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  • 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.

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Anyone online? Not eating.

SamanthaJane

Warren Veteran
Hi guys. My bun has ignored her dinner. And every other attempt to get food down her. I've tried carrots banana and dried herb mix.

She keeps sitting with her tummy pressed to the floor and then moving again. I think I heard her teeth grinding a bit as well.

I am unsure whether to visit the out of hours vet. I will of course if needs and if no one is online here I will do that.

I have some metacam for dogs 1.5mg/ml my other rabbit had last year which claims to be in date until 2017 (assuming it's okay after opening as we've used some?). Is it okay for me to give her some?
 
Vet is the right thing.
I can't advise you on giving medicines without prescription - isn't it illegal? If you administer something, the vet won't know her true condition.
I wish I was an expert.
In your position, with my four, I chase them about. It seems cruel but it gets the gut moving.
 
Thanks Happybun. I would ask the vet first anyway, just in my experience if it's this time of night they often send you away with Metacam as a first try anyway, so don't want to stress her out by taking her in if we already have it here.

I just read that too about chasing them - I'll go do that now!! But will also call the vet. It's nice that you are online at this late hour to advise! Thank you
 
Yes, I would advise you to take her to the vet - as you know, rabbits can go downhill very quickly. Good luck!

ETA Don't think you need this: cross-posted with happybun
 
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Your bunny could have some underlying issues that will not be resolved with pain relief alone. A vet trip is required.
In an emergency (weather conditions, serious personal/family illness) where you cannot get to the rabbit specialist instantly, I may give pain relief, fluids, and syringe feeding and then get them to the vets ASAP.
 
Thank you everyone for the replies.

Well I called the vet - our vets are now using Vets now as out of hours. I spoke with their nurse who told me to bring her in (the next town over, ~25 minutes drive) and it would be £180 to be seen. I am APPALLED that they can charge this much. Absolutely disgusting. It used to be about £100 which was too much, but £180 is abominable. Simply preying on people with no other option.

We however had another option. I called the other vets locally and spoke with an actual vet of theirs who told me it would be about £100 ish to be seen and they are in the same town. But she told me to try and syringe feed her and get something in, as she'd just be giving fluids and some gut movement drugs which might be able to wait until morning if I can get her to eat. She also said it's okay to give her some Metacam, but to try feeding first.

So anyway, I went to mush up pellets etc. (about 3am by now, with a trail of different foods littering the floor, all of which she was ignoring) - then came in and my OH had put a dandelion leaf in front of her. Which she then decided to eat! Then proceeded to have a wash and eat everything else! Thank goodness, we'd been so worried.

I did say to my OH - maybe it was really bad gas and she's just 'let it out'!

But so relieved that she was okay. Within an hour she seemed back to her usual self, scampering about the place.

But yes, I am still very angry re: Vets Now. My rabbits are insured, but that is besides the point.
 
Thank you everyone for the replies.

Well I called the vet - our vets are now using Vets now as out of hours. I spoke with their nurse who told me to bring her in (the next town over, ~25 minutes drive) and it would be £180 to be seen. I am APPALLED that they can charge this much. Absolutely disgusting. It used to be about £100 which was too much, but £180 is abominable. Simply preying on people with no other option.

We however had another option. I called the other vets locally and spoke with an actual vet of theirs who told me it would be about £100 ish to be seen and they are in the same town. But she told me to try and syringe feed her and get something in, as she'd just be giving fluids and some gut movement drugs which might be able to wait until morning if I can get her to eat. She also said it's okay to give her some Metacam, but to try feeding first.

So anyway, I went to mush up pellets etc. (about 3am by now, with a trail of different foods littering the floor, all of which she was ignoring) - then came in and my OH had put a dandelion leaf in front of her. Which she then decided to eat! Then proceeded to have a wash and eat everything else! Thank goodness, we'd been so worried.

I did say to my OH - maybe it was really bad gas and she's just 'let it out'!

But so relieved that she was okay. Within an hour she seemed back to her usual self, scampering about the place.

But yes, I am still very angry re: Vets Now. My rabbits are insured, but that is besides the point.

I'm so glad things are looking much better now, and thank you for updating :thumb: Vet bills at the best of times can be quite unmanageable, but out of hours is sky rocket high sometimes. I'm glad you found an alternative solution, and thank goodness you have your rabbits insured!
 
My regular vets, and most in the area, do not do out of hours. That means I can bring my bunnies to one of two clinics in the area. They do not always have rabbit specialists working after hours so they sometimes need to call the exotic pet person who is on call. While I never minded paying a premium for the vet service itself, I have experienced price gouging with X-rays and medications. If they were uncommon medications that they are stocking for convenience I would not complain because they may not dispense them before they expire. Don't get me wrong. I would not begrudge my pets care because of cost.

Of course, my sister and I encountered an entirely different vet at the other after hours clinic. My sister inherited my mothers cat, Missy. Missy was 18 years old had medical problems for some time, but one day she would not come out of hiding. Once we got her out of hiding, we saw she was very ill. We called Missy's regular vet, but they were booked until closing about 1 hour later and they would not be able to see her even after we explained how sick Missy was. So we took Missy to the emergency vet. The emergency vet did an exam and blood work and Missy had liver failure and some other issues. The vet recommended PTS. We agreed. It was refreshing to hear this compassionate vet waived all vet fees including the cost of the blood work. Our only costs were for cremation.
 
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