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Quiet Rabbit

Carole

Warren Scout
I wondered if anyone can help.

My male dutch rabbit is very quiet and hiding a lot, he is one of a pair, and I am going to take him to the vet today. Should I take her with me as well?

Does anyone know do they hide when they are ill, he isnt coming out for food or anything, there are no visible signs of illness - any ideas?

Thanks Carole
 
Oh dear it does sound like he is poorly :cry:
Rabbits do hide away when in pain :cry:
Its what is 'in-built' into their nature as they are prey animals and to show signs of illness openly would put them at even greater risk from predators :cry:
When did your Bunny last eat/poo? If at all possible I would get him to your Vet STRAIGHT AWAY. Bunnies go downhill so rapidly :cry:
I would take his friend along as this will be a comfort to him

Janex
 
Hi,

Thanks for your replies, I have already been to the vet took them both in the carrier, managed to get a quick appointment.

In true animal form he looked quite lively at the Vets - typical they always do that - but the Vet said its the adrenelin of being taken out of their environment.

He gave him a good check over, and said there are some small spurs growing on one side of his teeth, so he is having him in tomorrow to do those, do you think that would cause him to go quiet. It is difficult with rabbits I suppose showing no obvious symptoms to find out what is wrong. To be honest I half expected not to see him alive this morning, as I know they go down hill quite quickly.

Thanks again, your help and advice is much appreciated.

Carole

p.s. what do I do with his girlfriend tomorrow shall I just leave her at home, he will be gone for the day??
 
Yes molar spurs do make a bun go quiet as they can be very painful if the sharp spikes of tooth are cutting into the cheeks/gum
I hope your Bun was given some pain relief tody :? I think I would have to INSIST on it. And what about his guts? Is he eating anything or pooing?
If not then it is ESSENTIAL he has a gut motility stimulant injection and you need to syringe feed him( 10-20ml every 2 hours). Keeping his guts moving is also ESSENTIAL, particularly as he is having a GA tomorrow.

'Yes' I would take his friend in with him tomorrow,

But if he is not eating today and has not had pain relief/gut motility meds I think you need to contact the Vet to ask WHY.
A Rabbit who has not eaten or pooped for more than 12 hours is really in need of ongoing care as described above as their life is at risk :cry:
I am sorry to be so blunt but I am concerned.

Janex
 
Hi Jane,

Thanks v much for all your advice, I am seriously worried now about my bunny, he is sat in the box not moving very quiet, and his girlfriend is acting strange, probably because she knows that something is wrong.

I have had a long chat with the rescue lady that I got him from who more or less gave me the same advice as you, but also said that she would cancel the visit tomorrow, because if he hasnt eaten its not good for him to have an operation on an empty stomach.

I am currently in the process of seeing if I can find a rabbit vet near to where I live, the RWA have given me one in Manchester which is about 25 miles from here, I dont mind taking him that far, but having moved here not long ago not very familiar with the route - plus the traffic is a nightmare.

If anyone knows of a good rabbit vet in Warrington area please can they let me know - thanks
 
Carole said:
Hi Jane,

Thanks v much for all your advice, I am seriously worried now about my bunny, he is sat in the box not moving very quiet, and his girlfriend is acting strange, probably because she knows that something is wrong.

I have had a long chat with the rescue lady that I got him from who more or less gave me the same advice as you, but also said that she would cancel the visit tomorrow, because if he hasnt eaten its not good for him to have an operation on an empty stomach.

I am currently in the process of seeing if I can find a rabbit vet near to where I live, the RWA have given me one in Manchester which is about 25 miles from here, I dont mind taking him that far, but having moved here not long ago not very familiar with the route - plus the traffic is a nightmare.

If anyone knows of a good rabbit vet in Warrington area please can they let me know - thanks

To be honest I think you need to get your Bun back to a Vet NOW. It is imperative he has pain relief/gut motility meds/fluids/syringe feeds ASAP.
I would take him back to the Vet you saw this morning, take a printout of this thread and HOPEFULLY appropriate treatment will be given
I am not wanting to distress you even more but from what you descibe your Bunny cant wait many more hours for medication to stabalise his condition
Please do keep us posted

Janex
 
Hi Jane,

After your advice and my other rabbit friends advice, I decided to ring the RWA and get a rabbit friendly vet in the area. There was one in Manchester but I was worried about travelling there so they recommended one in Liverpool.

They were so helpful he deals with exotics and rabbits, and immediately said he thought he had statis probably caused by a hair ball. He had the equipment to do a fluroscopy there and then (thats an xray with bunny in the box still awake) so no distress, and sure enough there was a massive hairball, probably caused by grooming his girlfriend who is a lionhead. The vet is giving him a whole concoction of medication to make him better.

I took his friend with us, and both of them are in the vets tonight, and Minstral will be there for the next 3 - 4 days, he said there is at least an 80% success rate for curing this and he hasnt had to operate on a hairball in a bun for over 8 years. He was so good, a million times better than the vet I saw this morning. I would definately recommend him if anyone needs a vet in Liverpool area.

He said in his current condition he would have lasted 24 - 48 hours max.

