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vet worried its berties heart :(

purplebumble

Warren Veteran
poor bertie..my big old softie....hes been eating and pooping fine until about 3 or 4 am this morning. im sleeping on the bedsetee until i can get a new matress for my bed as ive been shreded by the springs:oops:

he wouldnt sleep..hes always wandering around this time of day..its his investiagting time.
BUT this time he was aggressive...even chased salem with a tissue box:shock: growled and lunged at me....then wanted to settle down on the beanbag next to me and having a fuss so he could doze. if i fell asleep or stopped he attacked me or poor salem.
i heard his tummy gurgling loudly. Once i had daylight and could keep my eyes open..i checked him over.....seemed ok.
by midday tho id given him some metacam syrup..2ml metaclop syrup 2ml infacol. Then about an hour or so later i gave him 60ml feed.

he wasnt better..hed stopped pooing despite the stuff id given him. And he was breathing fast..real fast and again the odd rasp.

i got him to a different vet recommended here......and i will be using them and my local vet shared. He was very thorough...and at first wanted to xray his tummy..but he gave him subcut fluids..lots of it!!! metacam injection...baytril injection.....vetergesic injection and zantac injection too...

berties breathing was worse than usual..he was almost rapid panting...but his chest is fine.
The vet said hes very concerned that it may well be heart disease....he has asked me to see my vet asap tomorrow to see how his breathing is then and take it from there.
i havent been able to give him anymore metaclop syrup or a feed as the vetrgesic and metacam jabs knocked him for six. even out of it he was still fighting for breath:( eventually he slowed down a lot.

hes woken up but is very wobbly and sleepy..he has however nibbled his hay cookie whilst laying on the floor face first on it..and had eaten hay too..meadow hay with rosepetals....his fave treat hay;) there have been two very wobbly trips to the litter tray and he is pooping big poops..not heaps but enough to surprise me.

hes too weak n wobbly for a force feed plus im terrified to stress him out even slightly in case:(

please any advice or tips...im a very worried mummy:cry:


im too scared to go to sleep.

and my boiler has finally died after yesterday being botched enuff to last till monday by the housing assoc call out guy. i have gotta ring in morning and demand it fixed that day as its been left and botched cos its the holidays..and its bloomin freezin:evil:

poor bertie..hes got his dog bed but is so wobbly hes on a cotton woven rug with one of those very cheap panel heaters..just keep a little warm if he sleeps up against it and costs 1p an hour to run.

hes face first in his hay again.....

ive never had a bun be given vetergesic jab as well as metacam....does it always zonk bunnies out?
 
I am so sorry to hear about poor Bertie, have you been to the vets again yet?
Jimby had a pain killer once that completley zonked him out but I can not remember the name of it?
 
:wave: thank you..yep sounds like vetergesic..its knockout drops i swear!

yes i saw our vet today and relayed exactly what had gone on and she examined bertie....she said his breathing and heart was very fast but it cant be diagnosed as heart trouble as pain can have the exact same effect.
However as a precaution she gave him some baytril and osme to go home with and also as as a one off measure in case it was his heart...a dieuretic jab. he peed as soon as i got into the waiting room..twice and then kept peeing for about an hour..clear colurless pee...in puddles..poor old thing:oops:

but ellen said to give him the baytril for 3 days and if he was improving to fisnish the bottle and if not or he got worse to take him right back.

our broken boiler ifnally got fixed and about 3 or 4 this afternoon the guy lefT and i cleaned the floor. suddenly bertie started sneezing and nikki yelled out to look. hed sneezed and a whole lot of muck hung from his nose. then he sneezed again and it shot out and onto the rug. omg it was massive snot like and completely white.
i rang our vets when she opened and she called me back at the end of surgery. she says the only thing that causes that discahrge is pasturella:(

so far luckily its not down on his chest or lower resp system she said. i have to go get some metronizadole from the vets tomorrow evening.

poor bertie......:(

and still no wiser on the heart issue:(
 
It sounds as though his increased heart rate/respiratory rate *might* be to compensate for his congested upper respiratory tract rather than due to an actual 'heart problem'. In order to obtain sufficient blood oxygenation from a reduced supply (due to the URT congestion) the heart and lungs will increase their 'effort' Rabbits are obligate nose breathers so a 'blocked nose' is a real issue for them.

Some Bisolvon, a mucolytic, may help thin out the mucus and help Bertie to feel more comfortable. An anti-inflammatory should help reduce inflammation within the nasal passages. Both should help relieve the upper airways.

It would be advisable for your Vet to keep a close check on Bertie's LRT

I hope Bertie feels better soon :)
 
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Also....make sure the vet has a good feel around his jaw and windpipe...especially if he's breathing sounds rattly or like he's bunged up.

Harley was bunged up and really wheezing, she had a slight snotty nose too and she's got a jaw abcess pressing on her windpipe :cry:
 
Totally agree with Jane. As if any one couldn't.
I also think that Bertie's issues are due to a blocked nose with thick mucus.
A very good way to bring this under control is a nebuliser. Best to buy your own at £50 because it's long term treatment & nebulizers are ridiculously expensive to hire.

There's an excellent current thread thread in health by bisc & matt1.
It's very long, So I'd advise you to start at the end. You can see us finding out the various issues that make matt worse.

Several types of bacteria apart from pasteurella can cause snuffles. The whole key to treatment is getting the mucus thin & draining, & unblocking the sinuses where Ab's can't get to.

Your bun needs an AB by mouth, something like bisolvon to thin the mucus, nebulizer with Ab or disinfectant eg F10, & metacam or non steroidal anti inflammatory to reduce soft tissue swelling caused by infection.

Keeping a constant temp & airborn dust control are very helpful too.
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?p=3509624#post3509624
It's a bit confusing at the end - bm1 has another bun with dental/ blood issues & it got into the wrong thread! ignore anything about Bisc. It's matt with snuffles.
 
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