chloramphenicol eye drops effecting appetite / behaviour?

Cody has nearly finished his 2 week course of chloramphenicol eye drops for his eye ulcer and he is eatting his food but not with as much enthusiasm and he sleeps in his wee bit all day and doesn't come out much and still won't graze in the garden Would the eye drops make him a bit off ?? Plus vet said to give drops 4 times a day so we were giving every 4 hrs. Sometimes every 3 hrs depending on work etc. I'm worried about him as it's not nice to see him always in his wee box. He didn't travel far prior to this but a wee bit more activity was seen from him.

Hi Nicky, I don't know if it helps, but when we was giving Harvey clorophenical we found them really good! They never affected his appetite at all, although do you think they might be painful for him?

Harvey was also on an anti-imflamatory drop which we gave him alongside the chlorophenical as I know his were really painful and again this really helped him, I'll try and find the name for youj! Xx

Aah bless him, does the eye ulcer look better? Ulcers can be very painful so it may be that it is hurting him and that is putting him off his food. If the ulcer is still there, I'd pop him back and discuss trying a different eye drop, as eyes rejuvenate quite quickly so it should be getting better by now. Hope he's ok x

Hi Ruth. Prior to seeing ur post I had had actually read one of ur posts about little Harveys ulcers. U had a pic of his eye and Cody's looks exactly the same and in the same location - well the fatty deposit bit. Thanks for the feed back on the chloramphenicol . Cody is on dog metacam 0.5ml once a day. We're the anti imflamatory drops u had for Harvey put into his eye or was he given them orally? The wateryness has reduced a good bit now. The prssure from his glaucoma in that eye hadcwent upvto 29 so he has 3 drops of Azopt in that eye as well. Vodystill has twice weekly depocillian injections for his inner ear infection which we r keeping at bay. I will see how he is after stopping the chloramphenicol and see if that makes a difference . He is lying stretched out now under the table so that's good.

Hi Santa . I think there was a fatty deposit on his eye and the ulcer is harder to see and I think the ulcer is behind the fatty deposit. I think thats what vet said so I don't know if it's improved or not I will see how he goes when stoppin the drops just incase that's it but yes it will be only the eye vet who will know for sure if it's improved.

Thanks for advice both of u x

Thinking of you and Code, Nicky, and sending vibes xx

Thanks Max x

Santa said:

Aah bless him, does the eye ulcer look better? Ulcers can be very painful so it may be that it is hurting him and that is putting him off his food. If the ulcer is still there, I'd pop him back and discuss trying a different eye drop, as eyes rejuvenate quite quickly so it should be getting better by now. Hope he's ok x

Click to expand...

I agree with Santa about this. I also wonder if Cody's chronic ear infection may be causing more pain now ? That certainly can mean the Rabbit becomes relatively immobile. I would give your lovely Vet a call today and see what she thinks is best to do.

I hope Cody feels a bit brighter soon xx

Hi Nicky,

No problem at all, the anti-imflamortary he was on was given by drops into his eye, I basically alternated giving each one, leaving 4 hours between each. Now I don't know if this is true but Harvey was taken off metacam completely when he has his eye infection as apparently it is an inhibiter and will keep help the ulcers remain. So I would seriously look into discussing this? Harvey went on a small amount of tramadol for his pain relief & the anti-inflammatory drops in his eye to help.

We found out in the end Harvey's wasn't actually an infection, when he was in the vets when he was very very poorly he was monitored very closely and they realised it was his scratching that was actually causing the ulcers. Basically where they had fixed both legs, and due it being a straight brake of the bone, they may have been out slightly on the correct angle so when scratching his ears, he was actually scratching his eyes - poor poor baby!

I know this probably isn't the case with Cody but if they look similar to Harvey's maybe it's something to consider?

Also the vets always did change it after 3 weeks if they felt it wasn't really helping. Harvey also had a keratomty, I'm not for one minute suggesting this, but I after at least 4-6 months of no change, they did this and to be fair the ulcers did go. But obviously due to him scratching they came back!

I'm off the vets tonight for baileys check up, so I'll ask what those eye drops were! Sending millions of vibes for your special boy xxx

Thanks Ruth. Yes it would be good to know the name of those anti imflamatory drops thank you. Cody was scratching his eye alot when it was more watery so I don't know if the watering is from the Glaucoma and it was causing the skin to be quite red below his eye and a wee bald patch which is now healing well so he could well have scratched his eye then. But could have been watery from an ulcer we did not see.

