Some Advice Needed Please

I would be grateful if someone could give me some advice regarding my rabbit.

I noticed towards the end of last week that my female (large) rabbit seemed quiet and was refusing what food that she would normally rush up to me for, so on Friday with the weekend looming I took her to a vet in Liverpool about 20 miles from where I live as I have used him before and he was recommended for rabbits.

On examination he said he could feel what he thought was a furball, gave me some metoclopramide, Zantac and lactulose, plus pineapple juice, critical care and said if I had any concerns to ring him.

As she lives with her boyfriend it is difficult to determine who is eating/pooing etc.,but I dont think splitting them up would be a good idea as they are constantly cuddled up together. Yesterday I thought she seemed a bit brighter but tonight I am not sure, her eyes look bright, she is so good taking all the meds (but I wonder if thats because she doesnt feel well) she is normally a friendly bunny, I just have a feeling like us owners do that she is still not right, still quiet, still not eating any food apart from the critical care which she initially swallows then seems to refuse to swallow it, and I think her tummy feels bloated.

Its one of those situations when I am really not sure about her, but any doubt in my mind and she will be straight back to the vet tomorrow.

Any suggestions please.

Many thanks Carole

Is she spayed?

i think a vet trip would be a good idea...they can go down hill so quickly..
i hope she feels better soon..
is there any jelly like stuff on her poops or bottom? if there is this is a sign of gi and needs to be seen and treated by the vet asap

I think she needs to see a bunny vet now.
I don't want to alarm you but buns can get a blockage on fur balls, when it combines with waste or food & dries out becaus the bun isn't drinking enough.
One of the signs is that the bun won't eat anything, & starts to swell up.

She needs to be very well hydrated to keep the fur ball soft. A vet may give fluids under the skin to help her.

ETA He may want to do a blood glucose test as guidance as to whether there could be a blockage.

I agree with thumps, your Bunny needs to be examined by a Vet again tonight.
If she has fully obstructed then it is a surgical emergency if she is to have any chance of survival

Please keep us posted, I do hope that she will be OK.

I agree get her back to the vet. She needs an xray or scan, to see where the blockage is. I don't want to alarm you either but I lost a bun to a blockage. He was messed around with meds for nearly 4 months and really his treatment should have been an operation to remove the mass. He had an op in the end but his intestines were so deformed that they sagged and so he has to be pts. If he had survived the op he would have been back in the same situation weeks down the line. Looking back I regret not pushing the vets for more aggressive treatment sooner, and wonder if he had survived the op if we could have somehow managed his condition. He was my angel, I still miss him 18 months on, it's like a dagger through my heart just thinking about it. I'd hate for anyone else's bun to end up in his predicament. Good luck with her, millions of pooing vibes x x

Thank you very much to everyone for your help, advice and good wishes.

Unfortunately my broadband connection was down so this is the first opportunity to post.

I took your advice and took her back to the vet today, he said he could still feel the furball, she had lost a little weight but he wasnt concerned at that at the present, he says that medication is always better than surgery and gave me some more medication plus metacam, upped the doseage of pineapple, and said if there isnt any improvement in 48 hours he will do xrays and whatever else he feels is necessary.

My rabbit sat on the table so quiet to which he agreed probably wasnt natural then when I put her in the carrier with her friend she started ripping up the newspaper like a thing possessed!!

As its lovely and sunny her this afternoon I have let them out for some fresh air to which she seemed delighted and we will see how the next couple of days go.

The vet was telling me that he hasnt lost hardly any bunnies over the years, and many of the local rescues use him, and he seemed very familiar with the RWA.

He also speciailises in exotics, so if anyone is in need of a good rabbit/exotic vet in Liverpool, give me a shout.

Carole

hows bunny today?

I hope something has moved for your bun today.
Yes, operation is usually a last resort.
I smiled at your bun ripping up the newspaper. It's a very good sign - she's well enough to have a full blown temper tantrum = "I HATE the vets - HATE, HATE, HATE," scrabble scrabble.

Please let us know how she is.

Thank you both for asking how my rabbit is today (I am a bit loathe to put her name) because everyone thinks its weird she is a large tortoiseshell bunny (not the one on the picture - unfortunately the lionhead died, and she has a massive head and when I first saw her in the rescue she just reminded me of a Donkey, consequently everyone just calls her Donk!!

