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Jigsaw been to vets - update back today for teeth

Dave81

Dave81

Mama Doe
I tried everything to get jigsaw to eat his hay but failed, today when I got home he wouldn't eat his pellets, so off to the vets we go.

Just got back the vet can feel poos albeit small ones which goes with what I'd told him about them been tiny. He can feel that he's a bit bloated more liquid feel than a gas one.

His teeth were checked too well other than not been able to check the very back ones.

For now we have had:

Baytril injection
Metacam injection
Metoclopramide injection
Zantac injection

I have baytril oral medicine to start giving him from tomorrow night too.

They gave me some critical care too so I'm gonna have to try sneak that in with some basil leaves.

I have another appointment on FRIDAY for a checkup, but if I notice him not getting any better I will be going back tomorrow.

I feel so stupid for not taking him when he went off his hay but I just thought it was a phase as he was eating other stuff
 
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hope he improves, when my sox was like this we had to take him back daily and he was given fluid injections for 4 days, along with meds and critical care, which he lixked from bowl anyway
 
Luckily I caught him eating his pellets, I've just thrown some basil in packed with fibreplex which he has scoffed.

Just need to get him on the hay now, it's his birthday soon too he's one of September's babies which Fluffers has for honey bunnies rescue
 
So sorry to hear he's poorly :( how long has he been off his hay for?

Did the vet use an otoscope to check his teeth? It's important that his back teeth are looked at properly ASAP.

Good news that he's eating for himself, I would cut out all veg and also apple sticks for a couple of days until you're happy that his pellet and hay nomming is back on track.

Sending get well vibes and nose rubs for Jiggy xxx
 
It's around 10 days that he has not been interested I in hay, I was topping up his fibre intake with other dried items hoping he would all of a sudden decide to get back to eating hay. I think I have every type of hay known to man in my house at the moment!!

Yeah the vet checked with one on those he just couldn't fully see the far back set of teeth, what he could see though were all spot on.

He felt it would be better to give all the injections first to see if they make a difference to him, if I haven't seen any hay munching by Friday I will ensure I tell them at the checkup appointment as I'm assuming the next step would be to make him drowsy so a good look at those teeth can be done.

I won't give him any more Hawthorne or Apple sticks for now, he had some earlier just so I could at least get him to eat something. The basil is just to mask the fibreplex so I don't have to stress him trying to syringe it in.

I have some critical care but am using up the fibreplex first, are the 2 similar products?
 
Sounds like you're doing all the right things :thumb:

Hopefully the meds will break the cycle of whatever was upsetting him and get him back on track. A few apple leaves should be fine to give him if he's eating pellets but I'd certainly avoid any greens for now.

Do you feed veg as a rule or mostly forage stuffs? Did he have anything different (that you can think of) that may have caused him to have an upset tummy? Any new foods?
 
They don't tend to have any veg, I usually stick to pellets, hay and basil now and then, I haven't fed anything I wouldn't normally.

He stopped eating hay when I had to temporarily move them to a different room, he's back in the old room for a while now though, that's why I thought he might snap out of it as I thought he might be stressed.

Still doesn't seem interested in hay, I might try some readigrass in the morning after I do battle with the critical care.

When I hold out some hay for him he will chop it up with his front teeth, maybe eat a strand or 3 then leaves the rest but continues to chop it up.
 
Dave81 said:
They don't tend to have any veg, I usually stick to pellets, hay and basil now and then, I haven't fed anything I wouldn't normally.

He stopped eating hay when I had to temporarily move them to a different room, he's back in the old room for a while now though, that's why I thought he might snap out of it as I thought he might be stressed.

Still doesn't seem interested in hay, I might try some readigrass in the morning after I do battle with the critical care.

When I hold out some hay for him he will chop it up with his front teeth, maybe eat a strand or 3 then leaves the rest but continues to chop it up.
Click to expand...

If he's eating pellets that's a good sign & herbs should be fine to feed also. Monitor what comes out the other end of course and take things day by day. The move may have stressed him out and caused him to feel out of sorts or it could be something else. Hard to know and it's a case of trying different things, keeping a diary, exploring all options. Has his weight altered do you know? Go easy on the readigrass as it can be quite rich so just a tiny amount :thumb:

The hay chopping and dropping is confusing and could suggest there might be a tooth/gum/root issue :? I'm no expert so hoping someone with more experience and knowledge might come along and comment.

Sending more vibes for the little fluffster xx
 
Fluffers said:
If he's eating pellets that's a good sign & herbs should be fine to feed also. Monitor what comes out the other end of course and take things day by day. The move may have stressed him out and caused him to feel out of sorts or it could be something else. Hard to know and it's a case of trying different things, keeping a diary, exploring all options. Has his weight altered do you know? Go easy on the readigrass as it can be quite rich so just a tiny amount :thumb:

The hay chopping and dropping is confusing and could suggest there might be a tooth/gum/root issue :? I'm no expert so hoping someone with more experience and knowledge might come along and comment.
Sending more vibes for the little fluffster xx
Click to expand...

