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At Wits End......

M

marley1982

Young Bun
Hello

I have posted on here several times now about my boy Douglas... I am really worried and just dont know what to do for the best...

i am now in the third week of syringe feeding him, to summarise he stopped eating 3 and a bit weeks ago, had an emergency dental and then wouldnt eat, it has been a worrying three weeks and we have been back and forth to the vets, his teeth are now fine and he has no blockage. Just when we seem to be making progress with him we take a step back, for instance last night he produced a lot of poops, they were very small but loads in number. he was attacking brocoli (he has been eating veg but not drinking water or eating pellets or hay - hes not a hay eater despite best efforts) Today its like being back at square one - hes not eating much veg and has not so far produced any poops.

Has been on daily Metacam, metroclopramide, gripe water and I aslo started worming with Panacur.

If any-one has any further advise, I would be so very grateful.

Just want my little man well again
 
What is his general demeanour like ?

What is his weight and what dose of Metcam is he on ?

Has the Vet made any comment on how his abdomen feels on examination ?

I am assuming that his Dental was carried out under GA ?
 
He is on 0.4ml of metacam (i think its the dog or cat suspension) he is just under 2kg, he is generally very well in appearance, he is still grooming and on milder days we have been putting him out in the garden there have even been small binkies (although not today) there has been a little bit of teeth grinding over the three weeks but not most recently.

The vet suspected a partial blockage on his second examination, but he was xrayed on wed and everything looked great.

yes dental was carried out under GA on the friday (three weeks ago)

xxx
 
A lot of time with statis you do have a few peaks and trofts.
If he is still eating- however small amount then he is doing well, just try to increase his fluid intake by offering wet veg and if you are syringing him then syringe feed him small amounts of cooled boiled water or peppermint tea. A lot of the time if the hydration is sorted out it makes every thing progress.
Give him gentle tummy rubs if he will let you.
I was also wondering about the dose of metacam he is on, it may need tweeking.
 
When Poppy had her dental she stopped eating and we syringe fed her for a month but still putting her food bowl in, and one day she started eating, not a lot but it gradually came back. She doesn't eat hay so is on a planned out pellet diet :) I think she would have come along a lot quicker if we had a stronger and longer dose of metacam.

She had the majority of her teeth done so it was a big thing too but she has managed to keep them down enough to not have needed another dental since April!

Sending loads of vibes!! x
 
thanks to Obsessed with animals for the vibes - much appreciated.

@Rachlou - have you had experience with stasis lasting this long? I have been trying to get fluids into him as much as possible without stressing him, his critical care is quite watery in order to try and hydrate him - do you think that is ok? also are you thinking his Metacam is too low?
 
The dose of Metacam he is on is tiny

Also, the Dog and Cat Metacam are different strengths. The Dog Metacam is 1.5mg Meloxicam (active ingredient) per 1ml, the Cat Metacam is 0.5mg Meloxicam per 1ml. If it is the Cat one you are giving him then the dose is so small it wont serve any purpose at all.

Has the Vet suggested running a blood test ?

Th use of an anti GI ulcer medication such as Ranitidine (Zantac) might be a good idea as Rabbits are prone to GI ulcers if they are not eating and Metacam is also a gastric irritant which could exacerbate the problem.

Has the Vet checked his teeth again ? Unfortunately 3 weeks of not eating fibrous food is long enough for significant spurs to regrow. So he could actually have mouth pain again.
 
@Aly&Poppy - thank you... im not glad you had that experience but it is reassuring to know that it can go on for such a long period of time
 
Hi Jacks-Jane

ive got the bottle in front of me and its Loxicom 1.5mg/ml oral suspension for dogs.. the dosage was via my vets 0.2ml per kg of weight

have i been underdosing Dougie?

Unfortunately my hubby took him down and so I never get the FULL story but he did a full teeth check, im not sure on the ulcer side of things and i do not think a blood test was mentioned as if it had been then my hubby would definitely have gotten one.

this might sound stupid but would an ulcer show on a xray?
 
Last edited:
marley1982 said:
@Aly&Poppy - thank you... im not glad you had that experience but it is reassuring to know that it can go on for such a long period of time
Click to expand...

It was a horrible thing, she lost so much weight and her stomach was always grumbling. There is always someone on here who has been through the same/similar :) I don't have masses of knowledge but I have first hand experience and it's a case of perseverence, we know Poppy didn't want to give up so we didn't, it felt longer than a month but she is enjoying her food by herself now :)

We had to fight her so to speak to feed her but it had to be done and I think once her ulcers had gone down and her teeth recovered properly then she started eating by herself, whereas when Leo had his dental it was instantly back to his food and hay, I suppose it's the type of dental too as Leo's was only a small one.
 
marley1982 said:
Hi Jacks-Jane

ive got the bottle in front of me and its Loxicom 1.5mg/ml oral suspension for dogs.. the dosage was via my vets 0.2ml per kg of weight

have i been underdosing Dougie?
Click to expand...

