Picking at Food *He's Baffled Vet! Help!

Dylan has the Vet baffled as he hasn't stopped eating altogether but is not eating normally either! All started over a week ago with a suspected bloat/stasis attack-for a few days before this he'd not eaten much hay (not normal for him). After Vet treatment he seemed better but...still was only picking at his food (pellets, various hays, various herbs etc) & was having periods of lethargy.
After going back for several more days of daily meds (painkiller, tum med, antibiotic) but still not improving he had a dental (as they could see a few sharp edges on molars). We hoped that would sort it...but it didn't :?

He has been at the Vets every day now (not helping his stress level) and Vet can't work it out-he is eating but only picking/nibbling things (his normal portion of pellets is being eaten in stages so it takes about 4 hours to be eaten). We are giving him Critical Care Formula alongside some Baby Food & everything that is going in is coming out the other end ok. Vet tried to take bloods but he got in a state so we decided to leave it for a while.

He has now been on daily antibiotics for over a week and yday had another painkiller given. Although he had been having metaclopromide (and Zantac previous to that) Vet decided to leave it off yday as his stomach feels fine & sounds fine it's just not full enough with food! He can't feel anything untoward in his tum, has looked in his mouth again and can't see anything untoward.
I just don't know what to do... I mentioned xrays/scans yday and Vet said at this stage as his tum is working fine (what goes in is coming out fine) he didn't feel it would be necessary.

I just keep thinking he must be sore or in pain or discomfort somewhere as he has little bursts of eating and seemingly an appetite but then stops and won't go back to it until later on. He's also getting really stressed now being syringe fed

Any advice hugely appreciated... I am shattered after nursing him for nearly 2 weeks and am so stressed as I don't know what the problem is.
Anybody any ideas as to what may be going on?
Has anyone had anything similiar happen with their rabbits?
If so, how did you proceed & did you discover what was as the core of the problem?
Please help

I would insist the vet takes xrays. There may be something going on with his teeth which cannot be seen without an xray, even though he has had some work done on these. Also if he's small one xray will also do his guts so they can check that. There is obviously something wrong and the cause needs to be found.

If your vet won't take xrays I would go to a specialist. Also bloods are good to take so they can check for infection and this could be done at the same time as the xray.

Please don't give up and just leave it. If I hadn't carried on with Doughnut and seen 2 vets and two specialists she would die a slow and agonising death. She's now on the mend due to having the correct tests.

It could be his tooth ROOTS, which would only show up on xrays... I toowould insist on this :wave:

Ok. Not sure if this will help but had something very similar sounding back last summer. Hadn't stopped eating altogether but eating much less than normal, and just not himself. Was a partial blockage and treatment was very simple. 7ml of water every hour, only hay to eat, kept warm, tummy massages, and Infacol. 1ml every hour for 1st 2 hours and then 1ml every other hour. It was hard work all the massaging but helped shift it, also the Infacol helps break it up, and lots of fluids keep it softer and easier to shift. To be honest Roger had really bad tummy ache, and was hungry but partial blockage prevented him from eating all that he needed. Vet couldn't feel it, but did an ultrasound scan on his tummy which showed where it was.

Your vet sounds like he is really trying to do his best by your bun, but I'm kind of feeling antibiotics etc all unnecessary because there is no infection, and so hence no improvement. I really would go back to basics, get fluids in, take all hard food away and provide just hay. Any hard food he eats may just add to blockage, and I wouldn't want to leave it until it gets so big, that the vet can then feel it. Just give Infacol, as it isn't just for gas, it does help break things up and help with pain relief as well. With the massaging it needs to be constructive not just rubbing bunny's tummy. Vet showed me how to rub down from bottom of rib cage to tail, and that you should rub in the direction you want things to move, also because your bun may be very uncomfortable, to help his tummy relax and help things move along, lay him on your lap, and then with one back leg at a time, very gently and slowly, lift and bring up to tummy, stretch leg right out (do be very careful and gentle!!) and then bring back up to tummy, about 10 repititions each side every 20mins or so. We had a towel on Roger's tummy and a WARM hot water bottle, great for making bunny feel more comfortable and relaxed, with the added warmth, tummy strokes and leg stretches, it was fantastic when things started to visibly start moving.

