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Dylan is poorly now

Rhianna

Wise Old Thumper
I feel like I am in a horrible nightmare at the moment. I have already lost three fur babies to the Bridge this year and now my elderly bun, Dylan is ill.

When I went out to feed them earlier Dylan was lying on his side panting. He has no interest in carrot tops:( He doesn't seem dehydrated and has improved slightly since I put him in my bedroom in a carrier under a fan.

In case anyone wonders why I am posting here instead of rushing him to my vet, I have 'phoned out of hours and my vet is there dealing with another emergency. It is a one vet practice and I think Dylan is better waiting here under the fan than in their waiting room. He is picking up on my stress too so I am better off leaving him in peace until I can get him to the vet. I was told to go up at 8.50 am but will get there 10 mins early in case they can see me earlier.

I haven't paid Tabitha's bill yet and am worried the vet won't treat Dylan if I tell him I need to pay that in instalments so will tell him AFTER he has seen Dylan (my vet doesn't usually agree to instalments:()

Any future fur babies will definitely be insured, although at the moment I am thinking stamp collecting may be a less painful interest to develop.

I can't lose my Dylan bun yet. I know he is elderly but he was fine last night, apart from his arthritis, for which he has metacam.

Vibes would be really appreciated.
 
Loads of vibes for Dylan. Hope the vet can help him and hope its just the heat disagreeing with him.
 
I'm so sorry Dylan is poorly; hopefully it's something very easily sorted. Best of luck at the vet. xx
 
Thank you all. Dylan had perked up a lot by the time I got him to the vet. He definitely wasn't flopping and was feisty and kept trying to jump into my arms from the table (not bad for an arthritic bun).

His temperature was normal and his teeth don't need doing. The vet thinks he could be in pain due to his arthritis and gave him a vetergesic injection. He also gave me tramadol to give him if he seems less active and in pain. He wants me to try that before increasing the metacam due to the side effects of long term metacam use.

Dylan started nomming carrot tops as soon as I put him back in the carrier. The vet said it was too soon to be the injection working.

I've asked for a prescription for more metacam so I can get it from Vet UK (at a third of the price).

The total bill was £431 as he only charged for the consultation today, not the meds. Tabitha's bill wasn't quite as bad as I had expected. I paid it all as my card worked so I must be just under my limit. Will have to live on baked potato and beans for the rest of the month but the animals will get their usual noms:)

Am just relieved Dylan is lively again. I can't let him live in pain though so hope the tramadol works. I only have to give 1/8 of a tablet - doesn't seem a lot! He is such a gorgeous old man - seen so many buns come and go since I rehomed him and just accepts them all:love:
 
my silver furred old boy:love: hes adorable hun..i have just logged on and my heart sank..right to my feet:(

oh thank the gods hes ok...:love:

my vet said bertie could only have metacam:?

this humid weather is hell..and its not at the peak of summer yet....:(

when i took bertie and bluebell to the vets yesterday i had an ice pod int here...and found bertie snoozing on it still this morning where id put it for him on the floor in the lounge:lol:

ive got nikki really ill...poss relapse of her ME.....:( and shes sleeping still in the lounge...now shell not get back into her room for a long long time.....

bertie always knows and tries to give cuddles or sniff you until you laugh then he head binkies and lollops off....altho yesterday at the vets and at home i noticed how stiff his legs had got...almost as theyd been tied together.
dylans a well weahtered old gent....i guess the change in pain meds was what he needed...keep on nomming dylan.

its a pain having to tell folks about how the vets clean out your bank account....and they just look at you and go..why do you have pets then....i hate that!

karen did you know downlands has opened a branch in denmead? they do xrays and scans there and in patients etc.:wave:
 
I didn't know that Debbie, no. I am in two minds whether to change my vet or not. Can't decide.

Fortunately, I had this afternoon off work so have been checking on Dylan - but not too much as I am sure he picks up on my stress. I gave him some more carrot tops which he ignored but when I left the run and peered over it he was nomming them with gusto:)

I am just scared I will find Dylan in the same state tomorrow morning when the vetergesic has worn off. The vet only gave him that because I asked him to. I am already giving him more metacam than prescribed because the increased dose every other day wasn't enough for Dylan. Since increasing it he has been more active and has been using the ramp in his hutch again.

