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Pringle.... (long post sorry, just need to let it out) U/D 06/08/09 - VET PHONED!!
- Thread starter Pringle
- Start date
kayburdett
Warren Scout
I was just wandering exactly the same thing myself about fibre? Have you tried sprinkling a few bran flakes into his food to get the bowels moving naturally or ask your vet for advice on a laxative. A laxative similar to senna which is high in fibre may be suitable for rabbits i know you can get one for dogs. I hope all goes well with his teeth hun
I'm so very sorry, I think I MAY have misunderstood you. I can understand that you are incredibly distressed & it is hard to think straight at these times. Is food getting stuck right at the top - stomach - or lower down in a part called the caecum? (American spelling cecum) The treatment is totally different, & operation needed as a last resort.
My computer isn't working properly - I can't use searches - Jack's Jane has a thread about Patrick with caecal block (impaction) within the last 2weeks.
Please can someone help us here?
Thinking of you both so much with everything crossed.
Judy & Thumper.
My computer isn't working properly - I can't use searches - Jack's Jane has a thread about Patrick with caecal block (impaction) within the last 2weeks.
Please can someone help us here?
Thinking of you both so much with everything crossed.
Judy & Thumper.
Thanks everyone.. ok i will try reply to what everyones said but their is so much :shock:...
Pringle has had his dental, he is hopping around normal, eating fine..but not poo'd as of yet....:roll: so hopefully meds will start working soon.
Pringle has poo pretty much filling his belly, its quite far forward (by his ribs) and continues all the way down to near his bottom.. sometimes its at back, sometimes at front sometimes all over. His tummy doesnt feel as packed with poo:? which is a bit strange considering hes not poo'd.
His diet - Pringle gets a small amount of pellets at 6.00am and 6.00pm and a small handfull of veg. He has unlimited supply of hay (which he is getting better at eating as he never used to eat it AT ALL) and he gets grass too.
Lately i have been giving him some dandilions too as i remember Jane said these help guts.
Ocasionally Pringle gets a wee bit of oats or weetabix as we have had problems with his weight before, but he hasnt had this for a while as i dont want to bloat him more.
Regarding the grass thing - is their anyway of them telling if this is what he has? eg- tests ect?
Think thats all sorry if i have missed anyone... will look through again.
Thanks for all hugs, vibes etc, they are greatly appreciated. xx
Pringle has had his dental, he is hopping around normal, eating fine..but not poo'd as of yet....:roll: so hopefully meds will start working soon.
Pringle has poo pretty much filling his belly, its quite far forward (by his ribs) and continues all the way down to near his bottom.. sometimes its at back, sometimes at front sometimes all over. His tummy doesnt feel as packed with poo:? which is a bit strange considering hes not poo'd.
His diet - Pringle gets a small amount of pellets at 6.00am and 6.00pm and a small handfull of veg. He has unlimited supply of hay (which he is getting better at eating as he never used to eat it AT ALL) and he gets grass too.
Lately i have been giving him some dandilions too as i remember Jane said these help guts.
Ocasionally Pringle gets a wee bit of oats or weetabix as we have had problems with his weight before, but he hasnt had this for a while as i dont want to bloat him more.
Regarding the grass thing - is their anyway of them telling if this is what he has? eg- tests ect?
Think thats all sorry if i have missed anyone... will look through again.
Thanks for all hugs, vibes etc, they are greatly appreciated. xx
Jessica Rabbit
Mama Doe
Sorry. no advice for you but wanted to send lots of pooing vibes for Pringle. I hope he gets better soon xx
animal luver#1
Warren Scout
I've been thinkig of you a lot! Still sending vibes! Lots of them! Hope everything turns out alright!!!! xx
This is still in the research stage, so there are no hard answers yet.
I am being very forward, but truly believe that it is best to lay the grass fever aside, & concentrate on what else can be done to treat Pringle. Let the cream of the rabbit vets in Edin. do the worrying about diagnosis cos they have information which isn't even published in the vet world yet!!!
I'm so pleased Pringle sailed through his dental. Lot's of fingers crossed for poops.
Interesting his tummy goes on strike when he needs a dental. That's like us, but very slightly different.
