really worried Amy vet update

about Amy she still has really bad diaorreah, green and sticky today! :shock: She's not her bright usual self although she is moving about. She's only eating bits of hay and she still has probiotics in her water, has had them for a week but they're not making any difference. I don't know what to do to help her, she's so skinny now!

What has the vet said? Have you have a sample tested? It could be an infection or parasite that's causing the problem. It sounds like something that needs more than probiotics.

Tam

aaaaaaaaw poor Amy. I can only say what's already been said. Try to get her to the vets as soon as possible. She might get dehyrated. I hope the vets can sort out her poorly tum and find out what's causing this.

Hi Touie. As Amy has been on longterm antibiotics I would be concerned that she is at risk of caecal dysbiosis/enterotoxaemia. I would really advise you get Amy seen by the vet TODAY as she probably needs rehydration treatment, Analgesia, Cholestyramine (Questran) which can be effective in 'mopping up' the toxins associated with Antibiotic induced entertoxaemia. Vitamin C can reduce toxin production and absorption. Sometimes another antibiotic may have to be given in conjunction with the aggressive supportive therapy previously mentioned. It is actually possible for a Bun to go into STASIS as a result of Enterotoxaemia so despite a history of diarrhoea a gut motility drug may also be needed. I honestly believe Amy needs to be seen by a Vet TODAY. Janex

Poor Amy Hope she starts to improve soon....

Thanks for your help. She's got an appt Monday morning with my vet, I get a bit worried about seeing other vets at the practice because I really don't think they're any good with rabbits. She saw the vet on Tuesday but her tummy was ok then so i thought the probiotics were working. Its been bad again since Wednesday. The vet thought that it was the baytril that had originally caused her tummy problem she had been on Baytril for weeks because of her abcess. The poo's looking slightly better formed than it was but is very sticky with lots of mucus

When Storm had an upset tummy I gave him nothing but hay over night and it seemed to get better. I don't think his tummy was as bad as Amy's tum though. I would be worried about Amy getting dehydrated as buns can dehydrate very quickly.

I doubt she's getting enough probiotic if it's just in her water - it needs to be either sprinkled on mushed up pellets or syringed in with water, whichever's easiest.

Questran is a human anti cholesterol medication, so I doubt vets will use it - you can get some from a pharmacy though and give it to her as below - half a tsp suspended in at least 20cc of water - it does cause dehydration though, and what with that and diarrea anyway, she needs fluids syringing into her every hour, or a sub cutaneaous injection of fluids from the vets. I've heard that Questran can be a lifesaver though - I would get some into her today.

I don't think she should wait till Monday as they go downhill very fast from dehydration.

Meanwhile just feed her hay - does she eat much hay?

Hope she's going to be OK soon poor girly

This is what Dana Krempels says about Questran
Cholestyramine (Questran)

is a granular resin with a high affinity for negatively charged, hydrophobic compounds, such as those produced by Clostridium spiroformes as toxins. Cholestyramine is used in human medicine to reduce serum cholesterol, and so is readily available at most pharmacies. If the rabbit has mucus in the stool, there is a good chance that Clostridium bacteria are proliferating and producing dangerous exotoxins. Questran will absorb these and be passed out harmlessly in the feces. Questran should be suspended in a generous amount of liquid (1/2 teaspoon of powder in at least 20 cc of water) and administered orally: because of its hydrophilic properties, it can dehydrate intestinal contents if given with insufficient water. Questran does not affect the action of the intestine; it is not absorbed by the body. Rather, it works directly upon the contents of the gut. We believe this substance has helped save the lives of many rabbits suffering from a severely inflamed intestine simply by sequestering toxins and buying time while gut motility medications and other treatments get the intestine moving again. It is safe and effective, used as directed.

(from this article : http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

elve. you always amaze me with the information you find.

I hope Amy picks up soon.

Rabswood

thanks Elve, yes she does eat alot of hay luckily, she's got her head in the bag now. She's had alot to drink today too because she managed to get to Fudges water bowl which she seemed to like much better than her bottle.
edit: she's just done some that look much more formed than they have been, still very wet though, so i guess thats a good sign?

she's eating fudges science selective too, should i stop her or is it ok?

awwwwwww i hope shes well soon


now if snowey woukd eat like that id be happy im feeding her every hour right now

touie said:

she's eating fudges science selective too, should i stop her or is it ok?

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I'd let her have some as theres probiotic in that as well plus lots of fibre!

Keep us updated!

My mum looked up the Questran in her MIMs book and it said it was perscription only, and not to be used in children under 6, and listed some nasty side effects, is this right? :?

Amy's just done 3 poos that were reasonably hard, still a bit slimey though, what a clever bunny!

yay! good girl amy keep getting better for mummy!

Just got back from the vets. What a worry she is, she was only 3.1kg (french lop :shock: ) she's lost .65 of a kg since last week, and her tummy is still really gurgly! I've got more probiotics for her, and am going to syringe the oxbow critical care to try and increase her weight , I'm also going to try and get some arrowroot. luckily she wasn't at all dehydrated though which was good!

whats a reasonable amount of the critical care to give her if shes eating hay? The vet said up to 150ml depending on how much she's eating! That seems like loads though, I've just managed to get about 25ml into her mixed with probiotic sachet but that was quite a struggle! :?

touie said:

Just got back from the vets. What a worry she is, she was only 3.1kg (french lop :shock: )

whats a reasonable amount of the critical care to give her if shes eating hay? :?

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......50-100ml/kg/24 hrs. Hope her poor tum settles down soon. Janex

Poor Amy, hopefully she will get better soon, 150Ml sounds alot esp, my syringe only holds 2.5 ml so i would be there for hours doing that!!!

Thanks, yes my syringe only holds 5ml so still takes forever! Would be so much easier if she'd just have it out the bowl, I did try and she had a sniff but got her ears in it and made a right mess! :shock: :?