The Plumpkin Thread - Spay Tuesday 12th

[joey&boo]

great to hear Plumpkin is enjoying her new life. She is truly lovely.

The photo of Ham & Bea with your kitty is hilarious. Did they evict him?

 

[Craig 1965]

Oh, wow! Plumpkin looks amazing and has such gorgeous eyes. She looks full of character and she is clearly enjoying her new life. You have done a wonderful job fit a special rabbit. And Beatrice, Mr Hammo and Merlin look so sweet too. It's lovely to see they are all friends. Wonderful photos Beapig and it's brilliant to see the gorgeous plumpkin looking so well.

 

[Beapig]

Thank you for the positive vibes everyone. I think Plumpkin is getting better, but I'm keeping a close eye on her. She's still very underweight and won't eat any hay.

I thought people would be interested to know that her two remaining kits are now free on Gumtree. Originally the owner was meant to be keeping them.

I wonder what has become of the father

 

[MightyMax]

Thank you for the positive vibes everyone. I think Plumpkin is getting better, but I'm keeping a close eye on her. She's still very underweight and won't eat any hay.

I thought people would be interested to know that her two remaining kits are now free on Gumtree. Originally the owner was meant to be keeping them.

I wonder what has become of the father

The dreaded free-ads

 

[orangediva]

Oh no poor things. I’m guessing my standard email to people advertising free rabbits telling them of the pitfalls won’t go down well?

Glad she’s doing so well, she’s - finally - a lucky girl

 

[nickybunny1]

I have been following Plumkins thread and am so glad to hear she is doing well and so glad you saved her. Regarding her babies on free ads can you not send her a message via free ads or someone else send one telling her not to give the babies away for free as they could be used for dog baiting or snake food. I do this on Gumtree alot and people do usually add a price. It's worth a try to help try and ensure they don't fall into the wrong hands. X

 

[tonibun]

Ham and Bea are not too sure of your cat going off their ears!

 

[CometLucy195]

Hi Beapig, glad to catch up with Plumpkin progress and see your other lovely furries. I agree that an email/text to the woman may help to remind her not to give pets away for free. I do it all the time, and mostly they do re-advertise with a price. Hopefully someone else will pick up the other buns for a better life �� xx

 

[Beapig]

Sorry that I haven't kept you guys updated on Plumpkin recently - as usual life has been a bit hectic and I've struggled to get on the forum!

Wish I could give you all good news, but I'm actually concerned that she's going downhill again. This past week I've seen a lot of tooth grinding, and whilst Ham & Bea rollick around in the evening, she has been staying in a tight little ball with her eyes closed. I'm going to take her back to the vet on Monday because I suspect she came off of the antibiotics and metacam too soon.

It has been so hard just knowing how to best keep her happy, aside from the potential pain returning. I can only spend so much time with her every day because of work - I'm concerned that she feels isolated and lonely. The happiest I've ever seen her was straight after her operation when she had settled into my bedroom and was flopping on the carpet and eating. I think she felt safe, cosy and sociable. My cat kept going to see her and I worked on my laptop in my room so I could keep an eye on her.

The other day her eyes were so dim and she was so melancholy, so in a moment of desperation I pulled her run closer to Ham & Bea's so she could meet them through the bars. Her eyes were suddenly sparkling and she hit it off with Hamilton immediately. Beatrice was not happy that her boyfriend was flirting with another girl and cuffed her on the nose through the bars, and Plumpkin's face was suddenly that of a bullied child in a playground. It broke my heart! I moved the runs away swiftly after this encounter, but I wanted to see if other bunnies would improve her mood, and it definitely did.

The thing is, she's due operation 2 in about 2 weeks. Then she'll need to recover from that. Then she needs to be spayed. Then a long recovery from that. So it could easily be a couple of months before she's well enough to be bonded with them.

She still refuses to eat hay and hardly eats grass, which is a big worry for me. The Ings hay I have is amazing quality and it's the only stuff my other two will eat now. She won't touch the much coveted dry forage either. I'm compensating with extra green leaves and extra pellets. Trying to help her put on weight because she's still super thin - I can feel her spine horribly when I smooth her back.

Please send your vibes to Plumpkin. I'm finding this a hard time because I hate to see her suffering and I wish I could know what she was thinking. When I went to sit with her today, she had a look in her eyes that said 'I've given up hope'. I just want to see her happy again so badly

 

[joey&boo]

Its so sad to hear this. Do you think you could bring her planned dental forward. I'd also call your vet & check its ok to restart on metacam whilst waiting to be seen. Sending Plumpkin loads of vibes

 

[nickybunny1]

Sorry to hear about poor Plumpkin, I would start back on the metacam again , even tonight if you can . Poor girl, such a worry and she has done so well, bit hopefully vet will get her sorted soon. X

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Its so sad to hear this. Do you think you could bring her planned dental forward. I'd also call your vet & check its ok to restart on metacam whilst waiting to be seen. Sending Plumpkin loads of vibes

I am sorry to read that Plumpkin has had a bit of a relapse. I cant remember if you said that it is not possible for her to be a House Rabbit, at least until such a time that she can be bonded ?