We've got control at last with
a) VERY regular dentals every 10 weeks, as soon as there are signs he doesn't want to chew as much.
b) A massively high fiber diet, & NO starch at all (to stop wrong bacteria slowing down his gut) - I know Pringle needs some oats for his weight. Some pro biotic from a pet shop could help there.
c) Plenty of active exercise in play, following me around up & down stairs etc.
d) ensuring good fluid intake & output.
[In desperation I put him on a wild rabbit diet for additional fiber as well as hay - adding tree leaves & twigs (for bark) - apple, pear, hawthorn, blackthorn late summer, hazel, silver birch, bramble & raspberry leaves. In Scotland you may have young heather shoots - but I've a feeling you are coastal. You get the idea - as long as you check it's OK for bunnies to eat them]
There is close attention to pain relief, & anything which might stress him.
When the gut has stopped working the muscle in the wall is stretched by poop, gas, & fluid. The muscle doesn't work as well for a time until everything goes back to normal. So please talk this over with your vet before changing anything.
Finally, by chance Thumper has an odd toilet. He'll only "go" in a shallow narrow tea tray with a rolled up towel in front of it (plastic underneath for drips) - no litter. I know exactly what he's pooped & peed every day. Poops are very constant a slight fall off = he's not eating as much or tummy's playing up. There are changes in shape & size too.
We THINK the nerve supply to his lower gut (colon) has been damaged, because it stops working so easily. (Equine grass fever type illness) All we can DO about it is pay close attention to very detail to help it to work, & start treatment early.
Please keep us posted with how he gets on.
Judy & Thumper. - Loads of crossed fingers & best wishes.
Interesting his tummy goes on strike when he needs a dental. That's like us, but very slightly different.
We've got control at last with
a) VERY regular dentals every 10 weeks, as soon as there are signs he doesn't want to chew as much.
b) A massively high fiber diet, & NO starch at all (to stop wrong bacteria slowing down his gut) - I know Pringle needs some oats for his weight. Some pro biotic from a pet shop could help there.
c) Plenty of active exercise in play, following me around up & down stairs etc.
d) ensuring good fluid intake & output.
[In desperation I put him on a wild rabbit diet for additional fiber as well as hay - adding tree leaves & twigs (for bark) - apple, pear, hawthorn, blackthorn late summer, hazel, silver birch, bramble & raspberry leaves. In Scotland you may have young heather shoots - but I've a feeling you are coastal. You get the idea - as long as you check it's OK for bunnies to eat them]
There is close attention to pain relief, & anything which might stress him.
When the gut has stopped working the muscle in the wall is stretched by poop, gas, & fluid. The muscle doesn't work as well for a time until everything goes back to normal. So please talk this over with your vet before changing anything.
Finally, by chance Thumper has an odd toilet. He'll only "go" in a shallow narrow tea tray with a rolled up towel in front of it (plastic underneath for drips) - no litter. I know exactly what he's pooped & peed every day. Poops are very constant a slight fall off = he's not eating as much or tummy's playing up. There are changes in shape & size too.
We THINK the nerve supply to his lower gut (colon) has been damaged, because it stops working so easily. (Equine grass fever type illness) All we can DO about it is pay close attention to very detail to help it to work, & start treatment early.
Please keep us posted with how he gets on.
Judy & Thumper. - Loads of crossed fingers & best wishes.
Last edited:
Thank you very much .
Well... Pringle has poo'd quite a lot today and his tummy is starting to feel normal again. I got my normal vet yesterday as she was on holiday last week, and she always makes things seem more possitive etc, and she didnt mention the grass thing at all. I think she thought it was to do with his teeth as they were quite bad. Its weird though as sometimes he needs his teeth done and his gut is totally fine and other times it plays up.
He has had the last 3 dentals very close 4-6weeks..... so im hoping he can get them longer apart again... who knows.
Im really impressed with his tummy today though, and he seems much more active and happy within himself.
As for his active-ness.... Pringle has free range of my bedroom 24/7 and he gets all upstair hall and down stair hall when im in, so hes always running around and following me about. So he gets a lot of exercise.
