Advice on sick special needs bun

Hi

I haven't posted a lot recently but I really need some advice on my rabbit, Star. He has no incisors and a bad spinal deformity. His appetite reduced last week so I took him to the vets. He had some spikes on his molars so got them rasped. He can't scratch his ears due to his spine so got his ears cleaned too. One ear was slighlty inflamed so he was given Baytril for that, he gets meta cam for his spine anyway and was given zantac to keep his guts moving. Star is really bright within himself but his appetite hasn't increased! I'm syringe feeding and have offered him dandelion leafs, hay, pellets. I have tried soaking his pellets but he is really reluctant to eat. He is booked back in at the vets for blood tests. He got an xray to rule out problems with tooth roots.

Does anyone have any ideas what else I can do to stimulate his appetite? He is a small Netherland dwarf so only weighs 850 grams so really can't afford to lose any weight.

Thanks in advance
Lxx

sounds to me like you are doing all the right things ...

just keep up with tempting with his fav stuff and persevere with the syringe feeding .

what about porij oats soaked in water to allow him to build up wieght? prehaps try baby food too (vegitarian only and low salt for young babies) i found mine will lap up hipp red berry compote when poorly. im not sure but fingers crossed for your bun.. how does his spinal problems affect movement can he still hop? or is he now just lead there? personally i believe a rabbit who cannot hop at all or eat (and i know people will shoot me for this) has a very small quality of life coupled to the pain he may be in..... maybe it is his time what a difficult decision to make actually... thinking of that how about uping his metacam dosage? i wonder what his best interests are obviously its hardest to tell from the outside and only you and your vet can determine his quality of life but if he is loosing wieght it may jsut be his way of saying he is done? (so sorry that hasnt come out sounding as compassionate as i wanted)

Thanks for the replies. I should have said he was a neglected rabbit and couldn't walk when I got him. He can hop fine now but his balance isn't great. Also he isn't losing weight (used to weigh 450 grams) so 850 is the heaviest he has been. I'm just worried he is going to lose weight.

lxx

Reduced appetite/slow guts suggest to me he is uncomfortable. Can your vet up his pain meds? My spinal probs bun is on high dose metacam and occasional calpol for the bad days (vet approved and given dosage), but it was suggested that we try an opioid pain med if he is consistently in pain. The old option was only vetergesic (sp?) which was injectable and had to be done by a vet, but now they are sugegsting an oral version which is used for people and you can administer at home. It comes in gelatin capsules but they split the contents of the capsules to get the right dosage, can't for the life of me remember what it's called but it begins with a T (sorry, no help really eh!). Maybe ask if your vet has heard of it?

The problem is that opioids can affect gut function, and if he has probs with that already it may not be the best idea. Also, my personal opinion is that when you are getting into needing really hefty pain relief, there is an issue of quantity v quality of life. Obviously I don't know Star so am not commenting on his situation. Luckily we are not there yet with Barney, cos it's not something I am looking forward to having to consider

Baby food is a good idea, maybe even try sultanas, my bub jelly bean would only eat sutlanas during his last couple of days.