• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Ask for positive vibes for Dash-U/D 04/22/2018

Hopefully his recovery will continue. Re future meds, if you can find a Vet who will prescribe Cisipride this may be more beneficial to Dash than just Metoclopramide (which only works on the upper GI tract) given that his GI tract issues are hind gut related

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/GI_stimulation/cisapride.htm

Thanks for the reminder Jane. I always forget what section of the digestive tract is effected by Metoclopramide.
I had Cisapride years ago before they stopped manufacturing it in the US. At one time you could get it compounded through the specialty pharmacy, but when I tried a couple years ago it was not even available through them. I'll call the compounder tomorrow to see if they would be able to get components now since some items go in and out of manufacture. If it is something I can get made, I will call my vet when he returns on Wednesday and have a script sent to the compounder. If not, I will need to research if it is available in Canada where many people in the US are having their human prescriptions filled for cost reasons-and how I can do the same for a pet.

Dash is still weaker than usual. He feels like he lost a lot of weight but it could just be that his gut is so empty. It even feels like he as extra loose skin/fur hanging down near his belly. Now I hope he does not have any permanent damage or tears in his system from having his guts so distended.
 
Thank you for posting and I'm sending further vibes for Dash. I was so encouraged to read this and I hope his recovery continues xx

I appreciate the extra positive vibes and will be monitoring him every couple hours (day and night) until I am sure he has no GI damage due to his being so full of poo.
 
Your troubles with finding a vet OOH sounds much like what I had to deal with in Alaska. My vet that works all week is great, but they have no night call and the ER vet there is rubbish. Medications often have to be compounded by the local pharmacy there.
Even here in the 48 no vet works all week. There is no emergency number to call or doctor who will see you after closing. I have to travel about the same distance to the next town to get seen at all on weekends and Sundays are closed.

I empathize so much with you on how ill Dash was and how delightfully surprising his turnaround has been. You are an awesome bunny parent to pull him through this on your own as you have done. You could help take care of my two bunnies anytime! :thumb:
Mega vibes on the way for Dash to make a complete and swift recovery and I hope you can find out what the triggers are for setting off his gut problems. I've found that a few of my bunnies can't eat certain things or it practically stops their digestion. We avoid these things and they do well. I know with a bunny who has a defect though it can be very tough to find a perfect fit for them. I hope a solution presents itself for you soon. :) xxxx

Now that I know that emergency care will be a few hours away, it is even more important that I have some additional meds at home to deal with future issues for Dash or my other five bunnies.
Some meds like have a good shelf life, as do fluids; others like oral baytril only last in the refrigerator for several weeks. I will see if my regular vet, who is only working part time following his own health situation, will trust me and prescribe some emergency meds even if I need to get them as pills and divide them into crazy small pieces. Years ago I had injectable Baytril which needed to either be diluted before injecting sub Q or given IM (which I find challenging on dwarf rabbit) to avoid burning. In the past I always get the bunny to see the vet asap for a follow up even if the emergency passes.
 
Thank you. He has made a lot of progress yet I am afraid to get my hopes too high until I am sure all of the pressure on the walls of his digestive system did not cause any damage.
 
Thank you. He has made a lot of progress yet I am afraid to get my hopes too high until I am sure all of the pressure on the walls of his digestive system did not cause any damage.

I am pleased to hear that he is doing a lot better, still sending lots more vibes for him xx
 
I am pleased to hear that he is doing a lot better, still sending lots more vibes for him xx

When I pick him up he feels thinner and weaker than he did just days ago. He could just be that he is not as full of matter in his cecum and digestive tract as his was before this crisis. Your positive thoughts and advice are always appreciated.
 
Lots more vibes

I know what it's like to have a bunny get thinner and weaker, but if he can progress then he will get past this and regain some weight and strength.

Hugs x
 
When I pick him up he feels thinner and weaker than he did just days ago. He could just be that he is not as full of matter in his cecum and digestive tract as his was before this crisis. Your positive thoughts and advice are always appreciated.

I will PM you a bit later :)
 
Thank you. Today he got to visit his littermate, Evan, for a short time until Dash decided he needed to rest and Evan wanted to play leap frog with his brother.

Ah me...the difficult choice of whether a littermate/companion is doing more harm than good. :( It's a tough call unless there's physical contact. Fiver has a very bad back, so any humping by Mimzy (which is inevitable as he's blind and deaf and has to make an impression) is counterproductive to any benefit Fiver could have by them being in the same enclosure. But I keep them right next to each other and that seems to help both.

I'm glad to hear Dash is doing better. I empathize with the worry over thinness. As a matter of fact I have to make a new thread about Fiver. Hard to know what is best to help them gain when it's the GI tract that is the issue and one has to tread lightly. Fiver has a history of huge bladder stones so alfalfa is out, as are things like oat hay because he simply doesn't take in enough fluid to help process the coarser hays, despite how well they would fatten him up. I've had him need stasis treatment for eating just a handful of oat hay. :(

I do hope Dash will go from strength to strength. Thinking of you. xxxx
 
Ah me...the difficult choice of whether a littermate/companion is doing more harm than good. :( It's a tough call unless there's physical contact. Fiver has a very bad back, so any humping by Mimzy (which is inevitable as he's blind and deaf and has to make an impression) is counterproductive to any benefit Fiver could have by them being in the same enclosure. But I keep them right next to each other and that seems to help both.

I'm glad to hear Dash is doing better. I empathize with the worry over thinness. As a matter of fact I have to make a new thread about Fiver. Hard to know what is best to help them gain when it's the GI tract that is the issue and one has to tread lightly. Fiver has a history of huge bladder stones so alfalfa is out, as are things like oat hay because he simply doesn't take in enough fluid to help process the coarser hays, despite how well they would fatten him up. I've had him need stasis treatment for eating just a handful of oat hay. :(

I do hope Dash will go from strength to strength. Thinking of you. xxxx

With your experience with Fiver, you know how hard it is to find the balance between giving them enough energy without causing harm.
He is going to vets in the morning so I will see if he lost any weight in the past two weeks. If so, I will need to rethink his diet.
 
Topping up the vibes and hoping today is better x
Thank you.
Yesterday, I caught him midair when he jumped out of his temporary enclosure. He wants to be with his brother and Evan wants to be with dash too. However, Evan is chasing and humping Dash when I put them together so I may need to provide supervised visits until shortly after Evan gets neutered in a couple weeks.
I don't want to subject Dash to too much stress after being so close to losing him.
Keeping him separate also allows me to better monitor his eating, drinking, and peeing (Dash's poo are oval and large so even when they are together I can identify Dash's poos).
 
Back
Top