I asked about glucosamine as prettylupin kindly sent me some. Dylan's back legs are too far advanced with arthritis for it to make any difference but the vet agreed it could help prevent the arthritis spreading so I shall continue using it.

I was going to suggest visiting you and the furry ones over the weekend but it doesn't sound like Nikki is well enough:(
 
id love a visit hun...but yes nikki is very very ill...looks like a relapse of her ME..:( its a thing to behold...my 26yr old daughter crying like a toddler because everything hurts...and shes got a raging fever and sore throat swollen glands etc:(

iknow what you mean...berties had bloods taken because of the epilepsy meds primarily...but also the metacam...hes on a very high dose too:(

i asked our vet and she was like,....mmm dont know.....wouldnt think so......

but im going to research a bit more....on bertie...and dylans behalf:wave:

poor bertie tonight.....but why oh why when they have the choice of soft bedding do they go sleep on a hard lino floor with their chin on the edge of the soft bedding and their back end on the floor!!:shock: or is that just bertie:shock:
 
No, not just Bertie. My buns often ignore their bed - although to be fair it's often full of cats:) - and sleep in the most uncomfy spots, often right in the doorway.

The cats sleep in really weird places. Their fave is on the stairs. Getting up to use the loo at night (my loo is downstairs) and trying to avoid three or four sleepy fur babies on the stairs and then George and Gemma in the kitchen is like an obstacle course.

Millie likes to curl up in a box full of hard objects - it must be really uncomfy.

Dylan would appreciate anything you may be able to research to help his arthritis. I thought he had stopped eating again last night but he did nom some more carrot tops when he thought I wasn't looking!
 
omg karen..youve just described our household of snoozles:lol::lol:

vikki who had nino has suggested some glucosamine type pills....were going to give them a go. I cannot find much on the net thats any further help sadly...:? my mum was upset watching bertie trying to get up....i think she finally has realised as we have that hes obviously had it for sometime....but the fever and snuffles he had when bluebell was hospitalised greatly inflammed it and has left him worse than he was before.

my mum even bought him a special cushioned mattress type pet bed off the market a few weeks ago..it was reduced to £6 and she insisted on buying it...for "her" bertie boy:love: His nanny really loves him:lol:

he loves her right back...soft old soul:love:

i said if his back end goes too lame...but the pain could be controlled..id beg on the streets to pay for a cart..doggone wheels for him.....

these old gents....bless em:love:
 
It's the pain that worries me. It was horrible watching Dylan lying on his side panting last week.

He won't eat if I am watching (some of my buns are like that for some reason) so I have to hide behind the fence at the end of their run and peer over the top. My neighbours must wonder what on earth I am doing:oops:

He was nomming spring greens earlier so I think he is OK. I am running out of metacam and the vet didn't have time to write a prescription when I was last there. He charges £60 a bottle:shock: I can get it cheaper over the internet which is what I am going to do but am worried I will run out beforehand:(
 
Vibes for Dylan.

Its so hard when you've had all this come at once, so vibes for your bank balance too.
 
£60 for metacam? What size bottle do you get?

Also my vet said their are (at the moment) no long term side effects that have as yet happened from the use of metacam with rabbits (though there are with dogs and cats) There are always possibilities, but as yet he found no case confirmed, so he wasn't worried about my Benji being on it long term, he also said he can safely have up to 3x his body weight in dosage, Benji was 2kg, so he could of gone up to the 6kg dose.

I don't know anything about your situation or dosage with Dylan, but I thought you may like to know my vets opinion on Metacam :wave:
 
Rhianna, what vet do you use? It sounds expensive

I use Purbrook Vets. It's a 100 ml bottle. I am going to ask him why there is such a huge mark up - but I was too distressed about Dylan last time I was there. When I first went there I noticed he was much cheaper than my previous vet, but he seems to be more expensive than most now.

My bank balance is very much in the red:( My car cost a lot to get through the MOT last month too.

Any new fur babies I may adopt will be insured and I am going to look into getting some of my other pets insured too. Three of my cats are too old now but I may be able to get the other cats and buns covered.
 
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