Thanks evryonx xx
.Well... Pringle has poo'd quite a lot today and his tummy is starting to feel normal again. I got my normal vet yesterday as she was on holiday last week, and she always makes things seem more possitive etc, and she didnt mention the grass thing at all. I think she thought it was to do with his teeth as they were quite bad. Its weird though as sometimes he needs his teeth done and his gut is totally fine and other times it plays up
.He has had the last 3 dentals very close
4-6weeks..... so im hoping he can get them longer apart again... who knows.Im really impressed with his tummy today though, and he seems much more active and happy within himself
.As for his active-ness.... Pringle has free range of my bedroom 24/7 and he gets all upstair hall and down stair hall when im in, so hes always running around and following me about. So he gets a lot of exercise
.Thanks evryonx xx
hiya hope you&pringle are doing well.it's such a relief to have this forum to turn to isn't it because so many people(not people who really understand& love me)think i'm mad for the way i feel about my buns.several people have even suggested that i ''just get another rabbit''sorry if i am repeating anything anyone has already suggested but frances harcourt-brown is our vet in harrogate& i know that she gets case refferals sent through to her on occasions when other vets require her advice.
one of my boys(bob my beautiful rex)has had a couple of bouts of tummy trouble.now frances suspects she may have discovered an abnormality within a rabbits guts(when the rabbit has reoccurant stasis etc,i think she means like a kink)that maybe the cause however she is reluctant to start opening them up unless really really necessary.it is something we may have to look into with bob should his problems persist.
i wish you and pringle lots of good vibes&hope he makes a speady recovery.x:wave:
sorry if i am repeating anything anyone has already suggested but frances harcourt-brown is our vet in harrogate& i know that she gets case refferals sent through to her on occasions when other vets require her advice.one of my boys(bob my beautiful rex)has had a couple of bouts of tummy trouble.now frances suspects she may have discovered an abnormality within a rabbits guts(when the rabbit has reoccurant stasis etc,i think she means like a kink)that maybe the cause however she is reluctant to start opening them up unless really really necessary.it is something we may have to look into with bob should his problems persist.
i wish you and pringle lots of good vibes&hope he makes a speady recovery.x:wave:
Thank you very much ..
Ok heres an up-date -
My vet Tracey phoned, she had spoken to **** vet in edinburgh, everything has changed now.....:shock:.
Ok they basically said... Pringle has to come of paraffin altogether as they have found in rabbit cases that paraffin can actually make it worse and turn the other way, so have to try him off that, where- as my vet thought it would lubricate him more to help the poo come out.
He gets metaclopramide 3 times daily and zantac twice, they said that they find zantac to be the more sucessful drug to help gut and to keep him on that and when his guts moving again slowly cut down on the metaclop, they think he should be kept on Zantac long term.
Have to carry on with 1/4 cisapride once daily too.
When Pringle has a lapse they want me to syringe him LOADS of water. 20Mls minimum daily, they said this will work better than paraffin. Also have to add recovery to it as well.
He is to get one table spoon of pellets and the rest hay/grass/dandilions/etc all natural stuff which a wild rabbit would graze on... so if anyone has a list of outdoor plants/trees/weedsr etc that i can give Pringle feel free to let me know (i know someone posted a list on this thread so will look back ).
Also... When we feel his teeth are starting to bother him a bit we are going to start giving him metacam, he never gets this home but the vet thinks it may be to do with his teeth too so a pain relief should help more.
..........Think that may be it!! so much to remember :shock:
Fingers crossed this works everyone:wave:
..Ok heres an up-date -
My vet Tracey phoned, she had spoken to **** vet in edinburgh, everything has changed now.....:shock:.
Ok they basically said... Pringle has to come of paraffin altogether as they have found in rabbit cases that paraffin can actually make it worse and turn the other way, so have to try him off that, where- as my vet thought it would lubricate him more to help the poo come out.
He gets metaclopramide 3 times daily and zantac twice, they said that they find zantac to be the more sucessful drug to help gut and to keep him on that and when his guts moving again slowly cut down on the metaclop, they think he should be kept on Zantac long term.
Have to carry on with 1/4 cisapride once daily too.
When Pringle has a lapse they want me to syringe him LOADS of water. 20Mls minimum daily, they said this will work better than paraffin. Also have to add recovery to it as well.
