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Not eating

S

Sarah298

Young Bun
Betty stopped eating last night so we took her to the emergency vets and she was admitted. She was given Zantac injection, vetergesic injection, emeprid injection, Fibreplex, ranitidine and emeprid orally during her stay. I had given her some metacam earlier yesterday along with critical care.

She was sent home this morning with fibreplex 3 times daily, ranitidine, emeprid and metacam. We’re also still feeding her critical care as she isnt eating (we were told she nibbled on some food this morning).

Does this sound about right? Shes still not herself and seems pretty tired just sitting around still.
 
Sarah298 said:
Betty stopped eating last night so we took her to the emergency vets and she was admitted. She was given Zantac injection, vetergesic injection, emeprid injection, Fibreplex, ranitidine and emeprid orally during her stay. I had given her some metacam earlier yesterday along with critical care.

She was sent home this morning with fibreplex 3 times daily, ranitidine, emeprid and metacam. We’re also still feeding her critical care as she isnt eating (we were told she nibbled on some food this morning).

Does this sound about right? Shes still not herself and seems pretty tired just sitting around still.
Click to expand...


Sorry to hear this Sarah ... Stasis can take a bit of time to resolve and a rabbit to get back to normal again.

Has your vet scheduled a check up for Betty?

If she had a vetergesic injection, some rabbits get sleepy and it means they don't feel like eating. Persevere and you should see good results, but by all means contact your vet again to ensure that everything is going in the right direction.

Have you seen any poo? Output is as important as input, so keep an eye out for that :)

And lastly, in case you haven't seen these, something to read about stasis:

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

http://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/ROWinter10p7.pdf

http://www.melbournerabbitclinic.com/melbournerabbi/stasis.html

Good luck with Betty :wave:
 
Thanks MightMax :) she suffered with it last year and was admitted then but I think we caught it a little sooner this time as she was so lifeless last time but I dont think she was given half as much medication when she came home then which is why I am slightly worried.

I haven’t yet no but again the vet did say this morning she had seen a little bit overnight but il keep a lookout. She has vets again on Thurs evening.

Will have a read of those now thank you :)
 
Sarah298 said:
Thanks MightMax :) she suffered with it last year and was admitted then but I think we caught it a little sooner this time as she was so lifeless last time but I dont think she was given half as much medication when she came home then which is why I am slightly worried.

I haven’t yet no but again the vet did say this morning she had seen a little bit overnight but il keep a lookout. She has vets again on Thurs evening.

Will have a read of those now thank you :)
Click to expand...


You're very welcome :)

I am sure the vet wouldn't have let her home if he wasn't confident in your nursing skills.

I had a rabbit recently who had a mystery illness but he also didn't eat for over two weeks. He's right as rain now :)

I think it's a good thing you got loads of meds - means it may all be over sooner. Was it the same vet as last year? I find different vets have different ways of dealing with this .....
 
Sarah298 said:
Betty stopped eating last night so we took her to the emergency vets and she was admitted. She was given Zantac injection, vetergesic injection, emeprid injection, Fibreplex, ranitidine and emeprid orally during her stay. I had given her some metacam earlier yesterday along with critical care.

She was sent home this morning with fibreplex 3 times daily, ranitidine, emeprid and metacam. We’re also still feeding her critical care as she isnt eating (we were told she nibbled on some food this morning).

Does this sound about right? Shes still not herself and seems pretty tired just sitting around still.
Click to expand...

Poor Betty Bunny :cry:

Did the Vet suggest any possible primary cause of her not eating/gut stasis ? I assume that the Vet checked her teeth and also established that there is no evidence of a GI tract obstruction. The two diagnostic tools often used to do this, as well as a full examination, are taking a blood glucose reading and taking an abdominal Xray.

When a Rabbit is in gut stasis any residual contents within the bowel rapidly become dehydrated. So fluid therapy,fluids given IV or subcutaneously aswell as orally, are extremely beneficial.

Did the Vet say if Betty had produced any poo during her admission ? Has she poo'd since being home ?

If she was given another injection of Vetergesic this morning then that may be contributing to her lethargy. Vetergesic is an opiate analgesic and it can cause marked sedation in some Rabbits.

This article provides some useful information about gut stasis :

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv

If you are very concerned that Betty is not making any real progress then I'd give the Vet another call this afternoon/evening. I would definitely do so if Betty has not poo'd at all since returning home.

I hope that she will feel much better soon x
 
Wow two weeks? I can only imagine how you felt then! Glad to hear he’s all good now though.

It was a different vet last night but our appointment on Thursday is with a vet we’ve previously seen and who also specialises in rabbits.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Poor Betty Bunny :cry:

Did the Vet suggest any possible primary cause of her not eating/gut stasis ? I assume that the Vet checked her teeth and also established that there is no evidence of a GI tract obstruction. The two diagnostic tools often used to do this, as well as a full examination, are taking a blood glucose reading and taking an abdominal Xray.

When a Rabbit is in gut stasis any residual contents within the bowel rapidly become dehydrated. So fluid therapy,fluids given IV or subcutaneously aswell as orally, are extremely beneficial.

Did the Vet say if Betty had produced any poo during her admission ? Has she poo'd since being home ?

If she was given another injection of Vetergesic this morning then that may be contributing to her lethargy. Vetergesic is an opiate analgesic and it can cause marked sedation in some Rabbits.

This article provides some useful information about gut stasis :

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv

If you are very concerned that Betty is not making any real progress then I'd give the Vet another call this afternoon/evening. I would definitely do so if Betty has not poo'd at all since returning home.

