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One of the Ways Lord H's Chronic Gut Problems Effect Him

Thankfully he is not in any pain. The exaggerated peristaltic action of his guts is something he was born with. Everything passes through him VERY rapidly and he is only able to process certain food types as a result. If the condition caused him pain he would have had to be PTS as there is no cure for it.
 
This is exactly what my rabbit looks like.
I had a CT done 2yrs ago. It revealed a huge fur ball in her stomach which the vet said was too huge to go anywhere and as food was still passing though recommended not to operate due to the risk of lesions.
And something further down in her digestive system they couldn't identify at the clinic and which is in an absolutely inoperable place.
She is now in 1ml of Emipred twice a day and doing fine, touch wood.


Is Lord H on any medication? What in your experience, food and medication wise has been working bestfor him?
 
This is exactly what my rabbit looks like.
I had a CT done 2yrs ago. It revealed a huge fur ball in her stomach which the vet said was too huge to go anywhere and as food was still passing though recommended not to operate due to the risk of lesions.
And something further down in her digestive system they couldn't identify at the clinic and which is in an absolutely inoperable place.
She is now in 1ml of Emipred twice a day and doing fine, touch wood.


Is Lord H on any medication? What in your experience, food and medication wise has been working bestfor him?

He is not on any medication. His condition is managed by diet alone. He cannot have any type of pellets/muesli. He has a variety of hays, grass, Lucerne Chaff, Readigrass, dried and fresh forages, dried and fresh herbs, dark leafy greens. He needs to have a good water intake and so he has Avipro Plus in peppermint tea twice a day aswell as his fresh water. The Avipro Plus encourages him to drink and as it is a prebiotic it aids absorption of dietary nutrients.

Lord H's condition does not present as gut stasis, everything goes through him far too quickly. He cannot process pellets and just one will cause him to have severe diarrhoea. If this happens it can take days to get his poo back to normal. The actual diarrhoea resolves but his fecal pellets become huge, oval in shape and very wet. His condition involves the autonomic nervous system and effects the innervation of his GI tract and unfortunately it also effects his heart.

A definitive diagnosis is unlikely to be found whilst he is alive. It will probably only be found on PM examination. Thankfully after over a year of trial and error with his diet and a few very scary times Lord H is relatively stable at the moment.
 
Poor Lord H :( I can imagine that he must have to eat quite a lot of his "safe" foods to keep his weight stable.
 
Poor Lord H :( I can imagine that he must have to eat quite a lot of his "safe" foods to keep his weight stable.

If he isn't asleep then he is eating. He is always hungry. But of course some of that can be attributed to his Rex 'greedy gene' !
 
Omg that is really weird, like a water wave. Is that very rare ?

Sorry, I missed this Amanda. I dont know how rare his condition is, I have certainly never seen anything that presents exactly like it before. But as we have not been able to establish a definitive diagnosis it's all a bit :? The only other think would be to open him up and I am definitely NOT going down that route.
 
There is a condition seen in horses and European brown hares called dysautonomia, ('grass sickness' in horses) which produces similar symptoms. I wonder if this is related to Lord H's problem, although it usually causes more of a stasis problem as the gut slows down. A friend of mine has three horses in the same field and she lost one to grass sickness, the other two were (and still are) fine.
 
There is a condition seen in horses and European brown hares called dysautonomia, ('grass sickness' in horses) which produces similar symptoms. I wonder if this is related to Lord H's problem, although it usually causes more of a stasis problem as the gut slows down. A friend of mine has three horses in the same field and she lost one to grass sickness, the other two were (and still are) fine.

That is what we think he has xx
 
I was worried the first time I saw a much-reduced version in Aboleth, but was presumed it was her gut moving about. It certainly doesn't rise as far off the skin's neutral surface position as Lord H's! It's much easier to see in shorter fur. It's great that his condition is manageable because he's so lovely, but a shame any little thing could set him off :(
 
Jane, I was astonished by the abdominal movement in the video. This is how Fiver's gut looks from time to time. :(

I am so glad you posted this because despite him being a very greedy minirex and loving his hay, he is only allowed hay to eat as anything else causes the wet poos you are talking about. I am wondering now if he does not have the same condition as Lord H. I cannot give him dark greens though, with his history of bladder stones, can you recommend herbs that might be beneficial?

I have been worried about his heart on occasion as you know, and although I've had him checked regularly, he is definitely having some kind of trouble and I wonder if it could be related to his diet?
He is also beginning to look as crooked as Mimzy does and I fear he may have EC to some degree and, while he has not tilted, when he does relax it's with his front legs under him on a slant. It's very disturbing. It's been months since I have seen him sleep in a flopped position. Otherwise, if I approach him, he's moving about as he always has, thumping at me and giving me stick, I simply don't like the way he sleeps. :(

Do you suppose this would all have to do with his GI tract? Should I see if he'd take peppermint tea? I don't think we have anything like Avipro here. :(
 
Wow Jane that is so weird! Thanks for sharing, never seen anything like that before. So glad you have got him stable.
 
Jane, I was astonished by the abdominal movement in the video. This is how Fiver's gut looks from time to time. :(

I am so glad you posted this because despite him being a very greedy minirex and loving his hay, he is only allowed hay to eat as anything else causes the wet poos you are talking about. I am wondering now if he does not have the same condition as Lord H. I cannot give him dark greens though, with his history of bladder stones, can you recommend herbs that might be beneficial?

I have been worried about his heart on occasion as you know, and although I've had him checked regularly, he is definitely having some kind of trouble and I wonder if it could be related to his diet?
He is also beginning to look as crooked as Mimzy does and I fear he may have EC to some degree and, while he has not tilted, when he does relax it's with his front legs under him on a slant. It's very disturbing. It's been months since I have seen him sleep in a flopped position. Otherwise, if I approach him, he's moving about as he always has, thumping at me and giving me stick, I simply don't like the way he sleeps. :(

Do you suppose this would all have to do with his GI tract? Should I see if he'd take peppermint tea? I don't think we have anything like Avipro here. :(

Herbs that usually go down well are coriander, mint, basil.

With regards to Veg, even those with a higher calcium content are unlikely to cause as many issues as the calcium content of alfalfa hays and pellets. Obviously higher calcium veg need to be fed in moderation if a Rabbit has bladder sludge issues. But personally I would not avoid feeding them altogether.

There are lots of possible reasons as to why he's not been sleeping in a flopped position anymore. Lord H did not flop for the first year of his life due to his gut problems. It may be that Fiver's arthritis (I think he does have it doesn't he ??) prevents him from flopping. It may also be why he positions his front legs in an 'odd' way. Sorry I cant really be of much help xx

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