Hi Jane. I am going to give Code a couple of days after finishing his drops just incase it's the rare possibility it is them. He still comes out from his box for his morning grape and sleeps in a comfy enough position but I defo get what ur r saying that perhaps the ear pain is making him want to move less. If his ear is more painful what do u suggest?? My vet said there was so little pus on view that nothing to washout . I have been giving his metacam squirter on to a leaf then crushed pellets sprinkled on top so that I don't have to lift him all the time. Would giving it in food affect their effectiveness??

Thanks guys x

nickybunny1 said:

Thanks Ruth. Yes it would be good to know the name of those anti imflamatory drops thank you. Cody was scratching his eye alot when it was more watery so I don't know if the watering is from the Glaucoma and it was causing the skin to be quite red below his eye and a wee bald patch which is now healing well so he could well have scratched his eye then. But could have been watery from an ulcer we did not see.

Hi Jane. I am going to give Code a couple of days after finishing his drops just incase it's the rare possibility it is them. He still comes out from his box for his morning grape and sleeps in a comfy enough position but I defo get what ur r saying that perhaps the ear pain is making him want to move less. If his ear is more painful what do u suggest?? My vet said there was so little pus on view that nothing to washout . I have been giving his metacam squirter on to a leaf then crushed pellets sprinkled on top so that I don't have to lift him all the time. Would giving it in food affect their effectiveness??

Thanks guys x

Click to expand...

Giving Metacam with food would not impact on it's effectiveness as an analgesic.

There are other analgesics that can be prescribed and they can be given alongside Metacam if necessary. When Morse's ear pain was bad he had both Metacam and Tramadol. Tramadol is a very effective analgesic and it tends not to have the sedating effects that opiates such as Buprenorphine often have.

Is Cody's eyesight effected now ? He has Glaucoma doesn't he ? Loss of vision can also make a Rabbit less active, preferring to remain in smaller familiar areas. Photosensitivity (light causing eye discomfort) may be something else the Vet wants to consider.

nickybunny1 said:

Thanks Ruth. Yes it would be good to know the name of those anti imflamatory drops thank you. Cody was scratching his eye alot when it was more watery so I don't know if the watering is from the Glaucoma and it was causing the skin to be quite red below his eye and a wee bald patch which is now healing well so he could well have scratched his eye then. But could have been watery from an ulcer we did not see.

Hi Jane. I am going to give Code a couple of days after finishing his drops just incase it's the rare possibility it is them. He still comes out from his box for his morning grape and sleeps in a comfy enough position but I defo get what ur r saying that perhaps the ear pain is making him want to move less. If his ear is more painful what do u suggest?? My vet said there was so little pus on view that nothing to washout . I have been giving his metacam squirter on to a leaf then crushed pellets sprinkled on top so that I don't have to lift him all the time. Would giving it in food affect their effectiveness??

Thanks guys x

Click to expand...

Nicky, can you remind me whether Code is on Tramadol or only Metacam?

Giving metacam on food is just as effective as squirting it into the mouth, so long as he eats it all up x

He is just in metacam Max . 0.5ml dog metacam once a day and he is 2kg

Do I need to consider blood test to determine renal function for pain relief choice if he is to be on something long term ??

nickybunny1 said:

He is just in metacam Max . 0.5ml dog metacam once a day and he is 2kg

Click to expand...

I was just wondering if your vet could add tramadol into the mix, as you can give it alongside Metacam and it doesn't affect the kidneys in the same way ...

Waiting on my vet to ring. Will ask her about that. Thanks x

nickybunny1 said:

Waiting on my vet to ring. Will ask her about that. Thanks x

Click to expand...

Most rabbits do well on Tramdol, and it doesn't affect them the same way as it does humans:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?447088-Tramadol-and-Metacam

When Harvey was on tramadol he was on 0.3ml twice daily, and he was a similar size to Cody so it could well be he's finding it a little painful bless him & he's rubbing or scratching them which is why they aren't going away?

Really hope the vets can help him xxx

Good to know Max and that link is reassuring .

Vet has said to give 0.4ml metacam twice a day and to continue the eye drops for a few more days to see if the wateryness stops.

She said if that doesn't help we can try Tramadol next.