I hope that she will feel much better soon x
Click to expand...

The nurse said it could possibly be some bullying from her daughter Jess so we are going to talk about that when we go back on thurs and arrange to get her spayed. Otherwise we weren’t really told any checks they done just that she was getting fed every few hours and had a drip etc.

When she was admitted last year they checked her teeth, bloods and gave her an ecg as her heartbeat was slightly odd but he said he couldnt find anything and said it must have been a one off. I will ask the vet to check these again at her appointment though.

The emergency vet said she had seen some small poos from Betty early this morning but the other vet said they hadn’t, I havent seen any since she’s come home either so will give the vets a call.
 
Sarah298 said:
The nurse said it could possibly be some bullying from her daughter Jess so we are going to talk about that when we go back on thurs and arrange to get her spayed. Otherwise we weren’t really told any checks they done just that she was getting fed every few hours and had a drip etc.

When she was admitted last year they checked her teeth, bloods and gave her an ecg as her heartbeat was slightly odd but he said he couldnt find anything and said it must have been a one off. I will ask the vet to check these again at her appointment though.

The emergency vet said she had seen some small poos from Betty early this morning but the other vet said they hadn’t, I havent seen any since she’s come home either so will give the vets a call.
Click to expand...

I think that would be the best thing to do xx
 
Sarah298 said:
The nurse said it could possibly be some bullying from her daughter Jess so we are going to talk about that when we go back on thurs and arrange to get her spayed. Otherwise we weren’t really told any checks they done just that she was getting fed every few hours and had a drip etc.

When she was admitted last year they checked her teeth, bloods and gave her an ecg as her heartbeat was slightly odd but he said he couldnt find anything and said it must have been a one off. I will ask the vet to check these again at her appointment though.

The emergency vet said she had seen some small poos from Betty early this morning but the other vet said they hadn’t, I havent seen any since she’s come home either so will give the vets a call.
Click to expand...


Your vet sounds to have been pretty thorough :)

Yes, good idea to give the vet a call :thumb: As I mentioned in my first post to you, the output is very important.
 
Just called them back and she’s getting readmitted as we havent seen any poo. Hate seeing her like this but at least she is in the best care. Will ask them to check her teeth again.
 
Sarah298 said:
Just called them back and she’s getting readmitted as we havent seen any poo. Hate seeing her like this but at least she is in the best care. Will ask them to check her teeth again.
Click to expand...


Good, I'm glad she will be getting the best of care.

It's hard for vets to see the back teeth with an otoscope unless they are skilled at performing 'conscious dentals', but at least it's a good start :)
 
Just a quick question before we drop her off, when you take your rabbit to the vets do you always take both? We were told to do that for bonding reasons and help them with recovery, but fin Jess is stressing Betty out would it be worth bringing Jess home again?
 
Sarah298 said:
Just a quick question before we drop her off, when you take your rabbit to the vets do you always take both? We were told to do that for bonding reasons and help them with recovery, but fin Jess is stressing Betty out would it be worth bringing Jess home again?
Click to expand...

If Jess is bullying Betty even when at the Vets then I would bring Jess home. But bear in mind this may mean that getting them back together again might be tricky given that Jess is not yet spayed.

If you do leave both Rabbits then I am sure that the Vet/VN will separate them if there were to be a problem.
 
Sarah298 said:
Just a quick question before we drop her off, when you take your rabbit to the vets do you always take both? We were told to do that for bonding reasons and help them with recovery, but fin Jess is stressing Betty out would it be worth bringing Jess home again?
Click to expand...


Yes, if there's a danger that the bond may break, it's good to take both rabbits.

However, if Jess is bullying Betty even at the vets, then you may want to rethink that. But in the carrier there isn't always a lot of aggro, so you could take them both and the vet nurse on duty can use her judgement and separate them if necessary.
 
Apprently there was a note on Betty’s file saying about Jess so the vet asked if we could take her home and just leave Betty. I’m hoping it won’t cause trouble when we bring Betty back home but we will have to wait and see. I didnt really want to separate them for that reason but didnt have much choice.

Betty has a slight spur on her bottom left side but he’s getting a exotic vet to have a look tomorrow. He’s trying a different medication as well to get the gut moving but couldnt catch the name of it, only that it isn’t as readily available in this country as it has to be imported?
 
Sarah298 said:
Apprently there was a note on Betty’s file saying about Jess so the vet asked if we could take her home and just leave Betty. I’m hoping it won’t cause trouble when we bring Betty back home but we will have to wait and see. I didnt really want to separate them for that reason but didnt have much choice.

Betty has a slight spur on her bottom left side but he’s getting a exotic vet to have a look tomorrow. He’s trying a different medication as well to get the gut moving but couldnt catch the name of it, only that it isn’t as readily available in this country as it has to be imported?
Click to expand...

Cisapride (AKA Prepulsid) ?
 
Sarah298 said:
Apprently there was a note on Betty’s file saying about Jess so the vet asked if we could take her home and just leave Betty. I’m hoping it won’t cause trouble when we bring Betty back home but we will have to wait and see. I didnt really want to separate them for that reason but didnt have much choice.

Betty has a slight spur on her bottom left side but he’s getting a exotic vet to have a look tomorrow. He’s trying a different medication as well to get the gut moving but couldnt catch the name of it, only that it isn’t as readily available in this country as it has to be imported?
Click to expand...


It could be cisapride, as it's not always that easy to obtain, at least in syrup form:


http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Chem/ChComplex/Cisapride.htm




Prokinetics are detailed in this article:

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv

I hope the vet will put Betty on fluids too.
 
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