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Fia isn't right...Update - Back to the vets

ShivyRex

Mama Doe
Ever since Fia was spayed I have been concerned about her weight. As soon as she came home she looked like a ball was removed from inside her and her stomach has been sunken in.

She is still eating. i have split her and Zi when they eat as he is a gannet and steals all her food as she is a slow eater. there have been two occassions i have been quite worried when she hasn't been interested in her veg. First time was about 4 weeks ago and i brought her inside and then she started eating. The next time was last night.

She wasn't interested in veg or dandelion leaves and was shuffling around sitting rather odd (see pic 3) and then laying down. I put the snuggle safe in and she layed next to that. Her stomach looked more sunken in than normal and just not right (see pics).

This morning I gave her the veg she didn't eat the night before and she ate it all. I also gave her some pellets and some weetabix which she wolfed down.

I have an appointment at the vets this evening to get her checked out, weighed and get both their nails clipped.

Here are some pics from last night when she refused her veg. See her stomach :? :?

fianr1.jpg


fianr2.jpg


fianr3.jpg


Any advice most appreciated.

Worried Shiv
 
oh i have no idea whats wrong but I hope everything turns out ok. Good that you called the vet though.

Good luck
 
Those pictures look like she has colic

How is she now?
Is she pooing the normal amount?

What Veg do you feed?
Cabbage/Broccoli/Kale can give some Rabbits a gassy stomach

Is her weight stable now?
Did the Vet who spayed her comment on the condition of the Uterus?

I would ask your Vet to check Fia over. You could give Fia some Infacol if she has another episode of pain (2ml then tummy rubs. Repeat after 1 hour) but a Vet check is def needed

The other condition that can cause pain which makes a Bun draw their sides up and in is Cystitis/bladder sludge/stones

Janex
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Those pictures look like she has colic

How is she now?
Is she pooing the normal amount?

What Veg do you feed?
Cabbage/Broccoli/Kale can give some Rabbits a gassy stomach

Is her weight stable now?
Did the Vet who spayed her comment on the condition of the Uterus?

I would ask your Vet to check Fia over. You could give Fia some Infacol if she has another episode of pain (2ml then tummy rubs. Repeat after 1 hour) but a Vet check is def needed

The other condition that can cause pain which makes a Bun draw their sides up and in is Cystitis/bladder sludge/stones

Janex

Thank you so much for your reply Jane!

Are there any other symptoms I would see with colic? Very rarely she makes a little coughing sound about 3 times and then she stops.

She poos a similar amount to what she pooed before but nothing in comparison to Zion. He must poo about 3 times as much as her each day. His poos are also a lot lighter in colour, larger and rounder. I think he eats more hay that she does but she does eat hay.

I feed them greens, carrot (not all the time), baby corn, celery, cucumber and sometimes give them a grape. She does love her greens and try and feed her other stuff but she is less keen.

I haven't been able to weigh her as I have no means to. the scales I have at home are kitchen scales and hold a minimal amount. I will make sure they weigh her tonight. Nicola had her weighed before the spay and she was 2kg but I don't think she is that now.

No the vet didn't comment on her uterus. When I picked her up I didn't see the vet, just took her home. Then when she went for the check up it was a different vet but he didn't mention anything on her notes. I will be clarifying this tonight.

I will get some infacol for a future occurrence just in case. As for tummy rubs - i think that would be impossible. She doesn't even like coming near me really let alone picking her up and I think trying to give her tummy rubs would just stress her out even more.

I will make sure the vets do a thorough examination. do you think they should be taking bloods? or just a good feel of her tummy? I will make a note of the things you mention - of course I know you're not a vet but its worth querying it with them. Thankfully I am seeing one of the more rabbit savvy vets today.

Thanks again

Shiv
 
ShivyRex said:
Jack's-Jane said:
Those pictures look like she has colic

How is she now?
Is she pooing the normal amount?

What Veg do you feed?
Cabbage/Broccoli/Kale can give some Rabbits a gassy stomach

Is her weight stable now?
Did the Vet who spayed her comment on the condition of the Uterus?

