Vets said Ash is dying :'( u/d not just yet

Hi all, Ashley went in for her routine dental yesterday as normal, picked her up at 5pm as vet said she was eating. Since 5pm last night all she has eaten is a bit of carrot. We have been syringe feeding her with the sachet food. I just called vet to ask for some painkiller (metacam) as they wouldn't give me any yesterday, and they told me to bring her back in so my OH is taking her in later. They said it was pretty normal for them to take awhile to 'come back' but I am concerned because she normally perks up really well, eats pellets as soon as she gets home and is back to normal after 1-2 days. I normally don't have to syringe feed her at all.

She is grinding her teeth so obviously she is in pain, I just hope she doesn't deteriorate.

In case anyone sees this before OH takes her to vets later, just a couple of questions-
- OH is home on his own all day, can anyone give any tips on how he can syringe feed on his own
- How often should she be syringe fed - I read every 2-4 hours, does this sound right and should she be done a few times overnight too. Will it prolong time it takes to eat by herself?
- am I panicking over nothing.

Thanks all.

Get the pain killer for her as doing work on the teeth is going to be really sore.
I can't beleive they never gave it away with you

Once she's had pain meds shell hopefully perk up and want to eat on her own.
Tempt her with herbs and soft foods.

Wrapping a towel around her to syringe feed might help your oh if he's never done it much before.
And its usually 10ml per kg of body weight a few times a day when syringe feeding.

Thanks for your quick response and tips

I was annoyed too - I asked for it last night when I picked her up and the nurse said "Oh no she's fine, she's eating" and I called this morning specifically to ask for some but they said they don't want to give it to her without seeing her first in case she has a reaction..

I found an old bottle of it last night but it's a year old so it got thrown out - so annoying as my last vet understood her a bit more and would just give it to me when I asked for it.

I can't believe you didn't get any metacam, can't you go earlier. Grinding her teeth is a sign of pain and she needs to eat to get the gut moving otherwise she will be in worse trouble.

I would just go up there now and demand to be seen and get some metacam. I would also seriously consider changing your vets. Maybe start a new thread and ask for recommendations on ones in your area.

Yes I agree with the others. My Woody has a dental every month and my vet would not dream of sending him home without metacam and also Zantac (gets the gut moving). He usually takes it for 5 days and has a check up on the 7th day.

I would go to the vets and just demand it. I would also suggest that perhaps your vets aren't very competent if they didn't do this already :? Obviously I don't know this for definite but I would consider another vet, unfortunately.

A good way to syringe feed is to wrap in a towel, also try to keep the head up.

Good luck and I hope your bun makes a speedy recovery.

How is Ashley getting on? Did u get some metacam for her?
I hope she is feeling better x

Thanks all, late response as I went home from work to take her to vets and then had to go back to work til 9.30pm :roll:

We saw a different vet this time. She said the history from our previous vet (who was good) stated that she'd had a bad reaction to Metacam last year, and that's why they were unwilling to prescribe it without seeing her again. I only remember her having an op and having 2 different types of antibiotic as well as metacam and going off her food a bit, which I put down to the different antibiotic. So she gave her a metacam injection and metoclopramide (?) to try to keep her guts going and I can pick up some metacam in the morning.

Apparently at the vets yesterday while waiting to go home she was eating loads which I find hard to believe, I think she probably just sniffed it and moves it around rather than eating it.

She has perked up a bit just now and ate some greens out of my hand but apart from that no change. She is still very sleepy and lethargic and again normally she would have perked up long before now. I can't help but think maybe they gave a different type of anaesthetic or something? The reason I changed to this vets is because my last rabbit vet moved away and I also moved away from the surgery so I took a recommendation and went to this one instead. Wish I hadn't now.

I called the RWAF today to try and get a recommendation for a rabbit savvy vet but the only ones they gave were about 1.5 hours away and she hates car journeys. I will start up a thread soon.

Hope bunny starts eating soon.

I make up a spoon of recovery food and give it in a little dish or lid then they can help themselves if they want, it's easy to eat and smells tempting. Maybe offer some fresh grass, rocket, dandilions, fresh coriander, basil, mint or lemon balm, apple tree leaves are a popular first food after a period of not eating in our house too.

Thanks dustyrabbit, I tried that and no joy. She ate nothing at all overnight but this morning she was eating veg on her own for the first time. She seems a bit perkier.

Last night the vet said I could pick up some metacam this morning. I called them this morning and they said that the metacam injection lasts 24 hours so they won't give me any right now because it would be too much, and the next dose would be this evening. My OH is picking up metoclopramide in tablet form as we speak so he can give it to her at home.

They said if she hasn't improved later I would have to take her back in. WHY do I have to take her in twice in 2 days just to get the right pain relief for her?? Obviously I am not going to overdose her I just want it on hand so I don't have to keep taking her in every day which just stresses her out more. Is that too much to ask?

I would really try and find an exotic pet specialist in your area now and take her there asap. She's obviously not right.

Doughnut is one metoclopramide syrup and metacam every day, she has it three times a day and she is as lively as she's ever been. You need to start getting her eating again. I think she is still in pain that she's not eating.

I really hope you get to see a specialist and you should notice a big change in her. Lots of luck.

Just an update to say that Ashley is now with a decent rabbit vet who are keeping her in. She called me a few hours ago to say that they have been giving her sub q fluids along with regular, decent pain relief and gut stimulant and she has started to improve slightly. Will hear from them again tomorrow morning.

Oh that is brilliant news, let us know how she is tomorrow. It really is worth hunting around to get a great vet, at least you know she is now pain free and it seems to be going in the right direction.

Good news. I hope she continues to improve.

Lots of vibes for her, hope she keeps improving!

aww poor baby, at least you have found a good understanding bunny friendly vet.
There's nothing worse than having a vet who seems to know less about rabbits than you.
Sounds like the new vet is taking good care of her.
Hopefully she'll reover quickly xxx

sending lots of vibes. x

Update, she is brighter than she was when she was admitted but still not eating or pooing properly. She eats a little but not much. Not interested in pellets much which worries me as she normally loves them. They are going to increase the pain relief more.

I know it can take awhile for rabbits to come out of stasis but I'm worried the rubbish vets have screwed up her dental somehow? Or that she has another tooth abscess somewhere, or it's her molar roots giving her trouble, but I suppose they can't give her a GA to xray atm because she isn't stable enough.

Very worried

Just heard from the vet again this morning, who have said that her guts are now fully going again, as they had to hydrate her (she was dehydrated when I brought her in) and is pooing as normal, but still not eating much on her own (they are still syringe feeding).

So it seems like she is coming out of stasis but they don't know why she's not eating much and we are in the same position as when she came out the vets last week. This is her 3rd bout of stasis and previously she came out of it quickly. Normally she LOVES pellets but won't touch them. They want to give her another GA to see if something untoward went on in the dental.

sorry to hear this. i hope they can find out what has happened. x

ashbunny said:

Just heard from the vet again this morning, who have said that her guts are now fully going again, as they had to hydrate her (she was dehydrated when I brought her in) and is pooing as normal, but still not eating much on her own (they are still syringe feeding).

So it seems like she is coming out of stasis but they don't know why she's not eating much and we are in the same position as when she came out the vets last week. This is her 3rd bout of stasis and previously she came out of it quickly. Normally she LOVES pellets but won't touch them. They want to give her another GA to see if something untoward went on in the dental.

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I think that may be the only option as her gut problems are almost certainly secondary to something else. Are they taking bloods too ? Will they do skull radiographs ?