The picking food up and dropping it is fairly common behaviour for a rabbit coming out of a stasis episode. They look as if they are about to eat it and then either change their mind or can't be bothered. I *don't think* it's particularly suggestive of dental problems.

Did the vet explain why they gave Baytril? Do they suspect an infection of some sort of they just think they may as well in case there is an infection of some sort going on?
 
Thanks Jen,

Yeah I was confused about the chopping too it suggested to me an issue with his teeth / mouth.

His weight has more or less remained static, he was weighed today and he had ever so slightly lost some but nothing significant.

I'm keeping a close eye on him plus he's still separate from Scooter so it's easier for me to tell if he is eating and pooping.

I've told the other bunnies to say a little prayer to get him munching hay and I spoke to him before I went to bed :lol:
 
Bunny Buddy said:
Did the vet explain why they gave Baytril? Do they suspect an infection of some sort of they just think they may as well in case there is an infection of some sort going on?
Click to expand...

He was started on all the usual stasis meds to start with to see if an improvement could be made, the baytril was a just in case med.

The hope is the injections, baytril and critical care will snap him out of it and make him well again.

I have the follow up appointment on Friday so if he still isn't eating hay I will see what the next step is going to be
 
Still no sign of any hay been eaten, he's had pellets and basil for breakfast, poos are coming out so that's all good.
 
Dave81 said:
Still no sign of any hay been eaten, he's had pellets and basil for breakfast, poos are coming out so that's all good.
Click to expand...

That's good :thumb: See how he gets on today. Taking him back to the vets tomorrow might be a little too soon and the stress of going could set him back. It's a tricky one but I think if he's eating pellets, drinking & poo-ing normally I might be tempted to see how he gets on over the weekend. You could always make an appt for Monday just in case? Of course if he goes downhill again or anything isn't quite right then he should go back tomorrow or sooner.

Fingers crossed for hay nomming x
 
I think I'm going to take him in tomorrow, he's eating the pellets, basil and other miscellaneous items including some readigrass but still not much hay if any at all.

I don't want to risk him been ill over the weekend as I'm working most of it and I just want my little boy back to normal again.
 
Confused now could he just be acting like a diva and decided he doesn't want hay for now?

He's eaten some readigrass, nettle and dandelion roots then grazed a bit of mountain forage mix along with some basil.

If his teeth were hurting he surely wouldn't have eaten the roots as they are quite tough compared to hay!!

I guess medically he seems to have recovered, so could the no hay just be behavioral?
 
Dave81 said:
Confused now could he just be acting like a diva and decided he doesn't want hay for now?

He's eaten some readigrass, nettle and dandelion roots then grazed a bit of mountain forage mix along with some basil.

If his teeth were hurting he surely wouldn't have eaten the roots as they are quite tough compared to hay!!

I guess medically he seems to have recovered, so could the no hay just be behavioral?
Click to expand...

Have you tried chopping up his hay a bit and rubbing it in some finely chopped basil? The shorter strands might be less effort to eat and the strong basil flavour might entice him to munch some hay :)

With teeth problems, our vet says one of the many many things that contributes to the lack of hay eating when their teeth are bad is the chewing action. The way they chew hay is quite unique compared to other foods. When Buckley needed a dental he would eat loads of really tough things but not hay and our vet chalked it down to the fact that the side to side chewing motion for hay was more painful than the chomp chomp chewing motion of things like sticks, twigs, crunchies etc.
 
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Pebblesetc said:
Have you tried chopping up his hay a bit and rubbing it in some finely chopped basil? The shorter strands might be less effort to eat and the strong basil flavour might entice him to munch some hay :)
Click to expand...

No haven't tried that, will be on my list of things to try tomorrow. I've sprinkled some readigrass on which worked for a few strands :lol:
 
Dave81 said:
Confused now could he just be acting like a diva and decided he doesn't want hay for now?

He's eaten some readigrass, nettle and dandelion roots then grazed a bit of mountain forage mix along with some basil.

If his teeth were hurting he surely wouldn't have eaten the roots as they are quite tough compared to hay!!

I guess medically he seems to have recovered, so could the no hay just be behavioral?
Click to expand...

Have you tried reducing his pellets slightly? I know you couldnt do this while he was poorly but might be worth a go when he's back on track? He might just be too full to bother with hay? What about re-freshing his hay & leaving him for 10 mins or so BEFORE giving him his pellets in the morning? Just to see if that tempts him? He was a total hay monster so it's a bit odd that he's gone like this :? need to get to the bottom of it asap.
 
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