It may be that she does have dental pain again so I agree that taking her back to the Vet tomorrow is necessary. If she has malocclusion then eating hay/grass may be something that she will always find very hard to do. The jaw action needed to chew hay/grass is rotational, where-as that needed to eat pellets/muesli is vertical.
With bad malocclusion spurs can develop rapidly, sometimes within just 2-3 weeks. That said, if corrective dentistry occurs early on then sometimes the rate of progression of dental disease can be reduced and the time between dentals can become longer.

I am not sure if you have already seen these links, posting them here just incase you haven't. Apologies if I am repeating myself as I have not read back through all of the thread

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/Rabbit_dentistry.pdf

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/685f/6295965e01a2b2bf90b744f9c068d43bfae8.pdf

These are from my Vet's Blog

https://www.twickenhamvets.com/rabbit-dental-problems-part-1-malocclusion-cheek-teeth/

https://www.twickenhamvets.com/rabbit-dental-problems-part-2-malocclusion-incisors/

https://www.twickenhamvets.com/rabbit-dental-problems-part-3-abscesses-fractures/

Radiographs are a very useful tool for diagnosing the severity of dental disease as what is going on regarding the tooth roots and the bone is relevant.

http://www.medirabbit.com/Radiography/anatomical_lines.pdf

And finally, a view inside the mouth of a Rabbit with molar spurs

Sending lots of vibes for Plumpkin Bunny xx

 

[loobers25]

I'm sorry to hear this. what about compressed timothy pellets? There's all sorts of varieties on galens garden including grass or herb pellets. You can soak them too. I just went to look for you but unfortunately the website is being updated until tomorrow


Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

 

[Beapig]

Thank you very much for the advice everyone. I would give her metacam today but unfortunately my OH threw it out when the vet said we should stop using it. I think the best thing I can do is call up the vet first thing tomorrow and take her in to be looked at. If we can forward the appointment for the surgery on recommendation then that would be fine too.

She's still managing to eat leafy greens and pellets fine, and small herbs like herb robert, but does have a tendency to leave any piles of long grass I pick for her and she's never touched hay. I'm not so concerned about the hay issue in the sense that Hamilton was the same when I first got him, because he had always been deprived of hay in his diet, and it took watching Beatrice eat it for him to realise that it was actually edible. Now he loves hay and eats it all of the time, so I hope that Plupmkin will learn this when she's bonded with the other two.

However, I think you're right Jane, her jaw could give life long issues, and that's sadly something I've been aware of since my vet told me her jaw is permanently disfigured from calcium deficiency. She was eating grass when she was still on metacam, so maybe the pain is just making it too much for her to eat in that specific action.

I could bring her in as a house rabbit, although only to our bedroom (which is about 4.5 x 3.5 metres, but the double bed takes up a lot of room) - it's the only room in the house that I would see as bunny safe right now, because we only bought this house as a shell last summer and the bedroom is the only room we've been able to make decent since that time. It might be something to consider.

 

[Omi]

I'm sad to read that Plumpkin has problems again. I agree with the advice from others e.g. try to get her next dental brought forward and consider having her temporarily as a house rabbit. I hope her vet appointment goes well tomorrow and sending her lots of vibes.

 

[Beapig]

I'm sad to read that Plumpkin has problems again. I agree with the advice from others e.g. try to get her next dental brought forward and consider having her temporarily as a house rabbit. I hope her vet appointment goes well tomorrow and sending her lots of vibes.

Thank you Omi. It breaks my heart that a rabbit so young has this many problems, as a result of pure neglect. It's so sad, especially when I see how happy and care free Ham & Bea are. I really hope things will start looking up for her soon

 

[Craig 1965]

Oh I am so so sorry to hear of Plumpkins problems continuing. I completely agree with the comments above and I think certainly getting metacam into her is a good way to start. I also agree that given the jaw problems she has suffered, then she may always struggle with eating 'normally'. But animals are very good at adapting and so she may well develop her own strategy for eating. Poor Plumpkin. Also perhaps you could find a snuggle toy for her to nuzzle into whilst indoors? I also hope that somwhere down the line she is able to bond with Ham & Bea. Sending millions and milllions of vibes for Plumpkin and hope that she improves in the coming days.

