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Sick bunny. Any advice appreciated

Roarysbunmum

Roarysbunmum

Young Bun
Hi all,

I have a 5 year old lion head lop called Roary who is not happy at all today. I didn't get home from work until late last night and noticed he seemed a bit flat, hadn't eaten much and his water bottle had barely been touched. Usually he runs around like a loon then sprawls out on the carpet, this time he was sitting on the wooden floor but not moving much. His ears were also cool to touch but I'm not sure if this is relevant or not. Oh btw Roary is a house bun so he shouldn't be cold at all.

This morning he wasn't any better but also no worse. Still hadn't eaten or drank much overnight but did have some poo pellets stuck to his bum fluff. Tried coaxing him to eat but wasn't interested at all and ears were still cold. I cleaned him up, gave him lots of nose rubs and then had to go to work.

Went to the vets this evening - heart and lungs fine. Teeth ok, a couple of little spurs not no evidence they were hurting him in any way. No tummy bloating but he definitely didn't look right. He has to take Ranitidine for 5 days and I have a rescue sachet to syringe feed him with tonight. If no better tomorrow then back to the vets for critical care nursing. The vet suspects tummy troubles but is trying to prevent GI stasis and thinks I got him seen in time. He had some more poo stuck around his bum but I don't think he's passing as much as usual although the pellets look normal/slightly smaller than normal. He also wee'd on the vets table so must have drank some water.

Roary had his medicine and some rescue solution at 6pm. I've tried tempting him to eat but still nothing. Is there anything else I should be doing to help him? He's usually never sick so this is really worrying me. He's still just sitting in the same spot, not moving and looks so sad!

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me
 
Do you think your vet is particularly rabbit savvy?
Can you try tempting Rory to eat some of his favourite herbs or hay by waving them in front of his nose?
Rabbits need to eat frequently to keep their stomachs moving, it is important to encourage him to start eating.
Does he usually have a problem with poo stuck around his bum?
 
The vet was recommended to me by a rabbit savvy friend of mine so that's a pretty good recommendation. I've been trying to tempt him to eat using anything I can think of but no luck as yet. I'll keep trying as well as feeding him the rescue solution which at least has some fibre in it. No he usually keeps himself very clean but he hasn't been grooming himself today that I've seen. I have him all cleaned up again and gave him a good brush. Maybe he's feeling so poorly that he just hasn't bothered grooming.
 
If it were me, I would have been happier if my rabbit had been admitted for intensive care - which I'm sure my rabbit savvy vet would have recommended. As you know, they go downhill extremely quickly.
 
They certainly do. I used to be a vet nurse years ago so that's why they suggested I look after him at home tonight. They did say to bring him in first thing if I felt there was no improvement though. I'm just not sure what else I can do at home for him other than coaxing him to eat and syringe feeding him?
 
How much and how often are you syringe feeding the "rescue solution"
Are you also syringing water?
If he isn't better by tomorrow morning, I would suggest you take him back to the vets as he needs to be eating
 
I'm sorry that Roary is unwell and not eating.

Do you have enough of the recovery solution to feed him during the night? I would try to give him some every 2-3 hours and I would make it quite watery so that he gets plenty of fluid. If you haven't got enough, I would make up a solution of his normal pellets mixed with water and syringe feed that.

When you take him back to the vets tomorrow, I would ask if Roary could have some pain relief, as a rabbit in pain will not eat and usually this type of gut problem is quite painful for a rabbit. My vet has usually prescribed some Metacam.

In addition to the poo stuck to his bum, has there been any other output in his litter tray?

Sending him lots of vibes that he starts to feel better soon.
 
Hi there,

It doesn't seem to mention whether he's had any pain relief such as metacam. Whenever our buns aren't a 100% happy & not eating as much as they normally do this is normally the first port of call together with gut motility drugs.

The only other things I can perhaps suggest other than the pain relief is some infacol, gentle tummy massages and just gently tapping him on the bum to get him moving around. Perhaps also syringing some water into him to keep his gut hydrated and maybe mix it with probiotic to help with the gut flora.

My house buns are moulting at the minute and Harley tends to ingest a lot of fur which can cause him to feel full, other times his teeth play up. The spurs may be small but if he's anything like Harley if he catches his tongue on the spurs this could cause it to hurt.

Sending lots of vibes xx
 
Roarysbunmum said:
Hi all,

I have a 5 year old lion head lop called Roary who is not happy at all today. I didn't get home from work until late last night and noticed he seemed a bit flat, hadn't eaten much and his water bottle had barely been touched. Usually he runs around like a loon then sprawls out on the carpet, this time he was sitting on the wooden floor but not moving much. His ears were also cool to touch but I'm not sure if this is relevant or not. Oh btw Roary is a house bun so he shouldn't be cold at all.

This morning he wasn't any better but also no worse. Still hadn't eaten or drank much overnight but did have some poo pellets stuck to his bum fluff. Tried coaxing him to eat but wasn't interested at all and ears were still cold. I cleaned him up, gave him lots of nose rubs and then had to go to work.

Went to the vets this evening - heart and lungs fine. Teeth ok, a couple of little spurs not no evidence they were hurting him in any way. No tummy bloating but he definitely didn't look right. He has to take Ranitidine for 5 days and I have a rescue sachet to syringe feed him with tonight. If no better tomorrow then back to the vets for critical care nursing. The vet suspects tummy troubles but is trying to prevent GI stasis and thinks I got him seen in time. He had some more poo stuck around his bum but I don't think he's passing as much as usual although the pellets look normal/slightly smaller than normal. He also wee'd on the vets table so must have drank some water.

