Something Wrong

Hi, Got up this morning and went to sort my rabbits out. Put some grain in the bowl and only my one rabbit went to eat it, so I put in some Dandelion and scattered some apple about and my other rabbit Toby was not the slightest bit interested. Instead he went and lay down on his vet bed.
He got up again when I opened the hutch and seems to be moving round OK but when and settled back down on the vet bed again.
This is unusual, he only lies with his feet out when it's hot and sunny not at 8.15am when it's grey and cloudy.
So, this is unusual and I am very concerned. I phoned my Vets and they were fully booked, wouldn;t even squeeze me in. So I had to go to another branch to be seen, which I panicked about (as I don;t know the are very well) on top of already panicking.
Anyway, I got there. Vet checked him over. Said his tummy was bit empty. Checked his teeth, yes he has some spurs but nothing to be overly concerned about at the moment.
So he gave him a gut stimulant injection and pain relief, told me to keep an eye on him. This was 10.30ish this morning.

So I get him home and all he wants to do is sit or lie down, to be honest, he looks uncomfortable. If it was his teeth, I don;t think he would be lieing like that.
He was doing poos before but I have not seen many since returning.

I am getting increasingly worried. He is 9 yrs old and I worry myself sick about them both.
I am supposed to be at work right now but I have not seen Toby eat still.

I'm thinking on phoning the vets again...

toria said:

Hi, Got up this morning and went to sort my rabbits out. Put some grain in the bowl and only my one rabbit went to eat it, so I put in some Dandelion and scattered some apple about and my other rabbit Toby was not the slightest bit interested. Instead he went and lay down on his vet bed.
He got up again when I opened the hutch and seems to be moving round OK but when and settled back down on the vet bed again.
This is unusual, he only lies with his feet out when it's hot and sunny not at 8.15am when it's grey and cloudy.
So, this is unusual and I am very concerned. I phoned my Vets and they were fully booked, wouldn;t even squeeze me in. So I had to go to another branch to be seen, which I panicked about (as I don;t know the are very well) on top of already panicking.
Anyway, I got there. Vet checked him over. Said his tummy was bit empty. Checked his teeth, yes he has some spurs but nothing to be overly concerned about at the moment.
So he gave him a gut stimulant injection and pain relief, told me to keep an eye on him. This was 10.30ish this morning.

So I get him home and all he wants to do is sit or lie down, to be honest, he looks uncomfortable. If it was his teeth, I don;t think he would be lieing like that.
He was doing poos before but I have not seen many since returning.

I am getting increasingly worried. He is 9 yrs old and I worry myself sick about them both.
I am supposed to be at work right now but I have not seen Toby eat still.

I'm thinking on phoning the vets again...

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I would definitely phone the vets again, explain that you are concerned he is in gut stasis and has not eaten in however many hours and he is listless. If they tell you to do nothing I'm afraid you don't have a good vet on your hands. You need to INSIST that he is admitted.

I would ask for the bunny to be checked for a gut blockage. I also think that the spurs should have been dealt with, the vet may think they look ok but they can still cause the bunny pain. If his tummy was empty the vet should have been very concerned and admitted him, not sent him home! He needs emergency treatment, NOW!

Are there no rabbit savvy vets near you?

Has he been eating normally up till now or has he been favouring certain foods of late? Did the vet not ask you to syringe feed? Some bunnies are very sensitive to pain, I've had dental buns with horrendous teeth who eat for England and some with hardy any issues that just wont eat. I would ask them to re-check the teeth again.

Really think you should phone the vet again or perhaps find a more rabbit savy vet.

If he is not eating you should have been advised to syringe feed him, that is if there is no blockage.

As previous post some rabbits who only have small spurs can still be affected by them and each rabbit is different.

Good luck, keep us posted

Just to add to what everyone has already said, a rabbit not eating and pooing is actually an emergency situation, so your original vets should have fit you in as an emergency, whether fully booked or not.

SarahP said:

Just to add to what everyone has already said, a rabbit not eating and pooing is actually an emergency situation, so your original vets should have fit you in as an emergency, whether fully booked or not.

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This too...

I would request that he is admitted for intensive care. He would benefit from fluid therapy (IV or subcutaneous) as dehydration of any intestinal matter occurs rapidly when the Rabbit is in gut stasis. This exacerbates the condition. Also, given the heat and your Rabbit's age his kidneys probably need as much support as they can get-ie fluid therapy.

I really hope that he feels better soon xx

Are you in the UK? If so, where abouts? Someone may be able to offer details of a more rabbit savvy vet, if you're near to them.

I can only echo what others have said - he needs to be seen and admitted asap.

Hello and thank you all for your advice.

