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Poorly bun - advice?

Miss-holly

Miss-holly

New Kit
The last two days my bun has not eaten much other than a small bit of hay and lettuce, and drunk hardly anything, and when he tries to run he keeps falling over onto his left side. He's usually a very active rabbit but is just sat in a corner of the house, hardly moving af all.
We took him to the vets this morning, she has given us some food to mix into a paste to try to feed him, and ranitidine to give him twice a day, and if he doesn't improve by tomorrow she wants us to take him back for some bloodwork, so we're just waiting to see how he gets on overnight. She also said the falling may just be a sign of fatigue.
I was just wondering if you guys had any advice on anything I can do to make him more comfortable or feel better, I just want my happy bouncy bun back.
 
Is your vet rabbit savvy? I would say it may be an ear infection so maybe antibiotics or I think with EC they fall over. I think he is in pain and you should certainly be given metacam to help with this.

I would get a recommendation from here and take him to another vets asap, if he isn't eating and not moving a lot you need to get him seen to.
 
She did mention EC as a possible cause, that's why she suggested checking his blood, from my perspective it did seem like she did seem to know what she was talking about, why she didn't do it today though is beyond me, ill see if I can get him back in asap and get it sorted.
Its weird cos he's sat at home not doing much, yet the whole time we were at the vets he was bouncing around full of beans.

Edit: I took him to companion care in Portsmouth.
 
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I think he's in pain and she could have started him on a course of panacur while waiting for results. He should certainly have pain relief as he may stop eating and go into statis.

I really think you should go elsewhere and today if possible. Is he eating anything or pooping or just sitting hunched up? I know it seems like she knows what she is talking about but ranitidine is to get the gut moving but if he's in pain he won't eat. I've seen lots of vet who I thought knew what they were talking about until my rabbit was very ill and no one helped until I saw an exotic vet specialist who really knew what he was talking about!
 
He's eating a small amount of hay, and a few pieces of lettuce, I put a selection of his usual favourites in front of him, and he ignored everything else, he is still popping, but they're not as big as they usually are, and as ive been writing this he's just moved to his litter box and its currently eating some hay, then gone and laid back in his corner
 
Miss-holly said:
She did mention EC as a possible cause, that's why she suggested checking his blood, from my perspective it did seem like she did seem to know what she was talking about, why she didn't do it today though is beyond me, ill see if I can get him back in asap and get it sorted.
Its weird cos he's sat at home not doing much, yet the whole time we were at the vets he was bouncing around full of beans.
Edit: I took him to companion care in Portsmouth.
Click to expand...

Quite often rabbits seems to 'perk' up at the vets - this is usually due to stress and adrenaline and a rabbits natural self-defense. In the wild they cannot afford to lie around feeling poorly and will find the strength from andrenaline to get away from prey even when sick. Same sort of thing at the vet - rabbit is stressed, feels threatened in a strange, smelly environment and will 'pretend' all is well.

I have found with Companion Vets - whilst fine for vaccinations and routine stuff, they are slow to bring buns in for therapy and further tests. They sometimes seem to miss the urgency of rabbits illness and the need the pain relief - not all of them of course, just ones in my experience. So I really would consider getting your bun to a proper rabbit savvy vet - EC results can take up to 2 weeks to come back, and in the mean time your bun will need some sort of meds to stop any pain etc.

Huge vibes for you bun - it's awful when they're ill so big hugs to you too.
 
they don't sound particularly rabbit-savvy to me either to be completely honest. perhaps look into a more savvy vet near you and get another opinion. obviously the quicker the correct course of treatment is started, the better. good luck :)
 
Miss-holly said:
The last two days my bun has not eaten much other than a small bit of hay and lettuce, and drunk hardly anything, and when he tries to run he keeps falling over onto his left side. He's usually a very active rabbit but is just sat in a corner of the house, hardly moving af all.
We took him to the vets this morning, she has given us some food to mix into a paste to try to feed him, and ranitidine to give him twice a day, and if he doesn't improve by tomorrow she wants us to take him back for some bloodwork, so we're just waiting to see how he gets on overnight. She also said the falling may just be a sign of fatigue.
I was just wondering if you guys had any advice on anything I can do to make him more comfortable or feel better, I just want my happy bouncy bun back.
Click to expand...

This sounds like an ear infection to me.

If your vet hasn't given him antibiotics and Metacam (pain relief and also to address any inflammation) then I would worry about how knowledgable they were with rabbits. Sorry if that sounds harsh! Rabbits can stop eating because of pain, and falling over can be due to loss of balance.