He is to get one table spoon of pellets and the rest hay/grass/dandilions/etc all natural stuff which a wild rabbit would graze on... so if anyone has a list of outdoor plants/trees/weedsr etc that i can give Pringle feel free to let me know
(i know someone posted a list on this thread so will look back ).Also... When we feel his teeth are starting to bother him a bit we are going to start giving him metacam, he never gets this home but the vet thinks it may be to do with his teeth too so a pain relief should help more.
..........Think that may be it!! so much to remember :shock:
Fingers crossed this works everyone
:wave:Fingers crossed down here too Pringle. THATS sounding like really good sense now. (Cos it's what we do! hee hee) I mentioned some leaves from trees. For weeds they sell seeds for tortoises which have many of the bunny weeds you'll need.
We need prettylupin now. She's very well up on this.
We need prettylupin now. She's very well up on this.
prettylupin
Wise Old Thumper
Thank you very much
Ok heres an up-date -
My vet Tracey phoned, she had spoken to **** vet in edinburgh, everything has changed now.....:shock:.
Ok they basically said... Pringle has to come of paraffin altogether as they have found in rabbit cases that paraffin can actually make it worse and turn the other way, so have to try him off that, where- as my vet thought it would lubricate him more to help the poo come out.
He gets metaclopramide 3 times daily and zantac twice, they said that they find zantac to be the more sucessful drug to help gut and to keep him on that and when his guts moving again slowly cut down on the metaclop, they think he should be kept on Zantac long term.
Have to carry on with 1/4 cisapride once daily too.
When Pringle has a lapse they want me to syringe him LOADS of water. 20Mls minimum daily, they said this will work better than paraffin. Also have to add recovery to it as well.
He is to get one table spoon of pellets and the rest hay/grass/dandilions/etc all natural stuff which a wild rabbit would graze on... so if anyone has a list of outdoor plants/trees/weedsr etc that i can give Pringle feel free to let me know
Also... When we feel his teeth are starting to bother him a bit we are going to start giving him metacam, he never gets this home but the vet thinks it may be to do with his teeth too so a pain relief should help more.
..........Think that may be it!! so much to remember :shock:
Fingers crossed this works everyone
I would agree with all of this advice...I have never used parrafin to shift a gut...and I agree that low grade pain from his teeth could be sufficient to trigger another bout. Sounds like a very good vet to me
Yes...the higher fibre diet you can give the better....start with your garden...what do you have?
Fruit tree cuttings of apple, pear, and also willow and hazel, blackberry /raspberry, strawberry leaves. Then plantain both ribwort and broad-leaved, dandelions, goosegrass (cleavers), groundsel, shepherd's purse, nettle, mallow, scentless and pineapple mayweed, nipplewort etc. there is quite a big list! I'd recommend the little book 'rabbit nutrition' by virginia richardson (which has photos to help you identify) or the Greenfoods for rabbits and cavvies (by another vet...can't remember the name) both quite handy to refer to.
When it comes to feeding veg...i'd avoid too much veg that is grown for our consumption....and use the leafy parts or tops such as carrot tops, pea tops, radish tops, celery tops, watercress etc.., also grow what you can at home. Supermarket veg should always be washed and try to choose organic.
Jerusalem artichokes and fresh herbs grow easily at home....they love the leaves of JA's (not stem - indigestible) and you can dry them alongside dried nettle (crushed first to remove sting), dandelion, plantain (if you can find some clean alongside a river or meadow)...dry it in the oven til crispy (around 50-100 deg) on a baking sheet, cool then bag it up brown paper bags - I throw in some rose petals and dry those too - can feed over winter when less growing. Fresh herbs are great for buns and rarely cause upset....marjoram, thyme, rosemary, mint, lemon balm, fennel, coriander, basil, parsley.
The trick is to get bunny eating a natural and varied diet....not too much of any one thing - as with any new diet - introduce gradually - it takes several months for the caecal bacteria to adjust to a high veg diet - you can feed tons of hay immediately but the veg ration needs to be steadily increased over several months - stopping for a day or two if upset and doing just hay and water. Slow introduction also means you can identify any plant causing upset. Wild plants and herbs rarely do this....normally this is starchy veg or too much cabbage - but if tolerated cabbage is a great food source.
