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diarrhea in rabbits

P

petecoco

New Kit
my rabbit had a diarrhea yesterday after eating wallpaper that had just been put up! i managed to get most of it from him. as the evening progressed he got better and was eating, drinking and pooping. i woke up during the night by the sound of his belly gurgling. I booked him in to the vet first thing as he hadnt really eaten and his droppings had got small. my usual vet wasnt on so had a young vet that doesnt really know rabbits.

i explained that he had eaten wall paper and that he had diarrhea the day before. because he had done 2 droppings while she was trying to take his temperature( which was normal) she didn't give him emeprid to stimulate the gut. i then asked for pain relief as he had been grinding his teeth, she said no!
she said she didn't know what was wrong with him, ( even though i had explained about the wall paper) , she said he might have an infection and to give him antibiotics for 5 days.

she gave me baytril antibiotics. when home he was acting like his normal self. a few hours later i gave him a small dose of the baytril, after an hour he had diarrhea 3 times!!! his poops were fine before he had the medicine.

i contacted the vet and told them the antibiotics weren't helping and he had diarrhea, they were really rude and told me to wait for 24 hrs for the drugs to take affect, by that time he could of been dead!

i gave him lots of water and critical care and he is now back to normal.

was the vet wrong for giving a rabbit baytril when he was suffering from diarrhea and a tummy bloat already?
 
Given the Rabbit's history of ingesting wallpaper and wallpaper paste ( a toxin) I would have expected a competent Vet to admit the Rabbit for fluids and close observation. I would expect a competent Vet to ensure there was not a full obstruction of the GI tract ( from ingesting wallpaper), for a blood profile to be taken to assess kidney and liver function (due to possibility of toxic effects of wallpaper paste), for pain relief to be given and for general nursing/supportive care.

I would not expect to be sent packing with 5 days of Baytril.

I hope your Rabbit has now made a full recovery. I suggest that you try to locate a more Rabbit Savvy Vet.
 
I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. I can't believe they didn't give him pain relief.. I'm not sure what the treatment would have been for ingesting wallpaper and wallpaper paste, but I would have expected them to have a thorough examination, including listening to and palpating the gut and a strong painkiller via injection (if the gut has slowed oral painkillers may not be absorbed well). I'd also expect at the very least sub-cut fluids to be given, and I know my vets would likely have hospitalised them and put them on a drip.

Barney has never been poisoned by something, but when he goes into gut stasis he is given lots of fluids, syringe-fed and has both metacam and vetergesic painkillers. He also has two types of gut stimulants, but I don't know if these would be appropriate after eating a toxic substance or with diarrhea.

I'm not sure baytril would have been 'wrong' as such, but I don't see how it could have helped, as the issue was obviously the wallpaper and paste, not a bacterial infection.

I hope you can find a decent vet in your area - try looking for an exotic specialist, as they are qualified in rabbit medicine. I'm glad your bunny is okay now.
 
Last edited:
All of what Jack's Jane advised, but I'm always amazed by the number of people that are given really bad treatment and advise, and they know they have been, but do nothing about it.

You should have insisted on being given pain relief, as after all you are the paying client, and if she had still refused to let you have some, then asked to see the Practice Manager, as it would certainly have been forthcoming then.
 
RogerRabbit999 said:
All of what Jack's Jane advised, but I'm always amazed by the number of people that are given really bad treatment and advise, and they know they have been, but do nothing about it.

You should have insisted on being given pain relief, as after all you are the paying client, and if she had still refused to let you have some, then asked to see the Practice Manager, as it would certainly have been forthcoming then.
Click to expand...

Forum Rules :

Tone of Posts
''The forum should be a supportive place to visit. It is possible to disagree with something without turning it into an insult. Sometimes it's not what you say but how you are saying it that causes a problem. For example, if someone is feeding their rabbit in a way you consider bad you could say:

"Why are you feeding your rabbit that rubbish? You should have done more research and fed it this instead. You better change it quickly before your rabbit dies."
Or

"Have you thought about swapping to pellets? Quite a few forum members feed these as they have more fibre so are better for their gut."

