Bear is at the vets tonight...

[Chrisrules334]

Bear hasn't eaten for about 6 hours now and has not been very active so we've taken him to the vets near us. They've done a physical examination and found nothing wrong with him, other than some concaved back teeth (that don't appear to hurt the tongue). He has had all the necessary jabs etc.

They are keeping him in overnight, so we will have an update in the morning. Have any of you got any ideas of potential illness? Also Cam is now on her own so is there anything we can do for her to make sure she is OK/doesn't get lonely?

[happybun]

No suggestions, no expertise. But wish you all well.

[Jack's-Jane]

Bear hasn't eaten for about 6 hours now and has not been very active so we've taken him to the vets near us. They've done a physical examination and found nothing wrong with him, other than some concaved back teeth (that don't appear to hurt the tongue). He has had all the necessary jabs etc.

They are keeping him in overnight, so we will have an update in the morning. Have any of you got any ideas of potential illness? Also Cam is now on her own so is there anything we can do for her to make sure she is OK/doesn't get lonely?

I am sorry that Bear is not well. It may be that it is his teeth that are causing him discomfort, even if there is not any obvious soft tissue damage in his mouth as yet. I hope that he will have improved overnight and perhaps the Vet may suggest that he needs a Dental to address the problems noted on examination yesterday.

Sending vibes for him and I am sure you gave Cam lots of attention last night so that she did not feel too lonely x

[Zoobec]

Sending lots of vibes for Bear xx

[Chrisrules334]

Thanks both.

Bear hasn't improved overnight. The vets have tried to feed him through a syringe/drip to get his gut moving again.

My guess is that he is in stasis, but the reason why is unknown.

Unfortunately they aren't rabbit specialists at this vet (and we didn't want to wait until the morning to see how he was)... So any guidance you guys can give us will help when we're discussing treatment with the vet.

They've also taken a blood sample to do tests.

[Omi]

I'm sorry that Bear hasn't improved during the night. Some fluid therapy might help. Is he having any faecal output? If a problem has been identified with his teeth, it is quite likely that this is causing the problem with eating, even though on examination it appears that it is not the source of the issue. Do you know whether the blood tests have included a blood glucose test to exclude a blockage?

Sending Bear lots of vibes.

[MightyMax]

Thanks both.

Bear hasn't improved overnight. The vets have tried to feed him through a syringe/drip to get his gut moving again.

My guess is that he is in stasis, but the reason why is unknown.

Unfortunately they aren't rabbit specialists at this vet (and we didn't want to wait until the morning to see how he was)... So any guidance you guys can give us will help when we're discussing treatment with the vet.

They've also taken a blood sample to do tests.

Sorry to hear about Bear - it's worrying, isn't it?

A vet can administer fluids - either Intravenously or subcutaneously (under the skin) and these are often very helpful. IV fluids will need the rabbit to stay in whereas sub-cut can be done as an out-patient.

Here's some info to bring yourself up to date with stasis:

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

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

http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com...ts-proceedings


It's often the case that we never find out why a rabbit has gone into stasis.

Teeth can be a cause - dental issues can cause a lot of pain. A vet (unless they can do conscious dentals) can't see well inside the mouth to the back teeth and spurs can have grown.

Also, a rabbit who is moulting can sometimes go into stasis.

I hope your rabbit gets better soon.

[MightyMax]

When you go to the vet ask for the temperature to be taken as well as blood glucose levels.

Info on blood glucose testing:

Blood glucose is measured in mmol/ml (millimoles/litre)

Normal: 4-8 mmol/ml

2-4 mmol/ltr – needs food – rabbit is experiencing gut stasis
If less that 2 mmol/ltr, call vet

8-15 mmol/ltr Rabbit is stressed, but can stay at home
More than 15mmol/ltr, less than 20 – Call vet, start to worry…
More than 20 mmol/ltr, needs surgery.

[Chrisrules334]

Thank you Max. I will ask when I call back for an update at lunchtime.

In terms of the cause of his stasis it's hard to know. I can rule out a lot of them. The only relevant ones are:
- Proximity of a dominant rabbit (Cam, his buddy, is dominant, but this has always been the case)
- Extremes of weather/temperature - not really extreme but it has gone from cold to quite warm in the UK (relatively)
- Pain
- Foreign bodies (unsure what this could be but you never know)

He is also moulting quite a lot so this may be impacting him.

Thanks

[MightyMax]

Thank you Max. I will ask when I call back for an update at lunchtime.

In terms of the cause of his stasis it's hard to know. I can rule out a lot of them. The only relevant ones are:
- Proximity of a dominant rabbit (Cam, his buddy, is dominant, but this has always been the case)
- Extremes of weather/temperature - not really extreme but it has gone from cold to quite warm in the UK (relatively)
- Pain
- Foreign bodies (unsure what this could be but you never know)

He is also moulting quite a lot so this may be impacting him.

Thanks

You're welcome

In terms of your list, pain and moulting stood out to me.

But as I mentioned, it's one of things we often never get to the cause of ... I hope it's a one-off and he is soon right again