Rabbits do not fall over because of fatigue. Unusual fatigue is a possible sign of illness, and falling over definitely so.

The blood test for E.C. is not conclusive, and has to be repeated to see what the 'trend' is ... therefore it takes several weeks and is very expensive. If E.C. is suspected, most vets will begin the rabbit on a course of Panacur.

Did your vet look into your rabbit's ears with an otoscope? (pointy thing with a light on it)
 
I concur with the other posts that your bunny should be given some pain medication. He may be falling over from pain in his digestive system, or it could be a neuorological issue, or an ear infection as noted in the other post.
You do not mention him getting fluids in your post. A bunny who is not drinking should be given supplemental fluids at least daily. Bunnies who are dehydrated will be weak and find it harder to pass poos. Dehydration can be just another symptom of a larger issue; but one that can make the difference in getting your bunny back to his hoppy self.
Try syringing water into your bunny's mouth, a little at a time. My vet showed me how to give sub-Q fluids to ill bunnies which I use to supplement fluids I syringe into their mouth.
 
Hi, he's doing better, eating more and moving around too, still wont drink from his bottle, but did drink when I put a cup of water down, he's still unsteady though, and shaking his head as though something is annoying him.
We took him to see a different vet who thoroughly checked his ears, said he cant see any signs of an ear infection but it may be in the inner ear, mites may also be the cause of his annoyance, and also said again it could be E.C, so he's been given an injection incase its mites, and he's now also on Baytril and Panacur, the vet said he'd rather treat for the whole spectrum, than charge us alot of money on scans and bloods to pinpoint the exact cause.
Thanks for all the advice guys, hopefully he'll be doing alot better soon.
 
well done, that sounds a much better vet, is it at a different practice. At least he is now started on the best course of action. Did he get any metacam as well.

Some rabbits prefer to drink from a bowl especially when they are ill as it's easier and they also drink more. I've swapped permanently to a bowl now.
 
Miss-holly said:
Hi, he's doing better, eating more and moving around too, still wont drink from his bottle, but did drink when I put a cup of water down, he's still unsteady though, and shaking his head as though something is annoying him.
We took him to see a different vet who thoroughly checked his ears, said he cant see any signs of an ear infection but it may be in the inner ear, mites may also be the cause of his annoyance, and also said again it could be E.C, so he's been given an injection incase its mites, and he's now also on Baytril and Panacur, the vet said he'd rather treat for the whole spectrum, than charge us alot of money on scans and bloods to pinpoint the exact cause.
Thanks for all the advice guys, hopefully he'll be doing alot better soon.
Click to expand...

I'm really pleased to hear this!

I hope you feel a bit more relieved and in control of the situation now that you know it's being addressed from all angles.

I hope the treatment works for him :D
 
cpayne said:
well done, that sounds a much better vet, is it at a different practice. At least he is now started on the best course of action. Did he get any metacam as well.

Some rabbits prefer to drink from a bowl especially when they are ill as it's easier and they also drink more. I've swapped permanently to a bowl now.
Click to expand...

Same practice, but a different vet, and friend of mine takes her rabbit to see him and recommended I talk to him, he didn't give us metacam though, what would that do, I know what he's been given is an antibiotic, i thought that would be enough to help?

And yeah, he's definitely drinking alot more from the bowl, so ill stick with that for now :)
 
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Yes baytril is the antibiotic. Metacam is pain relief. Rabbits stop eating when they are in pain and this leads to statis so if you treat the pain they hopefully carry on eating normally. I would keep an eye on input and output. If he's acting normal and eating normally then he's not in any pain, hopefully the antibiotics are kicking in already.
 
I wouldnt say he's acting and eating normally, but already alot better than he was considering yesterday he turned his nose up at everything, but I'm definitely keeping a close eye, I've moved him in from his outdoor hutch, into the indoors crate I have so I can watch over him.

Thank you so much for all your advice, you've been a massive help, ill be sure to keep you updated :)
 
I'm surprised you weren't given metacam but at least you have baytril and panacur. If he's not eating a lot I would maybe just call the vets up and ask for some, you don't need to take him back and at least you will know he is painfree.
 
cpayne said:
I'm surprised you weren't given metacam but at least you have baytril and panacur. If he's not eating a lot I would maybe just call the vets up and ask for some, you don't need to take him back and at least you will know he is painfree.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree. It may be very helpful in the short term. I don't know why some vets don't think of it automatically, but many don't!
 
sounds much better but agree about the metacam. for all the conditions they're considering it could be, metacam would be beneficial as it's an anti-inflammatory mainly and controls any inflammation based pain/discomfort aswell :)
 
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