• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Help, Ozzie's still not right & not too happy with vet advice

Ozbun

Warren Scout
I posted about Ozzie not being well on Friday evening. He hadn't been pooing & was going spaced-out. I rang the Emergency vet who said not to bring him in as he was still eating, he cut me off as he had another phone to answer. I was up with Ozzie in the night, he wouldn't eat hay. I rang our local rescue for a rabbit-savvy vet & they were really helpful, she told me to try pineapple juice & romaine lettuce before calling a vet. This seems to have got his gut moving. He had been doing the odd few tiny hard poos, then 2 long poos (looked like guinea pig poo but dark) came out- some had hairs in them. Last night at long last he did a huge pile of normal looking poos but darker as he's still not eating hay. However today he is eating but is very listless. I don't want to ring the Emergency vet to be made to feel like a time-waster again but I'm really worried. I cancelled Easter & have been looking after him intensively since Friday. I do not know what to do for the best. I don't want to further stress him out with a trip to the vet, he doesn't want to leave his pen at the moment & I'm not sure how he'd react to a car ride. but if this is an Emergency then i'd take him right away. He is quiet, but when I was stroking him before, he suddenly realised he needed a wee & jumped up all alert & ran to his litter tray, he is sitting looking sad in a corner of the pen now. He's eaten, basil, romaine lettuce, pineapple, pellets but no hay. He doesn't seem to be tooth grinding. I've seen him sneeze slightly twice, which alarmed me but that's all over 3 days. Is it normal to be tired after the constipation? Does he need a drip? Can I do anything else myself? Should I call Emergency vet or take him tomorrow. Im very tired & very confused.
 
Definitely get him *seen* by a Vet today. He may well be in pain, so at the very least he will need some analgesia.

Personally I would not feed him any more pineapple, the high sugar content will feed the 'bad' bacteria in his guts and potentially make things worse.

I suspect his teeth may be the primary cause of his problems

Good luck
 
Thanks so much for the quick reply, his teeth were checked in December but I think you could be right, I really hope not. :(
 
Thanks so much for the quick reply, his teeth were checked in December but I think you could be right, I really hope not. :(


There can be a huge amount of changes in the teeth over a 4 month period. Molar spurs can develop in 2 weeks.
 
My suspicion would be teeth too. My bun had his teeth done 10 weeks ago and started to show signs on Thursday afternoon when no-one could do his dental :roll: fortunately he has been OK and we have metacam to give if needed but I think his is a spur that something caught on as he ate a little piece of apple (his eating has been OK and is very bright in himself)

You are in North West, not sure where but Chester Gates is open 24/7/365 if you are anywhere near.
http://www.chestergates.org.uk/homepage.aspx
 
Last edited:
back from vets with Ozzie

Thanks everyone, also thanks to bunny babe for letting me know about Chester gates. I'm back from the vet. There are small spurs on his teeth , she said not very bad ones & she couldn't see any irritation from them. She could feel no abnormality in the gut. He has to be investigated under anaesthetic :-( She gave him "something for the gut' (didn't tell me the name of the drug), injection of metacam & i have recovery food & metacam for him. He's still quiet but munching on coriander... That was awful. my Dad & Stepmum who are in their 70s called just as I was trying to get Ozzie into his carrier. He was hiding in a corner of the pen & I was upset. Stepmother was twisting her face into an " is she mad- it's only a rabbit?" sneer. Dad was helpfully shouting "Grab his ears! Try the scruff of the neck!" :shock: I told him I'll do that to him the next time he has toothache. I was crying in the waiting room because i feel stupid for listening to the emergency vet & now i just hope Ozzie is ok.
 
PS I am shocked that dental spurs can appear so quickly. I have loads to learn about rabbits but if I hadn't interfered & taken him from his old home, he would have suffered that unnoticed, in a tiny hutch. :cry:
 
You're doing fine. It's hard not to listen to vets because we feel they should know what they're talking about. The hard part if working out which vet does. :?
The vet probably gave him a gut stimulant as well as pain killers which is good. They will want to examine him because they can't always see the worst spurs with an otoscope. It might be his teeth were hurting so he stopped eating hay which in turn caused the stomach problems. You're getting him sorted now and he has pain killers so he should feel a lot better. :wave:
 
Glad you were able to see a vet, sorry your family weren't more understanding :( I hope the drugs do the trick until he can have a dental. Sending lots of vibes for Ozzie xx
 
Glad you managed to see a vet, it sounds like he needed the metacam if it is teeth so should feel more comfortable until he can have a dental.
 
update,

Ozzie seemed brighter at first, ate coriander & dandelion, then some recovery food, he just ate it from a saucer. He was just sat for ages in the middle of the kitchen floor which is not a normal place for him so I put him in the large litter where he usually sits munching for hours. He immediately ate a piece of coriander then just sat hunched. This time he actually "clacked' his teeth at me, which `i understand to be a sign of pain? ive never heard him do that before. Then he jumped out of the litter, sped across the floor to sit hunched on the other side of the room. Bear in mind he had had a pain-relieving injection less than an hour before. I have metacam to give him but i don't know how long to leave it following the injection. He's now hunched again. Wont eat anything :( Left a message for the vet to ring me. Any ideas would be welcome.
 
Has the vet called you back yet, they are best to advise on what course of action as they have seen him? How is Ozzie doing now?
 
She told me just to leave him alone to be quiet. Said he won't be in pain because the injection lasts 24hrs, he won't eat. She said he wasn't dehydrated & had been given a gut stimulant so leave him til tomorrow. He's sat in a corner of the kitchen, not even in his pen where he feels safe. I think she wants to operate tomorrow to investigate... I don't want him to have an anaesthetic while he's not strong. I feel exhausted
 
When you say operate, do you mean dental?

Can you give him some warm water (cold with a dash of boiling), this will help to keep him hydrated. Also try to tempt him with some veg, grass. I hope he is feeling better soon. If he deteriorates contact the emergency vet again.
 
He just won't have anything. He had the recovery food hours ago & dandelion & coriander but now won't have anything. I carried him to his pen, he ran up the ramp into the cage & is just sat there. Vet said don't try to feed him or do anything around his mouth so I assume shes going to look for dental problems.
 
Is the emergency vet your normal vet? You could take Ozzie to your normal vet tomorrow as it is usual opening.
You could also mix some of his pellets in warm water so they are soggy/mushy if it is his teeth hurting he may take some. Sending him lots of eating vibes x
 
Is the emergency vet your normal vet? You could take Ozzie to your normal vet tomorrow as it is usual opening.
You could also mix some of his pellets in warm water so they are soggy/mushy if it is his teeth hurting he may take some. Sending him lots of eating vibes x

This is a good idea. I soak Grim's pellets in water for him so they're soft but still the same shape.
I think if he hasn't eaten for six hours that would be the point where I would feed him again.
 
Phew, he had a drink of the warm water at least, thank you. Everyones advice is really helping. I've only had him 5 months so he's only seen the vet once for a check up. He's been happy & cheeky til this weekend. The next appointment was neutering which I had been putting off slightly as I worry about anaesthetic. Also, any money I had has gone into making his accommodation better as I had nothing when I first got him from a neighbour who was neglecting him. I've been waiting for a monthly payment to finish before insuring him too so I will have to pay full whack & I'm on a low income. I'll pay what it takes though.
 
Mine tend to like the warm water more than just cold tap water, I give it to them every day like this. Glad he drank some. Good luck with the pellets and tempting him with some other goodies.
 
Back
Top