Please can someone help - potentially urgent!

[MichelleBee]

I've had Mavis at the vet tonight, as she had a bit of a scuffle with her sister earlier - just a bit of chasing and fur pulling. However, since then she hasn't been right. She hasn't eaten (at least we've not seen her - she certainly hasn't had any pellets or apple sticks, which she normally loves).

We took her to the vet at 6.20pm. He listened to her guts and said there was some noises, so he didn't think it was that. He also checked her teeth and hind quarters and listened to her chest. All were fine, but he gave us some sachets of probiotic to put in her water. He said it was probably the shock of the scuffle.

It's now 9pm and we still haven't seen her eat or drink. We've just separated her from her sister so we can monitor urine and droppings. She is just sitting and laying down - not her usual self.

Is this normal after a scuffle and trip to the vets?
Do you think she should go to the emergency vet?
Should we leave it half an hour to see if she is pooing?

Arrrgh - sorry for the questions, but I really don't know what to do. Any advice gratefully received.

 

[BB Mommy]

I wouldn't want to doubt your vet but are you sure there are no injuries that haven't been spotted? Rabbits skin is designed to tear easily and bleed very little, so injuries can be easily missed.
I'd be worried if she still "wasn't herself" after this time and it was just a minor scuffle. Have you tried tempting her with really yummy foods - fresh grass, dandelioms, herbs?
Animals are quite clever at picking up when something isn't right with one of their own, and this can often be displayed by aggressive behaviour, and I've seen it often in rabbits when their partner is unwell they have either chosen to ignore/avoid them or show aggression towards them, so stick with your gut instinct that she's not right.
If she's still refusing food in the morning I'd be at the first appointment looking for a gut stimulant and pain meds just to be on the safe side, and for the vet to investigate a bit further with a possible cause.

Hope she picks up quickly!

 

[MichelleBee]

Thanks for replying.

Yes we've tried with plantain, raspberry leaves (normally her favourite), apple sticks - but nothing

She does seem fairly lively in her self, as in she's taking an interest in her surroundings to an extent.

Like you say, I don't want to doubt the vet either, but I can't believe it's just the shock of it all. They've had scuffles before and she's been ok afterwards.

I will definitely phone tomorrow if she's no better. I'm tempted to phone tonight, but at the same time I want to give her time to improve - arrrrgh! I just don't know what to do!

 

[lauraj27]

Hi there,

There a lot more knowledgable people on the forum than me but hopefully I can help or at least bump it so that others come along. I suspect she is a little spooked/stressed from the scuffle and that *may* be putting her off her food, have you tried tempting her with all her favourite foods? I would try that first and if she doesn't go for them and continues to be quite still then my inclination would be to take her to the emergency vet. It could be nothing, but bunnies do go downhill very quickly and not eating can be a sign of an underlying condition.

If your emergency vet is unlikely to rabbit savy then you can post a thread asking for a rabbit savy vet in your area. If that's not possible, then I would be very clear with the vet that I would like some metacam (pain relief), empermid (gut motility agent) and some critical care food. Be sure to get several syringe sizes!

I'd also insist on her tummy being palpatated, teeth checked and a really thorough examination, it may be she has a slight injury from the scuffle that's causing her pain and thus not eating.

I hope that helps!

 

[Sky-O]

Any chance the scuffle was secondary and whatever you're seeing now came first and caused that? Even if it was known ti the bunnies she wasn't 100% but not you?

 

[Gothymama]

Thanks for replying.

Yes we've tried with plantain, raspberry leaves (normally her favourite), apple sticks - but nothing

She does seem fairly lively in her self, as in she's taking an interest in her surroundings to an extent.

Like you say, I don't want to doubt the vet either, but I can't believe it's just the shock of it all. They've had scuffles before and she's been ok afterwards.

I will definitely phone tomorrow if she's no better. I'm tempted to phone tonight, but at the same time I want to give her time to improve - arrrrgh! I just don't know what to do!

Always keep a few sachets of this in the house, as a scuffle can put them off their food, if you have it in the house you can use it to kick start their eating, it's the same sort of stuff the vet would give you but not at vet prices, i would still recommend t hat if bun isn't showing improvement by the morning she should go to the vet, sometimes they need time to calm down after a scuffle and some buns really do get stressed from it, but it's best to be on the safe side in case bunny has a different illness that just happens to coincide with the scuffle.

http://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/critical-care.html

 

[MichelleBee]

Any chance the scuffle was secondary and whatever you're seeing now came first and caused that? Even if it was known ti the bunnies she wasn't 100% but not you?

It is possible, although I think the scuffle might have been my fault. We've just adopted Muchu from Barc and I put him out in another run, but in sight of Mavis and her sister, which caused them to go quite wappy (even though they're spayed). It was only after this, that Dyliss (Mavis' sister) started chasing and fur pulling. After a while, the girls did settle though.

 

[MichelleBee]

Always keep a few sachets of this in the house, as a scuffle can put them off their food, if you have it in the house you can use it to kick start their eating, it's the same sort of stuff the vet would give you but not at vet prices, i would still recommend t hat if bun isn't showing improvement by the morning she should go to the vet, sometimes they need time to calm down after a scuffle and some buns really do get stressed from it, but it's best to be on the safe side in case bunny has a different illness that just happens to coincide with the scuffle.

http://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/critical-care.html

Thanks for this - will definitely get some for next time.

 

[bunny babe]

Thanks for this - will definitely get some for next time.

I find that the critical care fine blend is nice and easy to syringe if necessary, they only do it in the larger packs though. I always have a couple of both flavours in my first aid kit as they will eat it willingly too as it tastes nicer than other brands.

 

[Gothymama]

Thanks for this - will definitely get some for next time.

I love this website too for all the different types of hay, and found they have ready grass in a bigger pack and much cheeper too, i've got a huge shopping list in my head at the moment from that website as they also do dried herbage and foragey type things much cheeper than PAH, a lot of memebers highly rate the company too for their quality so i'm going to be placing an order soon

 

[MichelleBee]

Thanks to everyone who helped last night. Mavis hadn't improved at all this morning so we went to the vets. They gave her some injections (Vetergesic, Baytril and Emeprid), as well as some recovery food for me to syringe in to her.

The little madam got home and immediately started eating :roll:

Although I'm pleased, I wish she could have done that before I'd spent £70!!

She still hasn't produced any droppings yet, but by the way she is eating, I'm sure it can't be long now!

 

[BB Mommy]

Thanks to everyone who helped last night. Mavis hadn't improved at all this morning so we went to the vets. They gave her some injections (Vetergesic, Baytril and Emeprid), as well as some recovery food for me to syringe in to her.

The little madam got home and immediately started eating :roll:

Although I'm pleased, I wish she could have done that before I'd spent £70!!

She still hasn't produced any droppings yet, but by the way she is eating, I'm sure it can't be long now!

:thumb: Hope she has continued to improve!

 

[dotdotdot]

Thanks to everyone who helped last night. Mavis hadn't improved at all this morning so we went to the vets. They gave her some injections (Vetergesic, Baytril and Emeprid), as well as some recovery food for me to syringe in to her.

The little madam got home and immediately started eating :roll:

Although I'm pleased, I wish she could have done that before I'd spent £70!!

She still hasn't produced any droppings yet, but by the way she is eating, I'm sure it can't be long now!

Glad she is doing better, sending poop vibes!

(Edward did the same thing - had to take him to the emergency vets, £265 later - Wolfed down his food as soon as we got home :roll