Unvaccinated rabbits with Myxi

[Daedalus]

Have you tried Ellas baby Food? Comes in ready pureed form in easy to portion sachets. Comes in fantastic bunny friendly flavours - (though watch for the high apple content in some) - available all good supermarkets and is Organic.

Although not ideal as not so good as forage can often tempt a poorly bun. AND is smooth enough to go sown a syringe so you can mix medicines wth it to syringe them in with less stress.

I saw that when I was looking for baby food but ended up with Hipp organic apple, peach and mango (rather sugary but has helped get them eating) and Cow & Gate Sweet potato bake (this had the lowest sugar and highest fibre of all the foods I could see). I have now found moshed pellets is a lot more syringable than Recovery so I'm mostly using that now.

I went to the chemists and got a 60ml feeding syringe today as they are now taking more food and refilling 15ml syringes was taking too much time. I also picked up a 100ml syringe as this is useful for reloading the small syringes (saw this on the Twycross zoo website for rabbit care). Still only feeding how much they want but Jack is woolfing the moshed pellets down).

Dave

 

[nessar]

Glad they are doing a bit better.

 

[Daedalus]

Day 16

Both rabbits are being syringe fed, Harry because he just won't eat whilst Jack struggles finding food as both have had closed eyelids for a number of days. Jack will eat food that is held for him and is lapping food off the end of the syringe with a voracious appetite.

Harry is my major concern at the moment as although he is happily being syringe fed and taking about 150ml of splodge a day he is still loosing weight. Over the past couple of days he has been eating more but since the start of the illnes he has gone from 4kg to about 3kg and looks frighteningly thin. Does anyone have any idea on what I can do for him to help stabilise his weight? Currently his poo and wee is very irregular but is generally passing some although without eating any hay his throughput is a lot lower than normal.

Dave

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Day 16

Both rabbits are being syringe fed, Harry because he just won't eat whilst Jack struggles finding food as both have had closed eyelids for a number of days. Jack will eat food that is held for him and is lapping food off the end of the syringe with a voracious appetite.

Harry is my major concern at the moment as although he is happily being syringe fed and taking about 150ml of splodge a day he is still loosing weight. Over the past couple of days he has been eating more but since the start of the illnes he has gone from 4kg to about 3kg and looks frighteningly thin. Does anyone have any idea on what I can do for him to help stabilise his weight? Currently his poo and wee is very irregular but is generally passing some although without eating any hay his throughput is a lot lower than normal.

Dave

When were they last examined by a Vet ? If Harry is eating nothing for himself and has lost 25% of his body weight he really must be a very, very sick Rabbit. I do think you need to ensure that a Vet examines him ASAP if he has not been examined today.

With that amount of rapid weight loss and the continued anorexia not only is the Myxomatosis a threat to him but so is Liver and kidney damage.

 

[lovelybun]

I will be praying for you and your bunnies!:wave:

 

[Daedalus]

When were they last examined by a Vet ? If Harry is eating nothing for himself and has lost 25% of his body weight he really must be a very, very sick Rabbit. I do think you need to ensure that a Vet examines him ASAP if he has not been examined today.

With that amount of rapid weight loss and the continued anorexia not only is the Myxomatosis a threat to him but so is Liver and kidney damage.

They were last examined last Thursday. I have booked him in to the vet and will be taking him in later today.

Dave

 

[bunlover]

best of luck i had a bunny with myxi (vaccinated) who was elderly at the time and survived, i apprichiate that unvaccs buns stand very little chance but only you know how they are doing, personally i think most owners can tell when enough is enough, i hope you manage to help hary soak some oats in warm water and put on a saucer this helps put weight on a bun who isnt eating also add bit of banana or baby food (hipp apple and red berry compote) to flavour n make more appealing also often a sick rabbit will eat stronger scented stuff try fresh herbs mint, corriander, parsley too it is very important to keep a myxi bunny warm if they arent already ensure they are indoors inside your house get them snugglesafes too.(obviously dont overheat but ensure they are kept warm) usual treatment is as you already have been giving metacam anti inflammatry/panin killer adn an antibiotic we also did steam baths with chelsea steaming up the bathroom then putting her in there to hop around to help clear her snuffle nose maybe try this? chelsea had good days and bad dats and it did take litrally months to recover fully and a lot of food coaxing and medication. hope this helps thinking of you x

 

[Daedalus]

Day 17

Harry went to the vets today for his weight loss and injured foot. The vet has found that has has an infection in the apparently uninjured foot and has re-stapled the wounds in his other foot. We have to go back again tomorrow to see if there is any improvement - if not he feels we are at the end and need to PTS as the injured skin is dying off and there isn't enough good skin to put back together. He feels the die off is due to poor circulation caused by the myxi. My gut feel is that we will be loosing Harry after such a brave fight, even though he is so horribly ill he has never stopped grooming himself and trying to look at his best, vain rabbit that he is. This is so sad as his eating from the syringe has improved and he really seemed to be holding his own against the disease.