My Vet prescribes a dose rate of 0.2ml-0.4ml/kg/24hrs of the dog Metacam - ie 0.3mg-0.6mg/kg

So a 2kg Bunny would be prescribed 0.4ml-0.8ml a day.
 
@Aly&Poppy - did you do night feeding aswell? I have been getting up in the night but not sure whether I should be giving him a rest. I have experienced statis before but the maximum was four days and that was because we didnt realise we had to syringe feed every hour and once we did that he recovered straight away. Doug has always managed fine after his dentals previously but did go into stasis after being spayed. It is so awful, you just dont know what to do for the best most of the time

@Jacks-Jane - so in theory I could double his pain meds? its hard balancing trying to help him without stressing him too much ie trips to the vets but the ulcer thing may need investigating - are there any symptoms with a GI Ulcer?

Again thanks to you all for your help.... i really really appreciate it x
 
marley1982 said:
@Aly&Poppy - did you do night feeding aswell? I have been getting up in the night but not sure whether I should be giving him a rest. I have experienced statis before but the maximum was four days and that was because we didnt realise we had to syringe feed every hour and once we did that he recovered straight away. Doug has always managed fine after his dentals previously but did go into stasis after being spayed. It is so awful, you just dont know what to do for the best most of the time
Click to expand...

We fed her 4 times, maybe 5 times a day of about 2 full syringes of the recovery stuff/her watered SS pellets and a bit of banana or strawberry in the small syringe as it was the only thing she enjoyed taking from us lol. We thought night feeds because of her tummy rumbling but didn't. She still put on weight and her tummy stopped making noises after about a week or 2.

Pops was spayed on the 16th this month and I was so scared she would stop eating but thankfully she hasn't. It was a horrible time, I was just willing her to eat all the time and got so upset about it but my bf told me she would eat when she was ready and we would just have to carry on. I dread her next dental whenever that will be, she has misaligned teeth and abscesses on her jaw so she's a difficult dental bun lol. I think rabbits just like to worry their humans and take their time :roll: :)
 
I think they do like to worry us!!! We have twelve rabbits at the moment (kind of an unofficial rabbit rescue - we have taken loads of unwanted and strays in) Despite my best efforts at least one of them always seems to be poorly and I just go to pieces with worry. They are beautiful little animals and also so complicated. I got really upset in Pets at home today witnessing a couple buying a rabbit for thier daughter of approx two... i know you cant judge everyone as being a bad home but when i looked at the rabbits I just wanted to take them all home.

How often does Poppy need a dental? Poor little thing with her teeth. Are her absesses always occuring?
 
I'm sorry Douglas has been poorly for so long :( I hope you can get to the bottom of his problem and get him eating for himself again soon. Sending lots of vibes xx
 
marley1982 said:
I think they do like to worry us!!! We have twelve rabbits at the moment (kind of an unofficial rabbit rescue - we have taken loads of unwanted and strays in) Despite my best efforts at least one of them always seems to be poorly and I just go to pieces with worry. They are beautiful little animals and also so complicated. I got really upset in Pets at home today witnessing a couple buying a rabbit for thier daughter of approx two... i know you cant judge everyone as being a bad home but when i looked at the rabbits I just wanted to take them all home.

How often does Poppy need a dental? Poor little thing with her teeth. Are her absesses always occuring?
Click to expand...

That's lovely what you are doing :) we rescued Leo from the people up the road to my bf, he is a German lop and they kept him in a single 4 x 1 x 1 hutch which was rotten where his 4 years worth of wee had been seeping through.. he is now neutered and litter trained and to be bonded with Poppy at the end of the month :) Yeah :( a girl who was in the year below me had a baby and when he was 9 months old she got him a rabbit.. and he's in the smallest rabbit cage you can get from p@h :( I do hate that girl.. people don't realise how expensive they can get and what they need.

Pops has only had that one dental but has checkups in case she does need one, she grinds her teeth sometimes but its just habit for her now. Her absesses were really bad and quite big but the antibiotics really brought them down. She still has very small ones but we have random courses of antibiotics to keep them from getting so bad.
 
I strongly agree with Jane re pain relief & zantac.
Metaclop only stimulates the top 1/2 of the gut. Zantac simulates the bottom part of the gut, as well as reducing acidity, so you really need both if there is prolonged stasis.
Also you need to continue the drugs for at least a week after he comes out of stasis gradually reducing them.
My Thumper was very stasis prone, & needed frequent dentals. He always had metacam & gut motility drugs for a couple of days after a dental.;)

I well know the problem of a bun who can't eat hay or grass. He would eat certain safe tree/shrub leaves to give the fiber necessary to keep his gut moving well.
If you pm me I'll post you a box of the special "stasis" leaves you may not be able to find in Tyne & Wear. It's much further North than we are. You may just be able to find a few wild blackberry leaves in a sheltered spot. Those are well worth trying too. Be careful of the thorns when gathering them. I used to remove the thorns on the leaves with a thimble on my finger before feeding them.
 
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