Roary had his medicine and some rescue solution at 6pm. I've tried tempting him to eat but still nothing. Is there anything else I should be doing to help him? He's usually never sick so this is really worrying me. He's still just sitting in the same spot, not moving and looks so sad!

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me
Click to expand...


I would hope that your vet could be a bit more proactive with Roary, as you really don't want this developing into anything more serious. Pain relief is a good idea, and Metacam would be the drug of choice.

Vets often give gut motility meds like metaclopromide or/and cisapride to get the gut moving *providing* they are sure there isn't any blockage.

Infacol and gentle tummy rubs will do no harm and may make a good difference.

Here's a bit more info:

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv/basic

Do make sure your vet is rabbit savvy and are taking a proactive approach. Bunnies go downhill so fast.

Good luck xx
 
Thanks for all your advice. I did ask the vet about pain relief, he said that Metacam can actually worsen GI stasis but if no improvement then he would give Roary some tomorrow. I do have some at home and wondering whether or not to just give him a dose! I've been advised to syringe 10-15mls of the rescue formula every 4 hours but have been giving him 5ml per hour since we got home at 6pm. I had to make it more watery as the syringe they gave me is too small so kept clogging! There has been some 'output' but its smaller than usual and not as much as usual - keeping a close eye on this. His tummy is really gurgly and I have been gently rubbing his tummy while he's been cuddling up to me. Usually cuddles are on his terms but he's being very snugly so I know he's not himself! Haven't tried infacol, will get some tomorrow. How much infacol would you give?
 
I usually give 2ml of Infacol to a largish 2.5kg bunny. I don't think you can overdose it really. The fact that his tummy is gurgling and there's SOME output sounds hopeful to me as the gas and guts are still moving. Pain relief is crtical and if he were mine then I WOULD give Metacam if I had it at home, but that's not something everyone would do. Sending (((vibes))) for a pain free tummy.
 
Personally if it was me I would give him a dose of metacam as if he is gassy this will cause him pain & equally the spurs could also be causing him pain. We always have metacam in the house and as soon as the bun plays up they get a dose of it and off to vet the following day.

I've never heard of metacam making GI stasis worse and so I do wonder how rabbit savvy the vet is (before we were as knowledgeable as we are now, one of our buns went into stasis and the vet didn't prescribe any pain relief and sadly she didn't recover. Turned out the vet was not great with bunnies)

My buns normally have dog metacam and I believe it is 0.5ml per kilo of body weight they should be given, so if a rabbit is 2.5kg it would be 1.5ml of metacam, but it does depend on what metacam you have and how much he ways.

With infacol I normally give them a 1ml twice a day but others may have different opinions. I cannot tell you the amount of late night runs I've done to supermarkets to get some infacol!

We don't have heat pads or snuggle safes, but I normally give them hot water bottle wrapped in a towel. No idea if it helps, but I know when I have a funny tummy it helps me.

Sending lots of vibes.
 
Roarysbunmum said:
Thanks for all your advice. I did ask the vet about pain relief, he said that Metacam can actually worsen GI stasis but if no improvement then he would give Roary some tomorrow. I do have some at home and wondering whether or not to just give him a dose! I've been advised to syringe 10-15mls of the rescue formula every 4 hours but have been giving him 5ml per hour since we got home at 6pm. I had to make it more watery as the syringe they gave me is too small so kept clogging! There has been some 'output' but its smaller than usual and not as much as usual - keeping a close eye on this. His tummy is really gurgly and I have been gently rubbing his tummy while he's been cuddling up to me. Usually cuddles are on his terms but he's being very snugly so I know he's not himself! Haven't tried infacol, will get some tomorrow. How much infacol would you give?
Click to expand...


The general recommendation is 1ml even hour for three doses, and then one dose 2/3 times daily.
 
Sorry to hear that roary has stasis.

Pain relief is essential. Do you have an out of hours vet you could contact to ask advice and the dose? He is on ranitidine anyway which will protect his tummy. The vet also would have had other pain relief options so not sure why none was given.

Perhaps see what the out of hours say. He may need admitting before tomorrow.

If you need any vet recommendations then let us know :)

Best of luck.
 
I would have thought that pain relief was essential. I do not feel confident in your vet, but perhaps I'm being 'picky'?
 
I would always give metacam for stasis. Our bunny has been on metacam for a month (and at one point was on it 2x a day - dose 0.5ml for 2kg bunny) with no ill effects. It is very well tolerated.
 
Update: Roary was admitted at 8am this morning. His blood glucose was 20 which indicates possible impaction. They put him onto opiate pain killers and provided intensive nursing. His glucose levels have now dropped and he is drinking but still not eating or pooing. They are waiting on a specialist rabbit vet to call to see if he can suggest anything else and may transfer Roary to that practice if advised. Poor Roary :(
 
Roarysbunmum said:
Update: Roary was admitted at 8am this morning. His blood glucose was 20 which indicates possible impaction. They put him onto opiate pain killers and provided intensive nursing. His glucose levels have now dropped and he is drinking but still not eating or pooing. They are waiting on a specialist rabbit vet to call to see if he can suggest anything else and may transfer Roary to that practice if advised. Poor Roary :(
Click to expand...

Sending love and hugs from one worried mummy to another. Hope Roary feels better soon xx
 
Roarysbunmum said:
Update: Roary was admitted at 8am this morning. His blood glucose was 20 which indicates possible impaction. They put him onto opiate pain killers and provided intensive nursing. His glucose levels have now dropped and he is drinking but still not eating or pooing. They are waiting on a specialist rabbit vet to call to see if he can suggest anything else and may transfer Roary to that practice if advised. Poor Roary :(
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear this :(

Thinking of you , and mega vibes for Roary x
 
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