Advice please - Daisy

Hiya

Daisy had not been herself today - wanted some opinions please

First thing she just didn't seem herself - didn't run for pellets - BUT she took treats from me.

I threw pellets in front of her and its as if she didn't see them and was unresponsive (she is deaf also)

Picked her up and all ok apart from slightly swollen belly

Went to vet at 10am - teeth ok, food in stomach, only slight gas BUT one eye has the start of a cataract and the other unresponsive to light. Also temp was low at 34 (should be 37)

Treatment - metacam, metaclop, recovery, panacur

Since coming home she has varied - sometimes just sitting on her own unresponsive and not wanting to eat, other times scoffing hay, pellets and treats

I've locked the catflap to outside (she is in garage pen with Ben) put two boards down on carpet and a mound of hay - also she has free access to a two tier hutch full of hay.

Just wondering if I am being overly stressed about it :?:?:? Am checking her every few hours and have syringe fed 2 x 1ml recovery so far as she is eating.

The Panacur is obviously for EC - does it sound like she has it? Should Ben be treated with same dose? Do I need to be in a panic? :?:?

I think it is wise to keep a close eye on her tonight and make up any feeds that she misses with syringe food to keep her ticking over, I think that is very sensible.

I'm sorry to hear she has taken a turn for the worst today, it does all seem a bit odd doesn't it. The bloating and disinterest in food could be secondary to pain elsewhere and a symptom of something else going on, or it could be the primary cause and the 'eye symptoms' were just found coincidentally on examination. What did the vet think?

I think treating for an active EC infection is sensible, I'm not experienced with it at all but it seems a wise decision and shouldn't do any harm to treat with Panacur if not needed. I would do a full 28 day course if it were me and the same for her partner bun, and keep all food sources away from contamination with her urine (so put hay in a rack rather than in a tray to feed from) but obviously you will need to keep her warm. EC can cause a range of neurological damage and inflammation - possibly peripherally for the eye or even centrally in the visual cortex I suppose to cause these sorts of symptoms, I expect it will be difficult to tell without an MRI for example. Are her teeth ok? Could she have a retrobulbar abcess at all? This is just guesswork, i'm sure your vet has ruled these things out. There is a link with EC and cataracts I know.

I hope Daisy feels better soon.

ETA a low temp could be from the bloat/stasis alone. I would monitor her and if she does not feel warmer soon bring them both inside to an unheated room perhaps... or even heated if she is very hypothermic. Have you got some snuggle safes and/or an oil fired radiator that you can plug in safely without exposed cords? Perhaps up on a table? Or maybe a litre bottle filled with hot tap water wrapped in a teatowel (unless they are prolific chewers).

Thanks for this. I will get some Panacur for Ben too. Thier pen is below the central heating boiler which does give off some heat. I don't have Snuggle safes - should I go and get some??? She is not snuggling in the hay at all.

The only unheated room is my conservatory and tbh think its colder than the garage - I've put some chip board panels over the mesh areas of the pen and put carpet up around edges so no draught from below.

The water doesn't freeze in there - it does in Bungle & Nushkas kennel so guessing it's not too cold, plus extra hay.....

My only other thought was to lock them in the hutch to keep warm but I hate to see them constrained....:?

edit - yes teeth ok

She may just be too cold.
Her 'symptoms' tally with that. Although it is of course essential to adhere to the treatment prescribed by your Vet.

This weather is extreme and IMO even young and healthy Rabbits will struggle.
In the wild Buns would be in their burrows which, being underground, will be considerably warmer than a garage/shed/hutch in very cold weather.

If she is really very cold then you might need to bring her indoors with you for a little bit, just an hour away from her bunny friend shouldn't cause a bond problem with most buns, and it might be just what she needs to warm up in a warm room having a cuddle, but keeping stress to a minimum. Her temp did seem rather low and would indicate to me she needs a bit more warmth. When my stasis bun has been bad he has been like this too, but floppy also, and a good warm up in my OH's arms for an hour really brought his body temp back up nicely and perked him up.

It might be worth getting some snugglesafe's if you can if someone near you sells them. Otherwise litre drinking bottles with hot tap water work well enough for non-chewers, or stone hot water bottles which can't be chewed through are also very effective - the old fashioned human ones.

Keeping her eating will speed up her metabolism and raise her body temp too, so syringe if she won't eat herself. If her temp. doesn't get up and she gets unresponsive she will need to come into your house overnight.... you'll have to bring Ben with her and hope he can cope with the heat change - it's tricky with outdoor buns, or hope a few hours apart will be ok. I'm afraid both mine are housebuns so i'm not sure what i'd do in this situation. Very poorly and hypothermic buns might need a heat pad or incubator at the vets - I don't know how bad she is. If she's pretty responsive and hopping around then she's not severe. Good luck

Hiya

She used to be a house bun, this is her first winter,, but she has been out since July.

She has scoffed all her veggies just now My vet also called and says she sound ok just watch the food and poos.

Will keep checking her, mights try that warm water in bottle too - thanks