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Help!! Casper not looking very well

Joanne Jenkinson

Joanne Jenkinson

Mama Doe
He was fine this morning, ate his pellets, had some herbs at lunch and went to let them out into the garden about 30 mins ago and he is not himself. He keeps lying down, he is cleaning himself but not interested in anything I offer him to eat. Not even grass or treats that he normally wolfs down. Have felt his tummy and it doesn't seem bloated.

Not sure what to do. Vets of course have just closed!

Any ideas? He isn't grinding teeth or sitting hunched (yet!) but just keeps lying down.
 
I woud definitely call the vets. They will have an out of hours number to contact.

The sooner you can get it sorted the less of an issue it will be hopefully :)
 
Joanne Jenkinson said:
He was fine this morning, ate his pellets, had some herbs at lunch and went to let them out into the garden about 30 mins ago and he is not himself. He keeps lying down, he is cleaning himself but not interested in anything I offer him to eat. Not even grass or treats that he normally wolfs down. Have felt his tummy and it doesn't seem bloated.

Not sure what to do. Vets of course have just closed!

Any ideas? He isn't grinding teeth or sitting hunched (yet!) but just keeps lying down.
Click to expand...

I am afraid that you probably need to call the out-of-hours Vet. Casper may need some pain relief at the very least.

Have you checked his rear end if he is seeming to be cleaning himself excessively ?

Has he had a normal fecal output today ?
 
Have just checked his bottom. He has a small amount of poo stuck to him, nothing major. Not sure about fecal output as the two of them are in there not sure whose is whose. But there are a couple of poos that have caecals stuck to the normal poos?

Am going to ring vet now. He is very lack lustre.
 
We're back. Vet said he had a bit of a swollen tummy. His teeth are fine. So she gave him Metacam and Vomend(?) and she gave me critical care to give him. £114 as it was out of hours! But as long as he is okay it doesn't matter about the money.

I feel like such a failure as I try to give them the best diet and they still get tummy problems. Charlie had the same thing in January. Vet asked me what I was feeding them and I told her and she said they were having the perfect diet.

I feel so sad that I just don't seem to be able to get this right.

Anyway, I hope that Casper will now recover from this!

Thanks for your support all! XX
 
I hope he feels better soon :)

Yes, you can control the diet but there are other things that impact on their gut that you can't control, such as weather, moulting, stress levels, illness, etc. all you can do is manage what you can, and you're managing it to the best of your ability. You're not able to control everything, so don't feel like you should.

Out of interest, if you think this is diet related, what is it you feed?
 
I feed constant hay from a bale, one eggcup of Bunny Basics T pellets between the two of them every day, a bowl of herbs every day. And then they get either some dried dandelion when I lock them up for bed at night or some apple sticks.

Not sure if it is diet related just the vet asked me what I feed them.

Am v stressed today so that made me worse. We have a house viewing tomorrow and I have only cleaned half the house and then the hoover died on me, and I still have loads to do, and then I found Casper wasn't well. So am just feeling **** I think.
 
Wonder if it might be the fact that Charlie is moulting really bad and Casper is always grooming him.

Will give them both a good brush tomorrow!
 
Joanne Jenkinson said:
I feed constant hay from a bale, one eggcup of Bunny Basics T pellets between the two of them every day, a bowl of herbs every day. And then they get either some dried dandelion when I lock them up for bed at night or some apple sticks.

Not sure if it is diet related just the vet asked me what I feed them.

Am v stressed today so that made me worse. We have a house viewing tomorrow and I have only cleaned half the house and then the hoover died on me, and I still have loads to do, and then I found Casper wasn't well. So am just feeling **** I think.
Click to expand...

Where do the herbs come from? Are they fresh grown? Bought growing? Prepacked?

If you're stressed and he is a sensitive bunny then he may have picked up on that as well.
 
the herbs are bought from supermarket. I buy the plants in pots. Are they treated as well!?

I have been thinking I really need to grow my own. I do wash them before I give them them. Do you think it could be that?
 
If you're stressed and he is a sensitive bunny then he may have picked up on that as well.[/QUOTE]


He's an outdoor bunny so probably wouldn't pick up on my stressedness!! Well until I realised he wasn't well!!!:lol: then I became more stressed!!
 
Joanne Jenkinson said:
the herbs are bought from supermarket. I buy the plants in pots. Are they treated as well!?

I have been thinking I really need to grow my own. I do wash them before I give them them. Do you think it could be that?
Click to expand...

This is how I buy mine and have never had a problem. A lot of peopple have previously had problems with prepackaged ones which was why I asked. :)
 
But..........I did give them pre-packaged ones either last week or the week before, as hubby couldn't get any plants so he bought them. Could that have caused gas build up?
 
Joanne Jenkinson said:
But..........I did give them pre-packaged ones either last week or the week before, as hubby couldn't get any plants so he bought them. Could that have caused gas build up?
Click to expand...

They treat them with something like an antibacterial or something (can't remember exactly) to preserve them for as long as possible, and that has caused problems for many bunnies. That said, I would expect it to cause a problem within a few days after, not a week or so. I wonder whether, if that is the cause, if it has destabilised their gut, kind of thing?
 
could be, that's the only thing that I can think of that changed. I WON'T feed them pre-packaged again just in case.

It's hard this bunny keeping!
 
Sending vibes for Casper, and thinking of you at this anxious time.

I do feed packaged herbs sometimes, as Spenser will not eat the potted ones. I always wash them well first though.
 
susie bun said:
Sending vibes for Casper, and thinking of you at this anxious time.

I do feed packaged herbs sometimes, as Spenser will not eat the potted ones. I always wash them well first though.
Click to expand...


Thanks so much!! Am hoping he will be picking up now he has had pain relief. He is sitting in the shed with Charlie by his side grooming his head. He looks a bit more comfortable. Not lying on his tummy like he was before. Will give him some critical care later.
 
Joanne Jenkinson said:
Thanks so much!! Am hoping he will be picking up now he has had pain relief. He is sitting in the shed with Charlie by his side grooming his head. He looks a bit more comfortable. Not lying on his tummy like he was before. Will give him some critical care later.
Click to expand...

Fingers crossed that he starts feeling better very soon.

These little bunnies are so, so delicate.

Best of luck.:thumb:
 
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