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Zeb - u/d 8.30pm We have some improvement

Well Zeb has eaten 1 tiny piece of hay this morning. This is the first i have seen him eat since Sunday pm. There has been no poo and no pee since then but he is still lively, still scenting everything and still cleaning himself etc.

He had some sub-cut fluids last night and he's back in at the vets today. She says he feels gassy and his stomach is gurgling (yesterday am it was totally silent) but she cant feel a blockage. She's taking him to be x-rayed on the safe side though. Basically the vet feels he just wont eat - perhaps as he was in pain and now associates eating with pain. I need to get him eating and pooing though and its getting really stressful now.

We've tried syringe feeding him and he just clamps his mouth shut and gets really upset.

Its really getting to us now. We're not sleeping properly because of the worry and also my asthma and the traumas with Frida at the weekend. Gail can pop in during the day a bit but she runs her own shop and cant keep shutting up. I work full time 30 miles away and just cant take anymore time off work.

We are supposed to be going to Greece for a week on Sunday. We really need the break as i feel like i'm cracking up and i've had a good cry today at work. But i dont know what to do about Zeb. The vet has said that if he isnt eating by Sunday they will hospitalise him and feed him - the woman at bunny camp has kindly agreed to pick him up from the vets once he's eating as our insurance will only pay for hospitalisation while he's not eating. I'm hoping it wont come to that - I hope he will eat before then poor little thing. I'm so worried about him.

I dont know whether to cancel our holiday (doubt we'll get our money back but we're already destitute so whats another £400?) or whether we should go and leave him at the vets if he still isnt eating. Would it be cruel to go away while he's like this?
 
I think you should defiently go. It sounds like you really need a break and he will be in the best possible care at the vets.

Hope he will be ok x
 
Sorry to hear about Zeb :(

I think it depends whether you'd be able to enjoy the holiday. I think Zeb might be looking at anything up to a 5 day stay at the vets to get his guts working again.

TBH if he is hospitalised, there is probably very little you could do, even if you didn't go on holiday.

Good luck.

Amy
 
i think you should go...if you feel you can ....

you put your buns before yourself all the time .....i dont realy think you being there or not will make that much difference to his recovery . if he was looking depressed or in pain etc i would probably think differently though cos then he would need his mummy .

have you tried him with grass and dandylions . i find that poorly buns often respond to going back to basics and will eat grass and dandylions when they wont eat anything else.

also a good run around the garden often stimulates their appetite :wink:
 
Oh no... I can't advise but I really feel for you. What a decision to make!! :shock: :(

I must admit that I was only thinking the other day that I'm so glad we don't have any holidays booked with the state of our bunnies' health at the moment.
 
bunnymadhouse said:
i think you should go...if you feel you can ....

you put your buns before yourself all the time .....i dont realy think you being there or not will make that much difference to his recovery . if he was looking depressed or in pain etc i would probably think differently though cos then he would need his mummy .

have you tried him with grass and dandylions . i find that poorly buns often respond to going back to basics and will eat grass and dandylions when they wont eat anything else.

also a good run around the garden often stimulates their appetite :wink:

i've tried everything. dandelion, grass, blackberry leaves, carrot tops, hay, parsley, mint, coriander, basil. spring greens. kale. nothing is working. ive blended stuff up and the syringe feeding is just making him hysterical.

he's run round the garden every night and every morning which is why its so perplexing. physically you cant really tell theres anything wrong with him.

rebecca did say that she feels there is nothing stopping him eating now apart from his stubborness and unwillingness. i'm totally at the end of my tether and have never experienced this before.

just hoping that changing his meds today might help. feel that going to the vets all the time is upsetting him but without that he's getting no fluidsd. its a vicious circle :(

to be honest i'm really shattered now and its starting to upset me a lot. i dont want my poor baby to be suffering but making him eat is the only thing that will help and he wont do it.

will keep you all updated when i hear from vets at 5.30pm.

sarah.
 
Poor you, Sarah! I know exactly how you are feeling. When Poppy was ill with her jaw abscess, it completely took it out of me. We were at the Vets every day and just when I thought she was picking up, things went downhill again. All you can try to do is hang in there, but I know how hard it is. It's the frustration of not knowing what the outcome will be. What pellets does Zeb have? I know when Poppy was ill I finally tried her with some different pellets and that did the trick - I think she thought it was a novelty to have different ones. I'm sure you've already tried this, but at the time I was clutching at straws trying anything to get her to eat. Good luck and hope things improve soon for you. Claire x
 
Is he definitely no longer in pain? ie getting pain relief??

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious.
 
When i was trying to get my Milo to eat i tried Pro-Kolin or Fibre Plex wrapped up in a dandelion leaf. He absolutely adored it!

Pro-Kolin is a paste (a bit like Fibre Plex) with an artificial beef taste to it! and for some reason buns love it. You should be able to get it from your vets.

Maybe worth a try?
 
