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Dexter is a poorly boy./ updated post 18

Hugo's There

Wise Old Thumper
Who said keeping animals reduced stress levels?? They obviously never kept rabbits!

Yesterday was a really upsetting day again. Steve popped Dexter in his run ( as we do everyday with no problems) and for some reason he ran full pelt straight into one of the shelters and collapsed. Steve came running into say Dexter had collapsed an died, so I dashed out in my socks to see Dexter flat out, rigid with his back legs stiff in the air. I don;t think I will ever get that image out of my head :(

Once I got to him I could see he was still breathing a bit but he was unconscious and I thought that was it, he must have broken his neck or back. I picked him up and held him in my arms expecting him to go at any minute, when suddenly he took a gasping breath. We rang the vets and they said to give him a bit of time to come round and take him up in 30 minutes.

I held Dexter for the whole time and gradually he managed to right himself, although he was still very weak and his breathing awful :( A vet examination found he hadn't actually caused himself any damage to his spine but has lost his sight and his responses and reflexes where practically non existent. The problem is we don't know which is cause and which is effect. Had he suddenly lost his sight over night which caused him to bolt into his house? or is it the result of concussion?

He has never behaved like that before and now has severe neurological symptoms :? But all we can do is wait and see what happens. He is back in on Thursday to see if there has been any improvement.

The poor boy is managing to eat a little today but his face is very swollen where he knocked it and he is on cage rest until his check up. When dexter first arrived we had to panacur straight away as where he came from had an ec outbreak so maybe that is a factor :?

Whatever the cause it is one of the most horrifying bunny experiences we have ever had :(

And to make things even better i was woken early this morning by Roxy having one of her bad fits, her's are so distressing to watch. I have to physically restrain her to stop her damaging her back again as they cause her to go stiff and her back legs go in the air so she is doing hand stands. She has slipped discs in the past during a fit but thankfully she seems Ok this time.

Sorry for another lengthy post :oops: I don't think our bunnies have ever caused us so much stress. I feel so many of their lives are hanging from a string at the moment and if I relax for a minute I am going to loose them all :(
 
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At a guess Liz I would say it was effect not cause. I can't imagine that he could produce enough force from running to do severe lasting neurological damage at that level. Nino ran into our new patio door a few weeks ago, not at full speed admittedly, but enough to daze him momentarily and make his cheek a bit sore for the rest of the day. I also have a friend who's bun ran full pelt like Dexter into a wall and knocked herself clean out, she was stuck down the side of a kitchen unit and my friend had to drag her out by her legs, she was floppy and spark out, she thought she had died, then she slowly came around. She was absolutely fine afterwards despite a severe concussion. I wonder if there is something a bit more neurological or vascular going on up inside Dexter's head to be honest. :? Poor you and Steve, what an awful frightening experience.

Hope both Roxy and Dexter feel better soon. x

ETA just seen the EC link.... I guess this is a possibility too? If it is concussion related then the symptoms may subside over time...
 
It was completely awful. He was rigid like a bun who had died an hour earlier :cry: he has never behaved like that before so i am also thinking there was a problem before hand :( But am really hoping it is the result of concussion so that he does get better :? :cry:
 
It was completely awful. He was rigid like a bun who had died an hour earlier :cry: he has never behaved like that before so i am also thinking there was a problem before hand :( But am really hoping it is the result of concussion so that he does get better :? :cry:

Well even if he had something pre-existing, a concussion like that is going to make him feel quite groggy and sore for the rest of the day, and exacerbate anything preexisting so it's going to be hard to tell isn't it. Poor boy :cry: I'm sure with some cage rest and lots of tlc you'll have a better picture as to what is going on.... hopefully. Will keep everything crossed he feels better soon x
 
Gosh, don't know what to say Liz. As it was a strange thing to happen I would probably agree with prettylupin that maybe it was something already going on.

Hugs to you and vibes to Dexter. I hope he improves.
 
It was completely awful. He was rigid like a bun who had died an hour earlier :cry: he has never behaved like that before so i am also thinking there was a problem before hand :( But am really hoping it is the result of concussion so that he does get better :? :cry:

Could he have fitted? I would have expected him to be floppy like my friend's bun :?
 
Oh how awful , my last bun did this he was fast asleep and didn't hear me coming jumped up and flew headlong into his hutch , was a bit dazed but thankfully he was ok .
 
Liz, I don't know what to say, except I think of you and your bunnies a lot. I only have to care for one really poorly bun and I honestly don't know how you cope. I know I am not really.

Thinking of you, Dexter and the other Rainbow buns.
 
What a shock you must have had. It's a good job you were there. I wonder if he was startled by something or something in the brain, very strange and scary. I hope both your buns are better soon:love:
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Blimey, that must have been terrifying to see. Poor Dexter, I hope some rest helps him recover. Vibes for Roxy too, thinking of you all xx
 
Could he have fitted? I would have expected him to be floppy like my friend's bun :?

This crossed my mind afterwards :?

So many things run through your head when you see him lying there first I thought he's dead, then I wondered why he was stiff so soon, then I thought it must be because he had broken his back/neck :?

I sorted him with breakfast an hour earlier and he seemed normal and Steve says he seemed fine when he picked him up from his hutch, did the normal running into sleeping compartment etc. Nothing indicated to me that he was fitting but I guess all fits can be very different :?

Given that it is his nose/cheek/ upper lip that is swollen I can't see that hitting himself there would have caused the blindness etc. More likely would have knocked teeth out.

I will be gutted if he is seriously ill as he was always considered one of our more healthy buns. He is 6 years old and has problems with his neck from a previous injury but have no history on how this happened, its never seemed to bother him.
 
Blimey - your description of what happened sounds awful! :shock::( Sending healing vibes for him and soothing thoughts for you and Steve. Am I right in remembering that Dexter was one of your particularly expert diggers? It must make the whole experience worse that he was one of your healthier bunnies and is now on the poorly list. :(
 
Blimey - your description of what happened sounds awful! :shock::( Sending healing vibes for him and soothing thoughts for you and Steve. Am I right in remembering that Dexter was one of your particularly expert diggers? It must make the whole experience worse that he was one of your healthier bunnies and is now on the poorly list. :(

He was, but the whole lawn has been meshed now so he can't get very far, doesn't stop him trying though !
 
Dexter has been back for a check up and unfortunately he is still completely blind. So it seems likely that he did have some kind of neurological incident before he ran head long into his house :cry:

He is eating and moving around OK but isn;t a very happy bunny at the moment. He is extremely nervous and agitated with a lot of foot banging, but we are hoping this will settle down with time as there is nothing medically we can do for him :(
 
Poor Dexter. :( It must be a very difficult adjustment for him to make. Is his partner (Betsey?) coping OK withhis foot-banging and nervous condition?
 
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