 

[Beapig]

Oh I am so so sorry to hear of Plumpkins problems continuing. I completely agree with the comments above and I think certainly getting metacam into her is a good way to start. I also agree that given the jaw problems she has suffered, then she may always struggle with eating 'normally'. But animals are very good at adapting and so she may well develop her own strategy for eating. Poor Plumpkin. Also perhaps you could find a snuggle toy for her to nuzzle into whilst indoors? I also hope that somwhere down the line she is able to bond with Ham & Bea. Sending millions and milllions of vibes for Plumpkin and hope that she improves in the coming days.

Thank you very much for your support Craig. I brought Plumpkin inside to my room about an hour ago and the transformation in her behaviour has been almost instant. She's been running around the room exploring and looks so much happier. If she were outside right now she'd be in a tight ball in the hutch with her eyes closed. She's like a different bunny.

I have a theory that it might be like PTS. She was in such a small hutch for her whole life - even though the one she has here is 5 times as big and constantly open to the run, it's like she shuts down when she's in that space. Whereas the bedroom with the soft carpet is a white, open space with different smells, a completely alien environment to her.

In the long run I do still want to bond her with Hamilton and Beatrice, but for now she seems really happy in here. I'm extending their run and planning on getting a shed for them to replace the hutch this summer. So by the time she's in better health, she'll have a much more exciting setup to come back to.

Phew!

 

[MightyMax]

Sorry that I haven't kept you guys updated on Plumpkin recently - as usual life has been a bit hectic and I've struggled to get on the forum!

Wish I could give you all good news, but I'm actually concerned that she's going downhill again. This past week I've seen a lot of tooth grinding, and whilst Ham & Bea rollick around in the evening, she has been staying in a tight little ball with her eyes closed. I'm going to take her back to the vet on Monday because I suspect she came off of the antibiotics and metacam too soon.

It has been so hard just knowing how to best keep her happy, aside from the potential pain returning. I can only spend so much time with her every day because of work - I'm concerned that she feels isolated and lonely. The happiest I've ever seen her was straight after her operation when she had settled into my bedroom and was flopping on the carpet and eating. I think she felt safe, cosy and sociable. My cat kept going to see her and I worked on my laptop in my room so I could keep an eye on her.

The other day her eyes were so dim and she was so melancholy, so in a moment of desperation I pulled her run closer to Ham & Bea's so she could meet them through the bars. Her eyes were suddenly sparkling and she hit it off with Hamilton immediately. Beatrice was not happy that her boyfriend was flirting with another girl and cuffed her on the nose through the bars, and Plumpkin's face was suddenly that of a bullied child in a playground. It broke my heart! I moved the runs away swiftly after this encounter, but I wanted to see if other bunnies would improve her mood, and it definitely did.

The thing is, she's due operation 2 in about 2 weeks. Then she'll need to recover from that. Then she needs to be spayed. Then a long recovery from that. So it could easily be a couple of months before she's well enough to be bonded with them.

She still refuses to eat hay and hardly eats grass, which is a big worry for me. The Ings hay I have is amazing quality and it's the only stuff my other two will eat now. She won't touch the much coveted dry forage either. I'm compensating with extra green leaves and extra pellets. Trying to help her put on weight because she's still super thin - I can feel her spine horribly when I smooth her back.

Please send your vibes to Plumpkin. I'm finding this a hard time because I hate to see her suffering and I wish I could know what she was thinking. When I went to sit with her today, she had a look in her eyes that said 'I've given up hope'. I just want to see her happy again so badly

I'm sorry to hear about Plumpkin. You're trying so hard with her and doing your vey best.

Sometimes a rabbit doesn't eat hay or grass not because they don't want to, but simply because they can't. The side to side chewing motion of grass and hay is harder with rabbits who have dental malocclusion. They can often manage the up and down grinding action to eat pellets and veggies.

What I found useful to get some fibre into a rabbit who cannot eat hay is to feed fibafirst sticks. They contain an excellent amount of fibre and also help to keep the teeth in trim as much as possible. There are a couple of alternatives here:

http://supremepetfoods.com/fiba-first-2/

https://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-food...care-plus-digestive-health-formula-1kg-p-5639


I have cared for so many dental buns over the years that it's no longer scary, but I can understand that feeling a problem will never be solved can be daunting. But it can be managed!!


Some useful info here I have found:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/Rabbit_dentistry.pdf


My rabbit has had extensive surgery over the past two months and it's been heartbreaking to see. But you'll get through this together because you're both fighters

 

[tonibun]

Hoping that Plumpkin can overcome this setback as she has a lovely life ahead.