The first is likely to get you a warning from admin and chase the rabbits owner away. The second is friendly and tactful and will encourage the owner to listen to your advice. Sometimes it's difficult to be patient if you see something happening you think is wrong but staying calm and polite will generally get the most successful response in the end.

Also consider replies by other members. Multiple posts from different members raising the same issue can feel like being 'ganged up on'. Consider whether your post adds anything constructive.''
 
RogerRabbit999 said:
All of what Jack's Jane advised, but I'm always amazed by the number of people that are given really bad treatment and advise, and they know they have been, but do nothing about it.

You should have insisted on being given pain relief, as after all you are the paying client, and if she had still refused to let you have some, then asked to see the Practice Manager, as it would certainly have been forthcoming then.
Click to expand...

That is out of order. People expect to be able to trust their vet. I never used to question my vet, after all they are meant to have been trained to treat our animals. It wasn't until I realised that most vets have basically no training when it comes to rabbits that I started questioning my vets and actually challenging them. I can understand why people don't want to, it's quite scary and also you are PAYING these people to help, surely they know what they are doing?

The OP came on here to make sure that the vet was giving unacceptable treatment and that pain relief was something that should have been given. Not everybody knows exactly what medicine their animals need...that is the job of a vet afterall!

I hope the bun is feeling better today. Could the diarrhea be excess cecals?

Sending vibes.
 
How's your rabbit feeling today? They can be such terrors! I woke up this morning with half the underneath of George's rug in bits all over the floor! His poops are normal, he's eating fineand he's been tearing around my room so I'm pretty sure he hasn't eaten any. :)
 
RogerRabbit999 said:
All of what Jack's Jane advised, but I'm always amazed by the number of people that are given really bad treatment and advise, and they know they have been, but do nothing about it.

You should have insisted on being given pain relief, as after all you are the paying client, and if she had still refused to let you have some, then asked to see the Practice Manager, as it would certainly have been forthcoming then.
Click to expand...

I did insist many times, i got the response 'i know what i'm doing' from the vet. The practice manager is away on holiday or I would of seen him instead, like I usually do. i have now made a formal complaint about her service but still looking into antibiotics given to rabbits with diarrhoea
 
Unfortunately many vets have the attitude of ''I know what I'm doing'' but its also unfortunate that rabbits are not routinely studied at vet schools.

I would definitely be looking for a more ''rabbit savvy'' vet. x
 
I'm sorry that you and your rabbit have such had a bad experience with a vet.

If you start a thread on here 'Rabbit-savvy vet needed in ..wherever you are .. ' someone may be able to suggest/recommend a vet. I do hope you manage to get appropriate treatment.
 
petecoco said:
I did insist many times, i got the response 'i know what i'm doing' from the vet. The practice manager is away on holiday or I would of seen him instead, like I usually do. i have now made a formal complaint about her service but still looking into antibiotics given to rabbits with diarrhoea
Click to expand...

I think it would depend on what the vet thought was causing the diarrhoea. The bunny should have been given other treatment as well though.

Can you find another rabbit savvy vet and see what they say?

Sending loads of vibes for your little one.
 
petecoco said:
I did insist many times, i got the response 'i know what i'm doing' from the vet. The practice manager is away on holiday or I would of seen him instead, like I usually do. i have now made a formal complaint about her service but still looking into antibiotics given to rabbits with diarrhoea
Click to expand...

How is your bunny doing now? I'm so glad that you have made a formal complaint to the Practice Manager, as it really is the only way to get better veterinary treatment in general for rabbits, if people take the time to complain about how they have been let down.

God how I hate that line they use (not my own amazing bunny vet, who I have for some years now thank goodness :thumb:), 'I know what I'm doing'. In the past, that always used to get either a 'That's probably unlikely, after a half days training' or 'but you don't know my rabbit how I do' response from myself. I'm starting to wonder if they actually teach that at Vet school :lol::lol:


Please accept my apologies for the tone of my previous post, and 'Good luck' with the complaint, and your buns recovery.
 
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