I would ask your Vet to check Fia over. You could give Fia some Infacol if she has another episode of pain (2ml then tummy rubs. Repeat after 1 hour) but a Vet check is def needed

The other condition that can cause pain which makes a Bun draw their sides up and in is Cystitis/bladder sludge/stones

Janex

Thank you so much for your reply Jane!

Are there any other symptoms I would see with colic? Very rarely she makes a little coughing sound about 3 times and then she stops.

She poos a similar amount to what she pooed before but nothing in comparison to Zion. He must poo about 3 times as much as her each day. His poos are also a lot lighter in colour, larger and rounder. I think he eats more hay that she does but she does eat hay.

I feed them greens, carrot (not all the time), baby corn, celery, cucumber and sometimes give them a grape. She does love her greens and try and feed her other stuff but she is less keen.

I haven't been able to weigh her as I have no means to. the scales I have at home are kitchen scales and hold a minimal amount. I will make sure they weigh her tonight. Nicola had her weighed before the spay and she was 2kg but I don't think she is that now.

No the vet didn't comment on her uterus. When I picked her up I didn't see the vet, just took her home. Then when she went for the check up it was a different vet but he didn't mention anything on her notes. I will be clarifying this tonight.

I will get some infacol for a future occurrence just in case. As for tummy rubs - i think that would be impossible. She doesn't even like coming near me really let alone picking her up and I think trying to give her tummy rubs would just stress her out even more.

I will make sure the vets do a thorough examination. do you think they should be taking bloods? or just a good feel of her tummy? I will make a note of the things you mention - of course I know you're not a vet but its worth querying it with them. Thankfully I am seeing one of the more rabbit savvy vets today.

Thanks again

Shiv

When a Bun has colicky pain it causes their guts to go into spasm and the tuck teir tums up and in. They will look 'tucked up', they may be restless and fling themselves down trying to get away from the pain in their tum
Their poos will be hard and small at first and may eventually cease all together. They may have an increase in respiratorty rate.

If Fia is a poor hay eater and a slow eater in general I wonder if her molar teeth are ok :? I would advise asking the Vet to check them.

Re her diet I'd just feed ONE type of veg for a week. If no tummy prolems introduce one other type and so on to see if you can identify anything she is sensitive too. I would put cucumber at the top of the list as a 'suspect'

Hope all goes well at the Vets

Janex
 
Jack's-Jane said:
When a Bun has colicky pain it causes their guts to go into spasm and the tuck teir tums up and in. They will look 'tucked up', they may be restless and fling themselves down trying to get away from the pain in their tum
Their poos will be hard and small at first and may eventually cease all together. They may have an increase in respiratorty rate.

If Fia is a poor hay eater and a slow eater in general I wonder if her molar teeth are ok :? I would advise asking the Vet to check them.

Re her diet I'd just feed ONE type of veg for a week. If no tummy prolems introduce one other type and so on to see if you can identify anything she is sensitive too. I would put cucumber at the top of the list as a 'suspect'

Hope all goes well at the Vets

Janex

Thanks Jane. I should be getting the answer about the molar teeth tonight as when I brought her in for her spay I asked them to make sure they checked her molars under the GA but they didn't tell me in the check up and I forgot to ask about it. It was already on my list of things to ask the vet. Hopefully as I requested it to be done during the op they actually made a note of it.

I will try the one veg for a week thing. Thanks for that. I have been splitting her and Zi anyway so this won't be a problem.

Will give an update from the vets later.

Thanks

Shiv
 
Well we went to the vets and came out happy but kind of none the wiser really.

She gave her a thorough examination and felt her stomach for a good while and came to the conclusion that Fia wasn't experiencing any discomfort in her tummy whilst she was examining it. I showed her the pictures I put on here and she said she is pulling in her stomach which is indicitive of pain but it wasn't evident at that time.

She checked her teeth, both the incisors and the molars using a scope type thing whilst Fia was wrapped up in a towel. She said they look fine at the moment. The top molars may be prone to getting spurs on the outside in the future but they are fine at the moment.

Her bum is clean and she is weeing and pooing fine. Her and Zi's poos have been pretty much the same today except Fia's are darker but the same in size and shape.

She weighed in at 2.49kg which is much better than I thought. She is a mini/standard cross so I think she could gain a bit more but the vet didn't think she was underweight and said she had good body mass really.

