I've posted on your thread for Boon Nova.
Yes, we're sure that Thumper had Mycobacteria avium (a form of TB) which affected his gut. It was a total surprise. Not only was histology & bacteriology done at post mortem, but they even DNA typed the mycobacteria - M avium homini suis. unfortunately there wasn't enough tissue to confirm the typing by repeating it. It was the 1st. recorded case in a rabbit.
I'm shocked that a vet should refuse to see Boon. It's perfectly possible to narrow down the diagnosis to a point where management would be the same anyway, as in Thumper's case.
Ultrasound examination of the gut will show which parts are moving properly & which aren't, & will show swelling of the gut wall.
Thumper came to a point where he needed gut motility drugs all the time. In the UK at that time the only drug we could use for poor lower gut motility was ranitidine (Zantac) when this became ineffective we used Domperidone which is related to metaclopramide but unlike metaclopramide is effective throughout the whole length of the gut, and importantly does not cross the blood brain barrier so it doesn't cause the nasty neurological side effects of metaclopramide.
At the time no one knew the correct dose to use for a rabbit. (This work was done by vet. Francis Harcourt Brown in Halifax, Yorkshire England) My vet Marie was fantastic. She was happy to let me continue to gradually increase the dose of domperidone as necessary, to keep him comfortable, & his gut moving. Because he was comfortable without any side effects, he eventually took over twice the recommended max dose.
It was simple for us - unless we increased he'd die in stasis, if we increased, he'd have a bit longer of good quality life.
His 1st. symptoms started when he was about 16 weeks old & he lived to be about 6 years 4 months.
Caecal dysbiosis was an ongoing battle for us but I'm fortunate to live next to fields & could get the wild plants that buns eat. Most are very common in this country & even found in overgrown places in cities. Although all of them can be found in the USA, USA is a big place with huge differences in climate, habitat, & presumably public access to rural areas. Many of the plants can be bought on the internet. There are slight differences in the common names of plants between the USA & UK. To prevent confusion, I need to tell you the latin names of the plants.
The most dramatically effective for dysbiosis is blackthorn leaves (Prunus Spinosa) but they cannot be bought.
Thumper (& Benjie) showed me that it only works when the leaves are gathered in a short 6 week period between the time when the berries ripen & the leaves fall. (I'll send you all my surplus)
Amazingly Thumper's caecum began to fill again having hung useless for 10 months (Ultrasound confirmation) when he started to eat fresh blackthorn. Also the thick caecal wall returned to normal.
Later when I was required to lower his domperidone dose by a subsequent vet, I could only achieve this by giving him powdered dry blackthorn leaves.
Next most helpful & used by country folk for this problem in rabbits for generations is Bramble (Blackberry) leaves - (Rubus fruticosa). Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) is identical as are the blackberry x raspberry fruits eg tayberry. These can be bought.
Hawthorn species - Crataegus monogyna & Crataegus laevigata leaves & dethorned twigs were best for both buns from 1st appearance in spring through until late summer. These can be bought.
Some buns prefer other tree leaves eg Hazel Coryllus, avellana - the one with hazel nuts! or Silver Birch, Betulla pendula.
Willow, Salix sps contain salycylates (aspirin like substances) in varying amounts. Because I'm often giving my buns related drugs eg metacam, I don't allow them access to more than a morsel, but use their appetite for willow as an indicator that they need me to restart metacam.
Yes, we're sure that Thumper had Mycobacteria avium (a form of TB) which affected his gut. It was a total surprise. Not only was histology & bacteriology done at post mortem, but they even DNA typed the mycobacteria - M avium homini suis. unfortunately there wasn't enough tissue to confirm the typing by repeating it. It was the 1st. recorded case in a rabbit.
I'm shocked that a vet should refuse to see Boon. It's perfectly possible to narrow down the diagnosis to a point where management would be the same anyway, as in Thumper's case.
Ultrasound examination of the gut will show which parts are moving properly & which aren't, & will show swelling of the gut wall.
Thumper came to a point where he needed gut motility drugs all the time. In the UK at that time the only drug we could use for poor lower gut motility was ranitidine (Zantac) when this became ineffective we used Domperidone which is related to metaclopramide but unlike metaclopramide is effective throughout the whole length of the gut, and importantly does not cross the blood brain barrier so it doesn't cause the nasty neurological side effects of metaclopramide.
At the time no one knew the correct dose to use for a rabbit. (This work was done by vet. Francis Harcourt Brown in Halifax, Yorkshire England) My vet Marie was fantastic. She was happy to let me continue to gradually increase the dose of domperidone as necessary, to keep him comfortable, & his gut moving. Because he was comfortable without any side effects, he eventually took over twice the recommended max dose.
It was simple for us - unless we increased he'd die in stasis, if we increased, he'd have a bit longer of good quality life.
His 1st. symptoms started when he was about 16 weeks old & he lived to be about 6 years 4 months.
Caecal dysbiosis was an ongoing battle for us but I'm fortunate to live next to fields & could get the wild plants that buns eat. Most are very common in this country & even found in overgrown places in cities. Although all of them can be found in the USA, USA is a big place with huge differences in climate, habitat, & presumably public access to rural areas. Many of the plants can be bought on the internet. There are slight differences in the common names of plants between the USA & UK. To prevent confusion, I need to tell you the latin names of the plants.
The most dramatically effective for dysbiosis is blackthorn leaves (Prunus Spinosa) but they cannot be bought.
Thumper (& Benjie) showed me that it only works when the leaves are gathered in a short 6 week period between the time when the berries ripen & the leaves fall. (I'll send you all my surplus)
Amazingly Thumper's caecum began to fill again having hung useless for 10 months (Ultrasound confirmation) when he started to eat fresh blackthorn. Also the thick caecal wall returned to normal.
Later when I was required to lower his domperidone dose by a subsequent vet, I could only achieve this by giving him powdered dry blackthorn leaves.
Next most helpful & used by country folk for this problem in rabbits for generations is Bramble (Blackberry) leaves - (Rubus fruticosa). Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) is identical as are the blackberry x raspberry fruits eg tayberry. These can be bought.
Hawthorn species - Crataegus monogyna & Crataegus laevigata leaves & dethorned twigs were best for both buns from 1st appearance in spring through until late summer. These can be bought.
Some buns prefer other tree leaves eg Hazel Coryllus, avellana - the one with hazel nuts! or Silver Birch, Betulla pendula.
Willow, Salix sps contain salycylates (aspirin like substances) in varying amounts. Because I'm often giving my buns related drugs eg metacam, I don't allow them access to more than a morsel, but use their appetite for willow as an indicator that they need me to restart metacam.
