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Eating ok?

B

Bebbeb

Young Bun
Hey all,

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, I wasn't sure if it came under diet or health.

So Ebony had an op last friday to remove a lump. All went well the the stitches are healing beautifully. Yesterday was her first day off the antibiotics and she's not eating as much. She's nibbled at treats and some fruit but not touched her nuggets. It's hard to tell whether she's eating hay or not. She's still running around and acting normal it's like she lost her appetite. I'm wondering if she should go to the vet today or not? She's easily put off food with stress and she's had a few visits in the past month. I'm wondering if this is all affecting her?

Note: We did have a check up yesterday and i mentioned the eating, the vet said if I'm worried to go back today but I'm not sure if I should be worried?
 
Only you can really assess whether her reduction in eating is significant enough to be a concern. Is her output OK? Are her poos of a reasonable size and quantity? I know what you mean about the stress of vet visits and whether this then makes it counter productive, but I think if she is still not eating her pellets and hasn't eaten a lot of hay, I would take her back for the vet to see what he thinks.

Also the fact that she presumably was eating OK immediately after the operation, but is not now, would I think persuade me to have her examined.

Sending vibes for her.
 
Bebbeb said:
Hey all,

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, I wasn't sure if it came under diet or health.

So Ebony had an op last friday to remove a lump. All went well the the stitches are healing beautifully. Yesterday was her first day off the antibiotics and she's not eating as much. She's nibbled at treats and some fruit but not touched her nuggets. It's hard to tell whether she's eating hay or not. She's still running around and acting normal it's like she lost her appetite. I'm wondering if she should go to the vet today or not? She's easily put off food with stress and she's had a few visits in the past month. I'm wondering if this is all affecting her?

Note: We did have a check up yesterday and i mentioned the eating, the vet said if I'm worried to go back today but I'm not sure if I should be worried?
Click to expand...



Why don't you ring the vet? It may be that because she was checked only yesterday and you explained the situation, that they would be willing to perhaps give you some advice over the phone.

You could certainly give her Infacol (simethicone - infant gas meds) at a dosage of 1ml every hour for three doses and see how she does. However, as it's getting to the end of the day you may want to consult the vet so as not to be faced with an issue overnight. No one prefers the OOH vets, on the whole!

Good luck :)
 
Omi said:
Only you can really assess whether her reduction in eating is significant enough to be a concern. Is her output OK? Are her poos of a reasonable size and quantity? I know what you mean about the stress of vet visits and whether this then makes it counter productive, but I think if she is still not eating her pellets and hasn't eaten a lot of hay, I would take her back for the vet to see what he thinks.

Also the fact that she presumably was eating OK immediately after the operation, but is not now, would I think persuade me to have her examined.

Sending vibes for her.
Click to expand...

Well Ebony is easily put off food with stress, she's so stubborn no matter what treat you have. Like I said, this is the second day no without antibiotics so she might be upset due to being more aware of the stitches. I've managed to get her to eat some apple and small amount of plum. I was booked in at the vet but my damn taxi didn't turn up! So now I've got to wait over night and see how she does. It's a lot of stress and I'm really worried that I've failed her.
 
I'm sorry that you taxi didn't turn up and I really wouldn't start to think that you have failed her.

Have you got any recovery food that you could mix up and put in a bowl for her to make sure she has some food in her system overnight? If not, maybe try softening her pellets with some water into a mush and adding something like grated carrot or grated apple.

Sending you some hugs. It is very stressful caring for a sick rabbit, especially one that doesn't want to eat.
 
MightyMax said:
Why don't you ring the vet? It may be that because she was checked only yesterday and you explained the situation, that they would be willing to perhaps give you some advice over the phone.

You could certainly give her Infacol (simethicone - infant gas meds) at a dosage of 1ml every hour for three doses and see how she does. However, as it's getting to the end of the day you may want to consult the vet so as not to be faced with an issue overnight. No one prefers the OOH vets, on the whole!

Good luck :)
Click to expand...

