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Oliver not well - treating for E. Cuniculi - Q post 70

Alfagirl said:
Thank you all so much for the support, sometimes it feels quite lonely being a bunny-owner, as not many adults understand.
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I can relate to this so much! When I lost Dexy, I was in pieces. I didn't stop crying for a week. People just didn't understand and got fed up with me so I just somehow pulled myself together and only cried in private for him. I couldn't talk about him to anyone as I'd get upset. Still can't really. But finding this forum has been fantastic as they have really helped me come to terms with it. I still miss him dreadfully and cry for him at times, but I'm not as bad as I was.

Topping up (((((((((((((vibes)))))))))))) for Olly.


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Thank you for all the vibes everyone!

Oliver seems to be much brighter yesterday and this morning. We got Metacam for him on Tues morning and it seems to be really helping. Yesterday, he had a large bunch of coriander, 3 FibaFirst sticks and spent most of the day nibbling hay! He still won't touch any pellets, but the Fibafirst is good, so as long as he keeps eating them and hay, i'm not too fussed about pellets.

It's an amazing improvement from the previous days, he seems much better. At time even his head tilt appears less severe - I'm not sure if that's a bit of wishful thinking on my part though.
 
Alfagirl said:
Thank you for all the vibes everyone!

Oliver seems to be much brighter yesterday and this morning. We got Metacam for him on Tues morning and it seems to be really helping. Yesterday, he had a large bunch of coriander, 3 FibaFirst sticks and spent most of the day nibbling hay! He still won't touch any pellets, but the Fibafirst is good, so as long as he keeps eating them and hay, i'm not too fussed about pellets.

It's an amazing improvement from the previous days, he seems much better. At time even his head tilt appears less severe - I'm not sure if that's a bit of wishful thinking on my part though.
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Not necessarily. It is inflammation that causes the head tilt and Metacam is an anti-inflammatory aswell as an analgesic. I am glad he is doing better now xx
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Not necessarily. It is inflammation that causes the head tilt and Metacam is an anti-inflammatory aswell as an analgesic. I am glad he is doing better now xx
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Thank you Jane.
I'm not sure if he's actually 'untilting' or if, because he's feeling brighter, he's keeping his head up more.
I guess time will tell, I'm just so please he's at least eating something on his own. His poo looks far more 'normal' too (though obviously smaller).

I think we're in for a long journey, but he appears to be inmproving so far.
 
Really pleased to see such a positive update. Continuing vibes for as full a recovery as possible. xx
 
I'm so glad he's improving :love: It's so stressful when rabbits won't eat, you have my sympathies :( Glad he's back to eating a little more by himself :D Hopefully he continues to improve over the next few days :love:
 
Thank you everyone - you're all so kind!

Oliver actually snatched a Fibafirst stick from me this evening, so must be perking up. He did then fall over and roll a few times though, so he's now taken himself back off for a snooze.
 
Oliver seems to be doing quite a bit better today (apparently he is "ears deep" in hay right now).

I'm worried about his weight though, as he is VERY skinny. Is there anything we can give him to help him bulk up a bit? I heard oats were good, but how much, and how do you prep it?

Things he'll eat at the moment:
Hay
Fibafirst sticks
Parsley
Coriander (fave)
Lemon thyme
Dandilions
Syringed Excel / SS Recovery Mix (though is startuing to object at being syringed)

He will not eat mint, Excel pellets or SS pellets.

Is there anything I can supliment him with that's high calorie?!
 
Alfagirl said:
Oliver seems to be doing quite a bit better today (apparently he is "ears deep" in hay right now).

I'm worried about his weight though, as he is VERY skinny. Is there anything we can give him to help him bulk up a bit? I heard oats were good, but how much, and how do you prep it?

Things he'll eat at the moment:
Hay
Fibafirst sticks
Parsley
Coriander (fave)
Lemon thyme
Dandilions
Syringed Excel / SS Recovery Mix (though is startuing to object at being syringed)

He will not eat mint, Excel pellets or SS pellets.

Is there anything I can supliment him with that's high calorie?!
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Nena (and Tapla!) liked it when I mixed oats with Ella's kitchen baby food. She loves the carrots apples and parsnips one and also enjoys the strawberry and apple, apple and banana, broccoli pear and peas, and carrots peas and pears. I would just mix it up and give it without cooking - either straight away or I'd leave it to be a bit more mushy. This is them, they're available pretty much everywhere but the range in smaller supermarkets isn't as good. There always seems to be the carrots, apple and parsnips one though wherever I go! http://www.ellaskitchen.co.uk/ellas_range/stage-1-baby-food/?sheet=1. They're all natural so as long as you stick to things that bunnies can eat and you don't feed absolutely loads you can't go too wrong. It's more important to get the weight on them imo. At one point I was giving Nena up to one pouch thingie a day with lots of recovery food powder since it was all that she'd eat, and her poos never got too bad on them. Just a bit smaller and darker, but no other problems.

With the recovery food what I also used to do for Nena was just mix it with baby food. Nena also hated being syringed, and once she started eating it out of the bowl she seemed to improve quite a lot - she felt more like a bunny again I guess? To begin with I made it quite watery and syringed it so she got the taste, but once she realised how yummy it was I would make it thicker and she'd just eat it out of the bowl. Tapla also had some when she was poorly and they both absolutely love it! You could also add oats to this :D

I would also use boiling water on some pellets to mush them up, then add a little baby food and some oats. Boiling water was more effective at breaking down the pellets than normal temperature water. By the time I added the baby food and oats the mixture would be a nice warm temperature that Nena loved. N&T both seem to prefer the recovery food over the squishy pellets, but with Nena she was poorly for much longer and she seemed to go off the recovery food occasionally so I'd give her the pellets then.
 