Oh Sarah it must be so stressful for you and Gail :cry:

I know you said the Vet did check Zeb's teeth but I still cant help wondering if his mouth is the source of his discomfort. He will get a gassy belly from not eating. But I just keep thinking of all the Buns I have seen showing the exact same behaviour as Zeb, ie bright but just not eating and consequently not pooing then getting a gassy tum. It then turns out that they had a sore mouth that was only evident when Bun was sedated for a more thorough examination.I may be completely wrong though.
I just hope Zeb starts showing some signs of improvement soon. Sending vibes his way

Janex
 
thanks for all your replies

my vet is rabbit savvy so im hoping while he's sedated they will check his mouth, poor thing.

will keep updated.

have eaten about 12 bars of chocolate in 2 days due to traumas - so if i do go on holiday nothing is going to fit me :(
 
I know syringe feeding is really stressful (my bunnies hate it - wish I had the sort who like to lick it off a spoon!), but it may be worth persisting if you can get the hang of it. After numerous techniques attempted, me and the husband have it down to a fine art now - I still can't do it on my own though.
 
What a difficult decision. I probably could not really enjoy my holiday, but at least you'd be in a nice place for a while. As long as you think Zeb gets good treatment, I would go.
I hope they check his throat for lumps of fur. My bunny back in Germany had that last winter, he refused to eat and the first vet could not find the reason. Only his colleague then had the idea to look down his throat and pulled out about 4 inches of fur sausage.
 
I agree with what has been posted already - you should go, and enjoy yourself as best you can! If he is going to be hospitalised, there isn't much you can do by sitting at home... Your vet sounds great, and the woman at bunny camp sounds like she really cares - so I'm sure he will be well looked after.
Make sure that you would easily be able to phone the vets/bunny camp to check up on progress...
 
I would go on holiday, as others have said if he's in the vets he's getting good care. When we rescued willow his dental problems caused him to stop eating and have a bad tum. After being hospitalised and having meds I found that the only thing he would eat was very soft, juicy pear. I kept putting it infront of his mouth until he got angry and bit it. Then he realised he liked the taste and had a few mouthfuls. It was slow process but he wouldn't touch hay or pellets. I'm sure some will disagree with feeding pear due to the sugar content etc. but it worked for willow. Now he's on a normal diet.
 
I have to say i agre with jane on this one..this sounds so much like molar spurs sore cheek and mouth or tongue..

sadly thaey can only realy be exmained under sedation..although lasttime with Bif we were lucky and petra saw the big spurs easily and then said she could see some sharp but small ones onthe other side..these normally get left by vets in other practices iknow of..only the large ones ared ealt with..petra did both for bif and she was able to eat hay etc so much and she was round from the GA in a fraction of the time and ever needed syringe feeding! but i put bio lpais inher water anyway

god luck and hope it gets sorted son.

id say go if bunny can be treated and cared for..sometimes when we are burnt out and stressed it doesnt help their recovery in fact it hinders it severly even causing thme to worsenbecause of it..

go have your holiday but onlyif you can relax and still keep in cntact daily about the progress..

i feel burnt out tright now..sleep deprivation due to my daughter with M.E and poor willow with her E C and me with infected jawbone and broken tooth having towait till 22nd may!

i ned to sleepfor a week and leave everyuone to heir own devices.
i got tired and stressed and coudnt syringe feed willow she hated me and when nikki tired later it was the same for her..we are so tired and grouchy ourselves..

if you can get a break take it..
much better for you much better for bun not to have a super stressed out bunny mummy!
 
I would agree with what a lot have already said Sarah.

You should go, Zeb will be well cared for and the Bunny camp lady obviously cares otherwise she wouldn't offer to do that.

If you stay at home while Zeb is at the vets you will only drive yourself crazy and probably end up pacing the floor, like i do when any of my animals aren't with me.

If you and Gail go you can keep in touch back here with those marvellous things they call mobile phones :wink:

Good luck in making your decision Sarah, thinking of you all
xx
 
I agree with everyone else. If you have having difficulty feeding him the vets will be able to sort something out.

Best wishes with whatever you decide.
xx
 
the x-ray is showing no blockage. his teeth are ok. gail is going to pick him up at 5.10. the vet has given him a different motility drug and hopes this will kick him into action.

i've asked my mum to get more carrot tops. i've bought pear and yet more herbs and more fresh pineapples. i'm going to try him on mr johnsons supreme mix which is the only thing fusspot bracken will eat. in all my panic i've not actually offered him this yet. maybe this will work as all the others go out of their way to try and steal it.

im feeling a bit better as the vets know we are going away and i think they are doing their best to help us so i feel a little happier.

i know that if he wont eat, and does need hospitalising theres little i can do. but i'm hoping the little tinker will eat now - gail is thinking about taking him to work with her for the next few days - she has a lovely sunny enclosed yard at the back of the shop and a garage for him to explore. her brother is allergic to bunnies but she says he'll have to deal with it :lol:

if theres any different news ill update on my little boy (the middle one in the photos btw)

what i find quite strange which i also forgot to report to you all is that he is still chewing at cardboard. he spent the night asleep in the lobby and i forgot their was a loo roll chube there - he started to chew on that before i took it off him (felt guilty but dont want to add to the complications). he also had a go at gails newspaper this morning.

he doesnt seem to be feeling ill in himself just reluctant to eat. can animals have food disorders like this? he used to have a massive appetite though which is why it is all so strange - although he's always been a skinny boy.
 
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