Yippee just given her another lot of meds, bless her she just sits there think she is loving the attention!! and got her a few dandilions which vet recommended and she actually snatched some from my hand, so maybe things are just starting to kick in, because yesterday she ignored them.

She has been such a good patient dont even need to wrap her up in a towel, I got her from a rescue in Manchester one year ago, goodness knows why anyone would get rid of her, apparently they kept her sister! Anyway she has got a nice home here with plenty of space - their loss my gain! Heartbreaking though isnt it, luck of the draw where they end up poor things!

In answer to a previous question regarding whether she is spayed the rescue I got her from said she had but she ended up there from another rescue and when I tried to find out if she had been spayed they couldnt confirm it!

Anyway thank you so much for your advice and interest. Hope everyone else's bunny's are keeping well, and all those that are poorly at the moment get well soon.

Carole

Oh don't be embarrassed about her name. Donk she is.
If you know what sowthistles/milkthistles are, she'd probably really go for them too. I get mine from a nearby allotment - they're awful weeds!
(My bun has tummy issues too)

Well what a difference a day makes!!

She is so much better today, she is coming to see what I am bringing her foodwise, I went into Tesco on my way home from work to get her some fresh greens/herbs to entice her, she loved the long leaves on the carrots (but not the carrot itself) and broccoli, so hopefully onwards and upwards from now on.

Thumps thank you for your 'weed' recommendation, I will google them and see if I can find any.

Thank you again for all your interest.

Carole

:wave:I'm delighted to hear your good news. Well done.

If she's eating well, I wouldn't worry about the sowthistles. I forgot you are further North than us & they're almost at the dying off stage here.

I've a couple of tips for the future. Moulting is very stressful for a bun. They have to increase their energy intake by 40%. This can cause the gut to slow down without causing obvious symptoms.
Blackberry leaves/raspberry leaves are a traditional gut stimulant for buns. Worth adding them to her diet just before moulting.

The active ingredient in fresh pineapple juice is a lower gut stimulant - Bromeline. It's obtainable from health food shops. I don't know the dose for buns. It's a bit better than the pineapple because it doesn't have the fruit sugars which might destabilise the bacteria in the caecum when the gut slows.

Obviously we need to get as many moultings out before our rabbits groom. Some folk speak well of a furminator brush. I use the fine end of a comb. We have to do the partner bun too, cos they groom each other.

And doubtless I've just taught grandma how to suck eggs!:lol:
I hope you won't take offense. I just want you both to have stress free moulting times.

I havent taken offence at all, far from it, I have had buns for several years, but consider myself a novice.

I do have a furminator as I have 2 persian cats, they cant stand it but will definately try it on the buns, will also try the pineapple juice alternative, the vet did say to keep the pineapple juice going for both buns once a week, because a couple of years ago Minstral (he's the dutch rabbit) had a furball from constantly grooming his old friend.

I just noticed you are in Swindon not far from where I come from originally - Bristol - have found myself moving further north over the last few years for my husbands job.

Any advice is always gratefully received.

Another thing you might be able to help me with. My husband went to get me a bale of hay from local farm trying to be helpful except he came back with a bale of straw!! Well I presume its straw it certainly looks thicker and has those heads on (sorry dont know what they are called) I guess its ok to use this to line the bottom of their shed and then put hay on top, I have never bought straw before as I have always used just hay.

Thanks again.

TBH my bun had a furminator used on him while still recovering from a dental. It got loads of fur out, but when I came to comb him the poor boy was flinching!

Yes straw is fine for bedding & I guess will make an extra layer of insulation as it gets colder.

I've been to Bristol quite a few times. but although I've lived here for 33 years
my roots are much much further North. There's a lot to be said for any part of the country. Even this modern urban sprawl has fantastic countryside within a couple of miles.

It is a good sign that your girl is starting to eat. As a suggestion, if you can have a look at her poops and see if there is hair in them. They may even be strung together in a necklace but it would indicate that the hair ball is breaking up.

I had a dwarf lop who had a complete blockage at the pylorus caused by fur entrapping ingesta. He also dehydrated at this time making it impossible to shift the blockage without surgical intervention. Fortunately he was one of the relative few who survived this surgery but it was around three weeks of constant care to get him eating and the GI tract back to normal function. Moving the blockage without surgery is a far, far better option.

The picture below is what was removed from his stomach.