I did phone my vets back up, they asked me to take him to their Hospital branch straight away to be seen and hospitalized. I did this leaving my other rabbit at home.
We got there and Toby was examined. Said he felt gas in his tummy and having read everything before I got there, had already arranged an appointment at Rabbit specialist vets: 'Ashleigh Vets'... I think I have seen these mentioned on this site before.
I am in Manchester for those wondering.

So, we went to Ashleigh Vets, Toby was examined again. She said she could feel gas in his tummy. Looked at his teeth and said they were fine.
They are going to massage his tummy, see if there is a blockage etc etc so I left him there.

I am very very upset right now.

toria said:

Hello and thank you all for your advice.

I did phone my vets back up, they asked me to take him to their Hospital branch straight away to be seen and hospitalized. I did this leaving my other rabbit at home.
We got there and Toby was examined. Said he felt gas in his tummy and having read everything before I got there, had already arranged an appointment at Rabbit specialist vets: 'Ashleigh Vets'... I think I have seen these mentioned on this site before.
I am in Manchester for those wondering.

So, we went to Ashleigh Vets, Toby was examined again. She said she could feel gas in his tummy. Looked at his teeth and said they were fine.
They are going to massage his tummy, see if there is a blockage etc etc so I left him there.

I am very very upset right now.

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What you did was the right thing, he is in the best hands now. Vibes for your boy. Hope he feels better soon. x

toria said:

Hello and thank you all for your advice.

I did phone my vets back up, they asked me to take him to their Hospital branch straight away to be seen and hospitalized. I did this leaving my other rabbit at home.
We got there and Toby was examined. Said he felt gas in his tummy and having read everything before I got there, had already arranged an appointment at Rabbit specialist vets: 'Ashleigh Vets'... I think I have seen these mentioned on this site before.
I am in Manchester for those wondering.

So, we went to Ashleigh Vets, Toby was examined again. She said she could feel gas in his tummy. Looked at his teeth and said they were fine.
They are going to massage his tummy, see if there is a blockage etc etc so I left him there.

I am very very upset right now.

Click to expand...

Poor Toby.

Ashleigh Vets seems to get good reviews on here and is used by several members, so it sounds like Toby is in the best place. The rabbit specialist that I go to used to work at Ashleigh, although she's based in Lincolnshire now

Vibes for Toby x

Poor little guy

You did absolutely the right thing and he is getting the treatment he needs, I hope he is home again soon!

Hope you get some good news soon. x

Thinking of you and really hope he gets better. You're doing everything you can, he's a lucky bun xx

I hope Toby feels better soon.

Well done for getting him the treatment he needs.

The Ashleigh vets are brilliant and I'm sure they'll do everything they can for him - they're amazing with rabbits
Sending lots of vibes xx

Thank you all for your kind thoughts.

I spoke to the Vet at Ashleigh Vets earlier and he said Toby's stomach had got smaller which is good.
He is on fluids and pain medication and gut stimuli stuff.
He is more stable than he was before.
I asked if he had eaten anything yet and he said no, which is worrying me.
He is going to phone me at 8am.

Willow is looking for Toby and I hate her being on her own. I'm taking her to the vets in the morning as she currently has an ongoing ear wax problem, in the one ear.

I'm not too good but will try to get some sleep now.

I hope that Toby has improved more overnight xx

An update and a question:

I spoke to the Overnight Vet this morning, he said Toby's tummy was a bit better ad that he thought he had seen him eat something. They are continuing with pain med and syringe feeding.
I took my other rabbit Willow to my normal vets this morning as she has ear wax problem (although now much cleaner) and spoke to the nurse about their seperation.
When ever separated Willow can be a bit funny and just pull Toby's hair occasionally. I think it's cause he smells different or something. The nurse suggested I ask Ashleigh VEts if they could take Willow too.

Anyway, I phoned up at lunchtime and was told Toby was not eating by himself or pooing but the Vet would phone me.
The Vet phoned; Toby has been seen eating a bit by 'passing nurses' but not yet pooed.
His tummy has gone down a lot.
They are expecting to see poo later today, if nothing by tomorrow they will look at his blood.
He is drinking.
I asked about Willow and them being sperated and the VEt said I could take her tonight, she can stay with Toby overnight but be next to him in the day so they can monitor him.
My thoughts are:
It may encourage Toby to eat having Willow, it may encourage Willow to eat more having Toby there.
Worried Willow will be naughty and pull his hair and I have learnt that there are no nurses over night - just one on duty emergency Vet and if he is in an emergency, then who is keeping an eye and taking care of my rabbits and other pets?

Has anyone got any advice on taking Willow to be with Toby?
THanks, much appreciated.
(Sorry for spelling mistakes etc... am at work)

Sorry you are having a worrying time. I think the best thing would be to make sure Toby is eating normally and back home. Willow should be all right for a short time. Different people have different views on this, but as you mention fur pulling I would recommend this way. I do hope Toby starts to eat normally soon and everything can settle down again.