As there was nothing particularly wrong she has given her a painkiller that will last until Friday and then given me a bottle of metacam to give her from then until next Friday when I take her back to be weighed again and another check up. She said she could take xrays etc but she couldn't feel anything and she is eating and pooing so not necessary at this stage.

She was very thorough and I don't think she could have done much more but then I am not a vet and don't have much experience in rabbit medicine.

Fia has eaten her greens, some pepper and carrot this evening as well as her pellets so she is definately eating ok. Fingers crossed she gains a bit of weight this week and nothing like this happens again.

Thank you for all your vibes and advice. Most appraciated.

Shiv
 
oh soz by the way shiv, when i got my kitten spayed it looked like her whole side had sunken in for a while, not like fias but the whole side, maybe its jst til she fills out again after losing womb etc
 
ShivyRex said:
I feed them greens, carrot (not all the time), baby corn, celery, cucumber and sometimes give them a grape. She does love her greens and try and feed her other stuff but she is less keen.

Corn causes blockage. Corn in general is only meant for breeder who wants their bunny to gain weight. And it's not meant for continuous feeding. I mean, if it is a short summer treat kind of thing, and just about a dozen or so, no biggie. But not ongoing, and never when you suspect your bunny is sick.

Same deal w/ grape. If it is dry raisin, a little bit, okay. But if you suspect she is sick, fresh grape is toxic. Even for a human, if I eat a bowl of fresh grape, I'll have stomach-ache. So for a suspected sick bunny, no grape.

By the way, I never meet a rabbit that eats cucumber. With these much green, the condition reminds me of my last rabbit, who doesn't eat any hay. I know your one does a bit, but I bet a downsize of these much green can motivate her to eat more hay
 
Thanks for that happy hopping. I read so many conflicting things with regards to bunny veggies I don't think people can blame me for getting confused.

I read on several posts that to feed full sized corn on the cob was a bad for buns but that baby corn was fine. Have also read the cucumber and grapes (occassionally, which I feed) are fine :? It's so difficult to know what is right.

I am sticking with greens and occassional carrot now and see how she fairs with that.

Thanks again

Shiv
 
My buns don't get a huge variety of veg at all, as I've found certain veggies (cauliflower, crocoli and cabbage) give them wind, which can cause problems as you know.
Thye have spring greens, celery and sprouts in the day, and a small bit of carrot and carrot tops in the evening.
It is trial and error, seeing what agrees with them and what doesn't. Hope you sort it out. Snuggles to Fia.
 
same here. I just stick w/ veggies that has good "contents" inside, like spinach and carrot, vs. " pure water" type veggies like lettuce. So w/ my bunny, in the winter, it's just 1 slice of apple or pear, 1 carrot medium size, and 2 leaf of spinach. We don't have much fruit or veggie for human or for pets in the winter here anyway.
 
Happy Hopping said:
same here. I just stick w/ veggies that has good "contents" inside, like spinach and carrot, vs. " pure water" type veggies like lettuce. So w/ my bunny, in the winter, it's just 1 slice of apple or pear, 1 carrot medium size, and 2 leaf of spinach. We don't have much fruit or veggie for human or for pets in the winter here anyway.

Seee now the confusion continues - I was told that spinach should only be fed in small quantities and VERY irregularly...............

These rabbits are confusing monsters.
 
2 leaf is very small quantity. But my bunny is 11 lb. or so, and the last rabbit Little Happy who eats too much spinach and won't eat hay is 16 lb. (Little Happy ate 6 leaves)

Spinach has Fe inside, so it's truly good for their body.
 
Well Fia seems much happier in herself, especially today. It took me ages to try and get some pictures of her as she was moving around so much. As you can see in the pic below she has a normal tummy, she looks spritely and she is eating well (alongside fatty Zion)

Hello mum
fiamet1.jpg


Better tummy!
fiamet2.jpg


Fatty buns! (Well Zi)
buncelery.jpg


The pain killing injection the vet gave should have ran out today. Tonight I started her metacam and put the drops in a rolled up piece of spring green which she ate out of my hands. I am so glad she seems so much happier. Hopefully she is on the mend and she will put some weight on and will be the same off the pain killer.

Just wanted to update :)

Shiv
 
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