An easy way to tell if it's roots is to give daily painkiller and offer him pellets soaked in water until they soften. Try that for a week.

If he's happier to eat those and eating increases it is likely the roots of his teeth that are painful. There is no cure other than daily painkillers and keeping the teeth nice and short.

What food does he have? Excel and Science Selective swell up nicely but don't loose their shape. Trying this way is cheaper and less dangerous than an x-ray and is what I would try.

RogerRabbit999 said:

Ok. Not sure if this will help but had something very similar sounding back last summer. Hadn't stopped eating altogether but eating much less than normal, and just not himself. Was a partial blockage and treatment was very simple. 7ml of water every hour, only hay to eat, kept warm, tummy massages, and Infacol. 1ml every hour for 1st 2 hours and then 1ml every other hour. It was hard work all the massaging but helped shift it, also the Infacol helps break it up, and lots of fluids keep it softer and easier to shift. To be honest Roger had really bad tummy ache, and was hungry but partial blockage prevented him from eating all that he needed. Vet couldn't feel it, but did an ultrasound scan on his tummy which showed where it was.
Your vet sounds like he is really trying to do his best by your bun, but I'm kind of feeling antibiotics etc all unnecessary because there is no infection, and so hence no improvement. I really would go back to basics, get fluids in, take all hard food away and provide just hay. Any hard food he eats may just add to blockage, and I wouldn't want to leave it until it gets so big, that the vet can then feel it. Just give Infacol, as it isn't just for gas, it does help break things up and help with pain relief as well. With the massaging it needs to be constructive not just rubbing bunny's tummy. Vet showed me how to rub down from bottom of rib cage to tail, and that you should rub in the direction you want things to move, also because your bun may be very uncomfortable, to help his tummy relax and help things move along, lay him on your lap, and then with one back leg at a time, very gently and slowly, lift and bring up to tummy, stretch leg right out (do be very careful and gentle!!) and then bring back up to tummy, about 10 repititions each side every 20mins or so. We had a towel on Roger's tummy and a WARM hot water bottle, great for making bunny feel more comfortable and relaxed, with the added warmth, tummy strokes and leg stretches, it was fantastic when things started to visibly start moving.

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Thanks for your imput :thumb: May I ask with Roger what was he producing poo-wise whilst he had the partial blockage? Were they normal, smaller, nearly non-existent etc?

Dylan's down to be admitted for bloods, xrays & scans if there has been no major change by tommorow.

I too wondered about his teeth roots, however when he decides to eat he is eating some apple crunches which are the hardest thing he has in his diet! Surely if he was in pain with tooth roots he wouldn't attempt these?

He was out of his puppy pen yesterday binkying around the kitchen-again, surely he can't be in dire pain if he is doing this?

It is all a mystery but although he is bright at times & eating at times too, I am still syringe feeding to supplement. Very difficult as if he was writhing around in obvious agony I wouldn't hesitate to have him admitted but he's not-just simply not quite himself all the time & eating less, although he is nibbling something throughout the day & night.

I guess the only way to check nothing untoward is lurking is the tests but I'm worried about him going through them however at the moment that looks like my best option. :?

PS-Did notice last few days his wee seems to be a bit darker and strong smelly (even though had no meds since Friday) - not sure if relevant?

cpayne said:

I would insist the vet takes xrays. There may be something going on with his teeth which cannot be seen without an xray, even though he has had some work done on these. Also if he's small one xray will also do his guts so they can check that. There is obviously something wrong and the cause needs to be found.
If your vet won't take xrays I would go to a specialist. Also bloods are good to take so they can check for infection and this could be done at the same time as the xray.
Please don't give up and just leave it. If I hadn't carried on with Doughnut and seen 2vets and two specialists she would die a slow and agonising death. She's now on the mend due to having the correct tests.

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Thanks for everyones replies.

What did the diagnosis end up being for Doughnut & what was the treatment?

In addition to the advice given above, how much are you syringe feeding?

Is it possible he is full up from this and hence not eating as much?

Does your vet still feel its needed if he's eating on his own?

Amy104 said:

In addition to the advice given above, how much are you syringe feeding?
Is it possible he is full up from this and hence not eating as much?
Does your vet still feel its needed if he's eating on his own?

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He's only being syringe fed twice a day as his appetite has picked up
Dylan is now being treated for suspected E.Cuniculi.