When I rang they just booked me in to be safe but as I said in my last reply my taxi never showed and I had to ring and apologise. Luckily my vets are very understanding. The receptionist didn't sound too worried, if anything the check was to be safe. If I was to describe it, it's like she want's to eat but can't? Because when she hear me crumple a packet she runs out and when I try pass her something she hops away.

What is Infacol? I live in the UK so I'm not too sure if we sell it here or if it has a different name? Where would I find it?
 
Omi said:
I'm sorry that you taxi didn't turn up and I really wouldn't start to think that you have failed her.

Have you got any recovery food that you could mix up and put in a bowl for her to make sure she has some food in her system overnight? If not, maybe try softening her pellets with some water into a mush and adding something like grated carrot or grated apple.

Sending you some hugs. It is very stressful caring for a sick rabbit, especially one that doesn't want to eat.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I'm not too sure what recovery food is? This is my first time looking after a sick bun so I'm new to all this haha.
I may try mushing up some pellet for her, the lump was on her neck just under her dewlap so she might be a bit sore around there? Perhaps soft food will help.
Thank you for replying so quickly xx
 
Recovery food is just powder, which can be mixed with water and then either given to the rabbit as a syringe feed or put into a bowl. If you have a rabbit who gets easily stressed, it's probably better to try first with a bowl. Mixed up pellets give a similar result to recovery food. As I said in my previous post, I would also try grating either carrot or apple into it to make it more tasty for her.

I hope you can find something which she will eat.
 
Infacol is what people give to babies - can you pick some grass for her maybe in the morning? It's what rabbits will eat if they don't want anything else. From your description I feel the Vet ought to examine her again as she doesn't sound right. You say her stitches are healing well - was the lump an abscess do you know?
 
Bebbeb said:
When I rang they just booked me in to be safe but as I said in my last reply my taxi never showed and I had to ring and apologise. Luckily my vets are very understanding. The receptionist didn't sound too worried, if anything the check was to be safe. If I was to describe it, it's like she want's to eat but can't? Because when she hear me crumple a packet she runs out and when I try pass her something she hops away.

What is Infacol? I live in the UK so I'm not too sure if we sell it here or if it has a different name? Where would I find it?
Click to expand...


Yes it's available in the UK :D

It's in the baby section of Boots, or just ask in a chemist. But you'd need a syringe as well and I don't know whether you have any? A vet would give them to you ...

http://www.infacol.co.uk

Edited to add ... Infacol comes with it's own syringe so you don't need to get one. I don't normally use it for rabbits but you can do :)
 
Bebbeb said:
Thank you, I'm not too sure what recovery food is? This is my first time looking after a sick bun so I'm new to all this haha.
I may try mushing up some pellet for her, the lump was on her neck just under her dewlap so she might be a bit sore around there? Perhaps soft food will help.
Thank you for replying so quickly xx
Click to expand...


If you don't have any syringes, you can just soak pellets till they are a mush, and add in something tasty. What we (on RU) often do is add in some baby food out of pouches. Ella's kitchen is good, and you can find carrot and apple, or blueberries, or bananas. In fact most (but not all) bunnies go mad for banana and if you mix some banana in with mushed up pellets she may be able to get it down.

If there's no issue with her teeth (and I'm guessing there wasn't as far as you know?) then she's probably got an upset stomach. She wants the food, but it makes her feel sick. With a syringe she has to take it whether she really wants it or not.

See how you go with food in a saucer xx
 
Re the Infacol, we got ours from Morrisons so if you can't get to a chemist try your local supermarket. Hope your bun is ok x
 
Omi said:
Recovery food is just powder, which can be mixed with water and then either given to the rabbit as a syringe feed or put into a bowl. If you have a rabbit who gets easily stressed, it's probably better to try first with a bowl. Mixed up pellets give a similar result to recovery food. As I said in my previous post, I would also try grating either carrot or apple into it to make it more tasty for her.

I hope you can find something which she will eat.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! I will definitely have to look into the recovery food more but will be trying out the mixed up pellets soon, fingers crossed it works!
 