Dave

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Day 17

Harry went to the vets today for his weight loss and injured foot. The vet has found that has has an infection in the apparently uninjured foot and has re-stapled the wounds in his other foot. We have to go back again tomorrow to see if there is any improvement - if not he feels we are at the end and need to PTS as the injured skin is dying off and there isn't enough good skin to put back together. He feels the die off is due to poor circulation caused by the myxi. My gut feel is that we will be loosing Harry after such a brave fight, even though he is so horribly ill he has never stopped grooming himself and trying to look at his best, vain rabbit that he is. This is so sad as his eating from the syringe has improved and he really seemed to be holding his own against the disease.

Dave

I am sorry the news is not better

 

[RedFraggle]

I am sorry the news is not better

And me. Trust your gut feeling though and don't be afraid to disagree with your vet if you think otherwise.

 

[parsnipbun]

Sorry to hear the news -

we have had three buns with myxi over the years and of the three lost one - despite all being vaccinated.

However only one went into rapid weight loss and I am afraid to say he was the one we lost (after 6 weeks of intensive care).

 

[Daedalus]

Day 18

Today Jack died. We had just given him his morning feed and medications and put him back in his cage. A few moments later he appears to have had a fit and was dead a few seconds later. We were totally devastated as we had thought Jack was the most likely to make it. He's going to buried under one of our apple trees in the pet cemetry in the garden tomorrow.

Harry went to the vet for a check up on his foot. Frankly I had expected the vet to call time but he was surprised that his foot was still just about holding up and was prepared to carry on treating as long as things don't get any worse. He is still grooming himself and although he can't see is still alert and fighting so we are just hoping his foot recovers and are trying to feed him as much as possible. The odds are very much against him but we're still just trying to do what we can.

Dave

 

[parsnipbun]

so very sorry to hear about Jack.

Myxi is so dreadful and they try so very hard to stay with us.

 

[Jack's-Jane]

I am very sorry to hear about Jack's passing

I do hope that Harry is not suffering too much, Myxomatosis is so evil

 

[ReeceT]

Sorry to hear about Jack , fingers crossed that Harry will pull through.

 

[MichG]

I have only just seen this thread and you have done so well in fighting for them. I am so sorry that Jack didn't make it through but you really tried hard for him.
I really hope Harry starts to improve soon.

Keep strong

 

[Daedalus]

I am very sorry to hear about Jack's passing

I do hope that Harry is not suffering too much, Myxomatosis is so evil

Thanks. It is a truly horrible disease, especially when you know how little you can really do for a sick animal.

He still seems comfortable and my vain lad is still grooming himself. He is drinking water from his bowl too and has had quite a bit overnight. As I thought he would-be PTS last night he just sat on my lap being cuddled for quite some time and really enjoyed being held. Whilst he is like this we'll press on and hope or a better outcome though with his weight loss nd get I'm not optimistic.

Dave

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Thanks. It is a truly horrible disease, especially when you know how little you can really do for a sick animal.

He still seems comfortable and my vain lad is still grooming himself. He is drinking water from his bowl too and has had quite a bit overnight. As I thought he would-be PTS last night he just sat on my lap being cuddled for quite some time and really enjoyed being held. Whilst he is like this we'll press on and hope or a better outcome though with his weight loss nd get I'm not optimistic.

Dave

Is he eating anything for himself at all ?

With the rapid weightloss and now the increased drinking I would check him regularly for signs of dehydration. It is possible that his kidneys are failing and if he is systemically dehydrated (can happen even if drinking A LOT if the kidneys fail) he will feel dreadful. Signs to look out for are tenting of the skin, sunken looking eyes and a 'stale urine' smell to the breath. If you note any one of these I would urge you to contact the Vet immediately.

I am hoping for a miracle for Harry

 

[Captain Helen]

Oh no, I'm so sorry Binky free Jack xx

 

[RedFraggle]

So sorry you lost Jack. I hope Harry continues to fight. You are doing a fantastic job by the way, to get them this far is a credit to you.