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yaretzi said:
Nena (and Tapla!) liked it when I mixed oats with Ella's kitchen baby food. She loves the carrots apples and parsnips one and also enjoys the strawberry and apple, apple and banana, broccoli pear and peas, and carrots peas and pears. I would just mix it up and give it without cooking - either straight away or I'd leave it to be a bit more mushy. This is them, they're available pretty much everywhere but the range in smaller supermarkets isn't as good. There always seems to be the carrots, apple and parsnips one though wherever I go! http://www.ellaskitchen.co.uk/ellas_range/stage-1-baby-food/?sheet=1. They're all natural so as long as you stick to things that bunnies can eat and you don't feed absolutely loads you can't go too wrong. It's more important to get the weight on them imo. At one point I was giving Nena up to one pouch thingie a day with lots of recovery food powder since it was all that she'd eat, and her poos never got too bad on them. Just a bit smaller and darker, but no other problems.

With the recovery food what I also used to do for Nena was just mix it with baby food. Nena also hated being syringed, and once she started eating it out of the bowl she seemed to improve quite a lot - she felt more like a bunny again I guess? To begin with I made it quite watery and syringed it so she got the taste, but once she realised how yummy it was I would make it thicker and she'd just eat it out of the bowl. Tapla also had some when she was poorly and they both absolutely love it! You could also add oats to this :D

I would also use boiling water on some pellets to mush them up, then add a little baby food and some oats. Boiling water was more effective at breaking down the pellets than normal temperature water. By the time I added the baby food and oats the mixture would be a nice warm temperature that Nena loved. N&T both seem to prefer the recovery food over the squishy pellets, but with Nena she was poorly for much longer and she seemed to go off the recovery food occasionally so I'd give her the pellets then.
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Thank you!!

I had forgotten all about Ella's Kitchen - will get some on the way home.
He is eating hay, but very slowly, so I want to give him something with a bit more calories to help him out a bit. He's so skinny, it's heart breaking!
 
Alfagirl said:
Thank you!!

I had forgotten all about Ella's Kitchen - will get some on the way home.
He is eating hay, but very slowly, so I want to give him something with a bit more calories to help him out a bit. He's so skinny, it's heart breaking!
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I would go easy on any additional feed as a lot of carbs/sugars (as are in Oats/Baby Food) may cause gut problems, especially as he is on antibiotics xx
 
Jack's-Jane said:
I would go easy on any additional feed as a lot of carbs/sugars (as are in Oats/Baby Food) may cause gut problems, especially as he is on antibiotics xx
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Oh absolutely Jane, I'll start with just a few drops and increase very slowly from there.
I'd hate to make him worse rather than better.
 
Oh yeah I should've said to introduce things slowly, oops. I'm sure you knew that but just in case any newer members were reading :oops:
 
So, we gave Oliver half a teaspoon of oats.... He LOVED it and tried to grab the spoon!

So, he'll get half a teaspoon each evening now, along with his current 'dinner' of herbs, hay and a Fibafirst stick.
 
Alfagirl said:
So, we gave Oliver half a teaspoon of oats.... He LOVED it and tried to grab the spoon!

So, he'll get half a teaspoon each evening now, along with his current 'dinner' of herbs, hay and a Fibafirst stick.
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Could you increase the Fibafirst ? Doing that would be my preference over giving lots of carbs.

Are you giving the oats dry ? If so again be mindful of the fact that they will swell up a lot once ingested and in some Rabbits this can cause problems. I am not meaning to make you more anxious, but I thought I had better mention the potential risks.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Could you increase the Fibafirst ? Doing that would be my preference over giving lots of carbs.

Are you giving the oats dry ? If so again be mindful of the fact that they will swell up a lot once ingested and in some Rabbits this can cause problems. I am not meaning to make you more anxious, but I thought I had better mention the potential risks.
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Hi Jane, sorry for the delay in replying!
Oliver is having a few Fiba sticks now so we're trying to 'push' those and only resorting to oats as a teeny treat. He is having them dry, but we are then making sure he has a drink straight away. His poops are now golden brown again I full of fibre, just slightly smaller than Maiseys.

He has, AT LAST, eaten a few pellets today and spent much of the day eating hay so I feel much more confident that he is feeling more 'well', even if he is still quite poorly.
He also had a teeny nibble of Parsnipbuns willow sticks this morning.

I'm not sure if the EC is any better, but he's def either less dizzy, or adjusting to his wonky world. Either way, he is certainly more stable and rolling over less (though still falls on his side a bit!).

I need to add a picture to this thread so you can see my beautiful, if wonky boy!
 
Update on Oliver....

He's eating 'normally' again!
He had some of his usual pellets on Sat eve, and again on Sun mornin, and now seems to think that everytime we go near him we are bringing food! :roll:

He is still VERY underweight though, so we will be continuing the 'supportive feeding' (vets words). He will be having unlimited hay and sharing their normal pellet portion with Maisey, but he'll also be getting extra Fibasticks, and a very small portion of oats. His hat eating is lots slower than before, so the Fibasticks are doubly important.

Thank you all again for the vibes / advice and support! :thumb:
 
Another Oliver update.....

He seemed a little bit 'low' yesterday morning and refused pellets again (cue worried Mummy :roll:) but snatched some dried dandilion and a Fibastick, so maybe just wasn't in the mood for pellets.
By evening he was back munching them again.

He is still very skinny though - I'd almost say emaciated :cry:. Going to call the vets again and see if there's anything else we can try / give him.
 
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