MightyMax said:
If you don't have any syringes, you can just soak pellets till they are a mush, and add in something tasty. What we (on RU) often do is add in some baby food out of pouches. Ella's kitchen is good, and you can find carrot and apple, or blueberries, or bananas. In fact most (but not all) bunnies go mad for banana and if you mix some banana in with mushed up pellets she may be able to get it down.

If there's no issue with her teeth (and I'm guessing there wasn't as far as you know?) then she's probably got an upset stomach. She wants the food, but it makes her feel sick. With a syringe she has to take it whether she really wants it or not.

See how you go with food in a saucer xx
Click to expand...

Ebony loves banana so will definitely try mushing some up in the pellets! The vet said she's healthy, no breathing problems, no lumps or bumps, no sticky bottom. We are putting this all down to stress mainly. I keep checking her tummy when I get a chance to see if it's swollen.

If the saucer doesn't work would you syringe feed? Or do i need to be careful in case she's not passing any poop?
 
MightyMax said:
Yes it's available in the UK :D

It's in the baby section of Boots, or just ask in a chemist. But you'd need a syringe as well and I don't know whether you have any? A vet would give them to you ...

http://www.infacol.co.uk

Edited to add ... Infacol comes with it's own syringe so you don't need to get one. I don't normally use it for rabbits but you can do :)
Click to expand...

I have syringes! I live near a 24 hour supermarket so will walk to it later to see if they have any in there. Thank you for helping!
 
tonibun said:
Infacol is what people give to babies - can you pick some grass for her maybe in the morning? It's what rabbits will eat if they don't want anything else. From your description I feel the Vet ought to examine her again as she doesn't sound right. You say her stitches are healing well - was the lump an abscess do you know?
Click to expand...

I wish I could but I'm in a city with literally no grass nearby! I'd be worried about what may be on it too as Ebony isn't up to date with her injections. The op put my £200 back and i couldn't afford her booster. Her personality is all the same she just won't eat a lot which obviously is worrying but she's still full of energy. I don't know what the lump was as it would cost me £80 more to find out and the vet said he believed it was probably more of a benign lump then a cancerous one (Not for definite).
 
Bebbeb said:
Ebony loves banana so will definitely try mushing some up in the pellets! The vet said she's healthy, no breathing problems, no lumps or bumps, no sticky bottom. We are putting this all down to stress mainly. I keep checking her tummy when I get a chance to see if it's swollen.

If the saucer doesn't work would you syringe feed? Or do i need to be careful in case she's not passing any poop?
Click to expand...


Yes you definitely have to be careful that she is passing poop OK. I would definitely syringe her some Infacol, and perhaps also some water. But make sure your vet is happy for you to syringe food.

A couple of article on stasis for you :

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv/basic

http://rabbit.org/gastrointestinal-stasis-the-silent-killer-2/

Good luck!

I hope to hear good news of the poos tomorrow when I wake up :D
 
MightyMax said:
Yes you definitely have to be careful that she is passing poop OK. I would definitely syringe her some Infacol, and perhaps also some water. But make sure your vet is happy for you to syringe food.

A couple of article on stasis for you :

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv/basic

http://rabbit.org/gastrointestinal-stasis-the-silent-killer-2/

Good luck!

I hope to hear good news of the poos tomorrow when I wake up :D
Click to expand...

She's been eating hand fed pellets and even a little bit of some mushed up ones. She still hasn't passed any poop, should I try the infacol? It's late in the UK so can't get the OK from vets so I don't know if i should go ahead and try to syringe feed her anything or not?

Will update on Ebony's poop in the morning lol!
 
Bebbeb said:
She's been eating hand fed pellets and even a little bit of some mushed up ones. She still hasn't passed any poop, should I try the infacol? It's late in the UK so can't get the OK from vets so I don't know if i should go ahead and try to syringe feed her anything or not?

Will update on Ebony's poop in the morning lol!
Click to expand...


How is she doing today Bebbeb? Any poops?

Most of us (me included) are in the UK so we know where you're coming from :thumb:

Infacol is safe to try *whatever* is happening. Food may not be safe to syringe, so please consult your vet before you do that :)
 
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