Thanks everyone for all your help, will be bunnyless for the next few days.

Thanks Nicole for your good wishes

Carole x
 
So glad your bunny is getting proper care and I hope he starts to improve soon

The vet sounds brilliant, whereabouts in Liverpool is he. Which number did you ring the RWA on to get the name of a good vet? I live near Preston but Liverpool is probably a bit far to travel but I do need to find a good rabbit and guineapig vet. My vet's very nice but they're better with dogs and cats then bunnies.
 
If you go onto the RWA website - there is a number there to ring, and the lady is very nice and helpful - she gave me several names so some of them might be near you in Preston.

By the way the RWA are looking for new members, a lot of people arent renewing and they need subscriptions to keep running. I myself am guilty of letting mine relapse, but I have rejoined today, with their help my rabbit might live to see another day.

Carole
 
Carole said:
If you go onto the RWA website - there is a number there to ring, and the lady is very nice and helpful - she gave me several names so some of them might be near you in Preston.

By the way the RWA are looking for new members, a lot of people arent renewing and they need subscriptions to keep running. I myself am guilty of letting mine relapse, but I have rejoined today, with their help my rabbit might live to see another day.

Carole

I wonder if it would be a good idea to contact the ORIGIONAL Vet you consulted to explain what has subsequently occured. Not as a ranting critisism, everyone can make a mistake and the Vet may have little experience in treating very sick Rabbits. But this mistake could have cost your Bun his life and I think it important the Vet concerned gets the opportunity to learn from an error. That way hopefully the next partially obstructed Bun they treat will get the life saving care they need

Janex
 
Hi Jane

When I went to the new vet he had to ring the vet I visited in the morning to advise him that I was seeking another opinion and was it ok for him to see him. I asked him if he had to do that and he said it was all part of Vet's etiquette and he could be struck off if he didnt follow this procedure.

He just in fact spoke to the receptionist. The new vet didnt in any way criticise the other vet, they all seem to stick together, and I suppose he doesnt know who I am from Adam, and in fact he said that he knew immediately from feeling him that it was statis caused by a hairball but that was because he had examined thousands of rabbits and that would only come with experience.

I agree with you though Jane, I am so annoyed with the vet, just think my bun could have been going in for surgery this morning, never to return probably, it just doesnt bare thinking about.

I have 2 persian cats as well one of those is currently under the Liverpool University Small Animal Hospital, and its funny isnt it that you just get an gut instinct when something more is wrong, I dont know anything much about rabbit health but just had a feeling it wasnt his teeth.

Thank you so much for all your information I might not have taken him to Liverpool - thanks.

Carole x
 
Carole said:
Hi Jane

When I went to the new vet he had to ring the vet I visited in the morning to advise him that I was seeking another opinion and was it ok for him to see him. I asked him if he had to do that and he said it was all part of Vet's etiquette and he could be struck off if he didnt follow this procedure.

He just in fact spoke to the receptionist. The new vet didnt in any way criticise the other vet, they all seem to stick together, and I suppose he doesnt know who I am from Adam, and in fact he said that he knew immediately from feeling him that it was statis caused by a hairball but that was because he had examined thousands of rabbits and that would only come with experience.

I agree with you though Jane, I am so annoyed with the vet, just think my bun could have been going in for surgery this morning, never to return probably, it just doesnt bare thinking about.

I have 2 persian cats as well one of those is currently under the Liverpool University Small Animal Hospital, and its funny isnt it that you just get an gut instinct when something more is wrong, I dont know anything much about rabbit health but just had a feeling it wasnt his teeth.

Thank you so much for all your information I might not have taken him to Liverpool - thanks.

Carole x

You are more than welcome and please keep us updated as to how your Bun is doing

Janex
 
I have heard from the vet to say he is much livlier today yippee!! and later on they saw him eating, so hopefully he will be home in the next day or so.

I really appreciate all the help and advice I have been given - thanks.

Carole
 
Carole said:
I have heard from the vet to say he is much livlier today yippee!! and later on they saw him eating, so hopefully he will be home in the next day or so.

I really appreciate all the help and advice I have been given - thanks.

Carole

Very good news!! :D :D

Janex
 
Thanks Nicole and Jane for your good wishes.

I went to Liverpool to see Minstral (& Misty) today with a view to him coming home, but when I got there the Vet said he was very difficult to give meds too and he would need to have things syringed into him several times a day, and he thought I would probably struggle with it.

As the vet is quite a distance for me he said he felt it would be better if they stayed in with him for, as I am away at a pre Xmas break at my Mums until Tuesday, and it wouldnt be fair for my rabbit sitters to be left with all the medication.

Anway, when I got there also he said he had noticed that Minstrals head was going to one side, to be honest he did look decidedly awkward,although the vet was hopeful that he will make a full recovery, and thought it was possibly caused by a worm/parasite of some type, and wormed both the buns. I had a rabbit many years ago with a head tilt and unfortunately it didnt survive so I dont have happy memories of this particular problem - anyone else had this exprerience,

Subject to Minstral getting better his teeth will need doing in the near future - fingers crossed for a recovery for him - thank goodness for rabbit insurance!!

Carole x
 
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