I used to medicate all presenting symptoms the same (throw everything at it- Metacam, tramadol, metaclop, Zantac, fluids- unless there were contraindications to this in anyway) with the aim of reducing the problem and preventing secondary problems.
I’ve had some poorly bunnies recently where I’ve always presumed them to be in pain however, it’s become clear that it was actually a nausea type response (seemed particularly common with my liver failure bunnies). It’s not something I’ve considered before, but when Lightning was pts he wouldn’t swallow his saliva and was just drooling and she said it was the nausea around the liver issues. Rabbits obviously can’t be sick but my understanding is that they can still feel nauseous- they just can’t do anything about it.
It just made me think and consider all the others over the years where I’ve assumed pain but I’m now wondering if it was pain or nausea. It makes me consider autumns episodes and what his predominant problem is in those. When Dawn was super poorly, the only thing that helped was metaclop (which is an anti-emetic in humans) and he was eventually pts was liver failure- the vet felt he was likely nauseous rather than in pain (although he did have pain when poked and prodded).
I won’t be changing how I Medicate and suchlike, however, it’s always important to me to understand as much as possible about what I’m seeing and what they are experiencing.
I’m wondering if anyone else has noticed or has any thoughts on this?
I’ve had some poorly bunnies recently where I’ve always presumed them to be in pain however, it’s become clear that it was actually a nausea type response (seemed particularly common with my liver failure bunnies). It’s not something I’ve considered before, but when Lightning was pts he wouldn’t swallow his saliva and was just drooling and she said it was the nausea around the liver issues. Rabbits obviously can’t be sick but my understanding is that they can still feel nauseous- they just can’t do anything about it.
It just made me think and consider all the others over the years where I’ve assumed pain but I’m now wondering if it was pain or nausea. It makes me consider autumns episodes and what his predominant problem is in those. When Dawn was super poorly, the only thing that helped was metaclop (which is an anti-emetic in humans) and he was eventually pts was liver failure- the vet felt he was likely nauseous rather than in pain (although he did have pain when poked and prodded).
I won’t be changing how I Medicate and suchlike, however, it’s always important to me to understand as much as possible about what I’m seeing and what they are experiencing.
I’m wondering if anyone else has noticed or has any thoughts on this?
