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Infacol - how much to give?

C

Carole

Warren Scout
Hi, I wonder if you can help me, my large rabbit has gone quiet again today, similar symptoms as before when she had statis.

I just spoken to my vet who is excellent with rabbits, but unfortunately is not close in distance to me. I still have some medication here which he told me to give along with pineapple juice and infacol, I am sure he said give 3ml of infacol, a couple of times tonight, but now I am wondering if I got that right.

Obviously I am going to keep a close eye on her, and should she take a turn for the worse I will be in contact with him immediately and I have an appt for tomorrow.

Just wondered what the normal recommendations were for using infacol?

Thanks

Carole
 
Its fairly difficult to overdose on infacol and each dropper is 0.5ml so for a large bun I'd probably give 1-2 droppers then again an hour later if no improvement

From what the vets said at the RWAF conference last year, infacol doesn't have any proven effects in rabbits in terms of stasis, but it is commonly reported to help with gas accumulation but breaking down the air into smaller bubbles that are easier to pass in either direction.

So it shouldnt do any harm if the cause of stasis isn't gas, and may help particularly with the discomfort of distension, if it is.
 
Thank you very much for your replies, I have just given her another lot and some more pineapple.

When I went out she was sat very quiet in a litter box, she is a big rabbit, absolutely gorgeous and its heartbreaking to see her like this.

I obviously do my upmost to look after them when they are ill, but I am rubbish at dealing with the emotions of it all.

When I brought her in just to give her the infacol etc I could hear a sort of clicking noise coming from her mouth/face, so now I am wondering if her teeth are ok, they were when they were checked late October.

I must admit I am getting scared now each time I go to her hutch, she lives with her boyfriend, and I am worried what I will find.

I had a long chat with the Vet and he seemed to think she would be ok for the night, but I cant wait to get her to him tomorrow.

I do have local Vets here, but in all honestly I would rather travel further to see a Vet that is excellent with rabbits.

Thanks again I do appreciate all your help.

Carole
 
What meds has she had ?

Could the 'clicking' be tooth grinding, a symptom of severe pain ?

Has she poo'd today ? If not then personally I'd want her to be examined by a Vet tonight as there is a risk that she might have a GI obstruction. If so then gut motility meds such as Metoclopromide are strongly contraindicated.


Also, if her GI tract has completely shut down oral medication will be ineffective and they need to be given via injection. Fluid therapy, subcutaneous or IV, is also essential.
 
Hi Jack's Jane

She has had metoclopramide, pineapple juice, zantac, meloxivet (is that a pain killer) and infacol.

As she lives with her friend it is difficult to tell who is eating and doing what, but when I brought her in to give her some meds, I put her on the floor and some small poos came out.

Thank you very much for getting back to me - Carole
 
Sounds like she's on the right stuff and is under the guidance of a vet.

Personally I don't advocate the pineapple as it probably doesn't break down hairballs, which are rarely the cause of stasis anyway, and the sugars are shown to slow gut motility.

I'd also try sitting her on a heatpad (inside a pet carrier if she wont let you hold her on one) to see if that eases the pain. Keeping her warm generally should help as being ill will make it hard for her to maintain her body temperature outside, but being with her partner is also essential so don't separate them.

I hope she has a comfortable night and the vet can help her in the morning.
 
Hi Vickivet, Thank you very much for your replies.

I live in Warrington and have found an excellent rabbit vet in Liverpool, and as we are 20 miles or so away I had a long chat with him on the phone and because I paid for some extra medication last time (end Oct) I still had some which was still in date, so he told me just to get going with that again plus the infacol.

My other rabbit had statis several years ago which is when I found this vet and it did a type of an x-ray, cant remember what it was called, and that was a huge hairball.

I have just been in again to see her and I my instinct tells me she is brighter, as she struggled when I picked her up, can usually tell!!, but am still taking her at 4 today incase its her teeth.

Will keep you updated, thanks very much for the help and advice - Carole
 
You're welcome - the x-ray your vet did before was probably a fluoroscopy or dynamic x-ray, which would show up a hairball using dye.

Its still something being very intensely studied, but hairballs are almost always present to some extent in every rabbit at post mortem, so are probably fairly normal. They only tend to cause a problem during a moult if the rabbit consumes really large quantities or if the rabbit becomes dehydrated, which commonly occurs with other forms of stasis, such that the hairball itself becomes dehydrated too and becomes an obstruction.

Its great to hear you have found a good vet in Liverpool, hopefully they'll find the cause or at least confirm that the stasis is over. I agree - they're definitely feeling a little better when they start to struggle!
 
VikkiVet said:
You're welcome - the x-ray your vet did before was probably a fluoroscopy or dynamic x-ray, which would show up a hairball using dye.

Its still something being very intensely studied, but hairballs are almost always present to some extent in every rabbit at post mortem, so are probably fairly normal. They only tend to cause a problem during a moult if the rabbit consumes really large quantities or if the rabbit becomes dehydrated, which commonly occurs with other forms of stasis, such that the hairball itself becomes dehydrated too and becomes an obstruction.

Its great to hear you have found a good vet in Liverpool, hopefully they'll find the cause or at least confirm that the stasis is over. I agree - they're definitely feeling a little better when they start to struggle!
Click to expand...



Hi it was a fluroscopy, I remembered the word as soon as I got into work. I took both of them to the Vets today as Minstral the Dutch male, who must be about 7 years old now, seemed quiet too. The Vet was very thorough checked them both over, Donkey (sorry about the name!) who I was worried about last night, the vet said she could hear bubbles and movement in several places around her tummy, but with Minstral she couldnt hear anything, so she has given me a whole load of medication, some of which I will keep just in case it happens again, so now I am going to be busy medicating both of them with Infacol, Pineapple, metoclopramide, zantac, meloxivet, and see how it goes.

Both of their teeth are absolutely fine, so its a bit of a mystery as no other symptoms other than not eating much and both quiet.

Thank you every so much for your interest - your bunnies look lovely - and I notice you are at Vet School, do you mind me asking you if you are in the North West as I have had a lot of dealings with the Liverpool University Small Animal Hospital.

Carole
 
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