bun.

Hugs.

good luck to u.. i had a bun ths way for 5 days and she survived ... she was very much bonded to me after that .. they dont forget that u try to help them .. good luck

How is your bunny this morning?

We took him to the vet again this morning, nothing has changed. He's still not eating unless we syringe and his stomach is getting more bloated. Infacol doesn't seem to be working as well as we had hoped it would.

We were told again that it doesn't look good and that they would have kept him in overnight but he may be more comfortable at home at this stage.

He's still alive after 2 full days of this so we have some hope! Is anyone aware of any fringe, 'out-there' ideas for rabbits in stasis as we're getting desperate now.

Thanks again for all your thoughts

Sciffy said:

We took him to the vet again this morning, nothing has changed. He's still not eating unless we syringe and his stomach is getting more bloated. Infacol doesn't seem to be working as well as we had hoped it would.

We were told again that it doesn't look good and that they would have kept him in overnight but he may be more comfortable at home at this stage.

He's still alive after 2 full days of this so we have some hope! Is anyone aware of any fringe, 'out-there' ideas for rabbits in stasis as we're getting desperate now.

Thanks again for all your thoughts

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Has he had any pain relief ? This is essential in all cases of GI stasis/bloat.

I would have thought that an abdominal Xray would be in order by now to assess more acurately what is going on in his abdomen.
Could he have ingested something that he shouldn't ?

His symptoms do sound to be consistent with Coccidiosis.

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

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171332.htm

and I wonder if he should actually be on a different abx (Septrin) to cover this possibility.

I do hope that your Bun can recover but from your posts it sounds as though he has a fight on his paws

Please keep us updated

Jack's-Jane said:

Has he had any pain relief ? This is essential in all cases of GI stasis/bloat.

I would have thought that an abdominal Xray would be in order by now to assess more acurately what is going on in his abdomen.
Could he have ingested something that he shouldn't ?

His symptoms do sound to be consistent with Coccidiosis.

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

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171332.htm

and I wonder if he should actually be on a different abx (Septrin) to cover this possibility.

I do hope that your Bun can recover but from your posts it sounds as though he has a fight on his paws

Please keep us updated

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Yep he has had some pain relief yesterday morning aswell as this morning at 8am when we took him back to the vet.

We have an appointment for 5pm today for a re-assessment, would it be worth requesting an x-ray? The vet didn't mention one this morning.

UPDATE: While I was writing this post the rabbit ate a fairly large sized piece of spring green which he chased down with some hay! We're trying to not get too excited but it's the first thing he's eaten of his own accord in 2 days! I'd just syringed him some water and made him hop about a bit when we thought it'd be a good idea to try the greens. We're gonna go through the whole process again a bit later, maybe something we did leading up to it pushed things along!

It's been going on since Saturday night (it's now Tues, 1pm GMT here) and he still hasn't pooed.

We've been given some metacam and zantac to administer and while he seems more comfortable than before nothing is being passed. He is weeing and grooming and we've managed to get him to eat some spring greens and hay but it's not nearly enough.

His stomach is swollen and I can occasionally feel little hard bits inside which have moved about quite alot since it all began. We've been giving him Infacol for the bloatiness (thanks to Happy Hopping for the heads up on that one! ) but he still looks like he's got a small balloon in his stomach!

We're not sure what to do now. There's lots of conflicting information on the internet about whether or not to feed him Science Recovery during this time as there may be a blockage, but I'm lead to believe that NOT feeding him could be just as bad?

Yesterday the Vet said that he is doing better than he was and that she expects poos soon, but that it can take a while for things to start moving again. I'm not sure whether to take stock in this though, as from what I can gather this is a perilously unpredictable situation.

3 days and no poo... How much longer can this go on?

That's very frightening. If I were in this tough situation, I would continue to use infacol, hoping it will bring down the gas.

But I won't bother a full diet, I would go with just enough to get by, because of the blockage.

The rule of thumb is, if your bun doesn't chew furniture or carpet, and you didn't notice him chewing any furniture or carpet lately, then that's a good sign. Because the gas is caused by his GI stasis, not something external like a piece of carpet.

You should also keep him warm, in a room that is warmer than room temperature, say 23 deg C, that should boost his metabolism a bit.

Having said that, the above situation is still dangerous, because there is still a blockage to stop the poo from coming out.

read thru this thread starting with page 1, as Jane's bunny Stanley has the same problem as you do:


http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=172711&page=7

Thanks again for the help Happy Hopping!

Hoppus has finally started passing some really pastey poo, aswell as a yellowy/whitey mucous. It all smells disgusting and is a beast to get out of little rabbit fur and our furniture but I can't say I'm that bothered right now after the fright we've had the past couple of days!

His stomach is still distended but we're gonna keep up with the Infacol and tummy rubs and keep hoping.

My partner and I are so grateful for all the help and support we've received from everyone on this post and we'd just like to say thanks again. We've been close to tears a few times the past few days as he's such a loving and beautiful little rabbit already and we really don't want to lose him and doubt we'd have got this far without the advice and support you've all shown!

I'm so glad your bun is doing better. That white mucus does sound like coccidiosis, but Happy Hopping could tell you better than me.

Happy Hopping, you are awesome. I'll be sure to annoy you with PM's whenever my buns are sick. You don't live near Seattle, do you? :roll: