• 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.

Coco

Graciee said:
Ultimately I can only tell you what I'd do, which could be ofc wrong. But I'd want a rabbit savvy vet looking at him tonight :(

I think he needs looking at by a vet who knows what they're looking at, and tbh in my experience a lot of standard vets just don't know enough about rabbits :(

If you could share rough location, maybe people could suggest exotic vets?
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
He's been given the antibiotic injection by the vet's already, i know of 2 rabbit savvy vet's but i used my last bit of money today taking Coco to the pdsa, i will take into consideration any advice I'm given and of course I love Coco and would do anything to help him get better. I on the other hand am still learning everything to do with rabbits and i just thought they knew what they were talking about. I was concerned about the bleeding on the thermometer but she didn't seem fazed at all... Of course if Coco is not 100% again i will take him back down. His ears are warm now and he's moving around a bit, eating hay still but turned his nose up to hard food. He had one poop but no sign of blood? I'm keeping a very close eye.

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
 
slob1231 said:
He's been given the antibiotic injection by the vet's already, i know of 2 rabbit savvy vet's but i used my last bit of money today taking Coco to the pdsa, i will take into consideration any advice I'm given and of course I love Coco and would do anything to help him get better. I on the other hand am still learning everything to do with rabbits and i just thought they knew what they were talking about. I was concerned about the bleeding on the thermometer but she didn't seem fazed at all... Of course if Coco is not 100% again i will take him back down. His ears are warm now and he's moving around a bit, eating hay still but turned his nose up to hard food. He had one poop but no sign of blood? I'm keeping a very close eye.

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

this (to me) is on the reassuring side.

when Poppy was off colour the other day the only thing she ate was apple leaves.

it is difficult. i am not 100% sure about the care Chester had, but in the end you rely on vet's advice. we do the best we can with our bunnies.
 
Last edited:
Graciee said:
Ultimately I can only tell you what I'd do, which could be ofc wrong. But I'd want a rabbit savvy vet looking at him tonight :(

I think he needs looking at by a vet who knows what they're looking at, and tbh in my experience a lot of standard vets just don't know enough about rabbits :(

Absolutely right, Gracie, rabbits are so fragile and not many vets have specialised in Exotics. I certainly wouldn’t feel confident that a standard PDSA vet would have the knowledge to keep

If you could share rough location, maybe people could suggest exotic vets?
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Absolutely right, Gracie. I wouldn’t feel confident that a general vet at the PDSA would have trained in Exotics.
 
Pdsa gets mentioned alot on here, so if they weren't that good why do they get recommended to people who can't afford vets? I know they are not totally rabbit savvy but surely if they knew absolutely nothing they wouldn't be able to treat rabbits and get away with it?

This is in no way a dig, I'm ****** they didn't have much answers believe me especially the bleeding from the bum on the thermometer. I mentioned the stomach grumbling noises, they got told everything for today and seems they are treating him for an infection but if the next 24 hrs changes drastically they'll treat him for the next best thing.... But if Coco does change drastically we wont be going to the pdsa! They even had a dog in the consultant room with him [emoji21] it seems hes okay at the moment. Nibbling Hay, he's now on the sofa cleaning himself and bothering with us.

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
 
i'm glad he's nibbling hay & interacting with you.

it can be pot luck with all vets & vets surgeries imo, i don't think it's necessarily that it's a PDSA place - and not that you definitely have had bad advice/treatment, i really don't know on that.
chances are that (same as my vets) next time you go to the PDSA it will be someone else and they might inspire more confidence.

i have been thinking about this a lot this evening, thinking why don't surgeries allocate an animal to the vet that is best on those animals, but i guess that it would be very hard to rota.

anyways, i'm wishing you & Coco all the best this evening & will be anxious to hear how he is.
 
slob1231 said:
Pdsa gets mentioned alot on here, so if they weren't that good why do they get recommended to people who can't afford vets? I know they are not totally rabbit savvy but surely if they knew absolutely nothing they wouldn't be able to treat rabbits and get away with it?

This is in no way a dig, I'm ****** they didn't have much answers believe me especially the bleeding from the bum on the thermometer. I mentioned the stomach grumbling noises, they got told everything for today and seems they are treating him for an infection but if the next 24 hrs changes drastically they'll treat him for the next best thing.... But if Coco does change drastically we wont be going to the pdsa! They even had a dog in the consultant room with him [emoji21] it seems hes okay at the moment. Nibbling Hay, he's now on the sofa cleaning himself and bothering with us.

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


I've just caught up with your thread and send vibes for Coco.

Just because it's the PDSA doesn't mean that they aren't good vets, and yes sometimes other animals have to be treated at the same time (by another vet) because they don't have the available space.

I hope all goes well for Coco - did they advise to syringe feed at all to keep the guts moving?
Have you any medication they gave you to give at home?
 
MightyMax said:
I've just caught up with your thread and send vibes for Coco.

Just because it's the PDSA doesn't mean that they aren't good vets, and yes sometimes other animals have to be treated at the same time (by another vet) because they don't have the available space.

I hope all goes well for Coco - did they advise to syringe feed at all to keep the guts moving?
Have you any medication they gave you to give at home?
Click to expand...

It was just a general question really, not a dig i just dont understand how vets can get away with treating rabbits if they dont do it right same with any vet really!

Yeah he got given science selective recovery liquid feed and lagomorph enrofloxacin

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
 
mikek said:
i'm glad he's nibbling hay & interacting with you.

it can be pot luck with all vets & vets surgeries imo, i don't think it's necessarily that it's a PDSA place - and not that you definitely have had bad advice/treatment, i really don't know on that.
chances are that (same as my vets) next time you go to the PDSA it will be someone else and they might inspire more confidence.

i have been thinking about this a lot this evening, thinking why don't surgeries allocate an animal to the vet that is best on those animals, but i guess that it would be very hard to rota.

anyways, i'm wishing you & Coco all the best this evening & will be anxious to hear how he is.
Click to expand...
My vets has two vets that just do exotics (they can do cats and dogs too) but they have someone else who exclusively does cats and dogs, I guess it depends on the surgery though.

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
slob1231 said:
It was just a general question really, not a dig i just dont understand how vets can get away with treating rabbits if they dont do it right same with any vet really!

Yeah he got given science selective recovery liquid feed and lagomorph enrofloxacin

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I don't necessarily think the pdsa are bad! Just in my experience standard vets that aren't exotic trained know very little about exotics (which includes rabbits)

I was just saying from experience seeing an exotics specialist saved me time and money - whereas I spent a lot more with vets who couldn't diagnose the problem :( was just telling you something I have learnt along the way with buns.

How's he doing now? :) x

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
Graciee said:
I don't necessarily think the pdsa are bad! Just in my experience standard vets that aren't exotic trained know very little about exotics (which includes rabbits)

I was just saying from experience seeing an exotics specialist saved me time and money - whereas I spent a lot more with vets who couldn't diagnose the problem :( was just telling you something I have learnt along the way with buns.

How's he doing now? :) x

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I'm not suggesting they are bad or that anyone is, i just don't think anyone should be able to treat animals if they don't have all the knowledge. For example, pdsa only do the old injection not the rhd2, in my experience today the nurse was more clued up than the actual vet and that's saying something [emoji849] she said something about the stomach and testing for it but nope!

He's back to trying to chew walls, he's now currently on the windowsill but im worried because its a bit drafty but he's being stubborn and will not move! We are now going to give him some liquid food, as he is still refusing food. I have noticed a bit of a lump on his nose, and one of his eyes is really really red!

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
 
slob1231 said:
I'm not suggesting they are bad or that anyone is, i just don't think anyone should be able to treat animals if they don't have all the knowledge. For example, pdsa only do the old injection not the rhd2, in my experience today the nurse was more clued up than the actual vet and that's saying something [emoji849] she said something about the stomach and testing for it but nope!

He's back to trying to chew walls, he's now currently on the windowsill but im worried because its a bit drafty but he's being stubborn and will not move! We are now going to give him some liquid food, as he is still refusing food. I have noticed a bit of a lump on his nose, and one of his eyes is really really red!

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Well being a qualified vet allows you to treat dogs, cats and small furries but if I understand it right the main focus is on cats and dogs.. I agree it's wrong but it just seems to be that way. Definitely not good that they don't do the RHD2 vaccine imo.


Glad he's perked up a little - could you take a picture maybe of his eye?

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
Graciee said:
Well being a qualified vet allows you to treat dogs, cats and small furries but if I understand it right the main focus is on cats and dogs.. I agree it's wrong but it just seems to be that way. Definitely not good that they don't do the RHD2 vaccine imo.


Glad he's perked up a little - could you take a picture maybe of his eye?

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
The vet told me it could be to do with him being ill [emoji1745] i will try an take a photo now. He wont let us feed him the liquid food, I'm at loss...

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
 
i have to go to bed now, but if you don't get any other advice tonight i would advise what you're probably already intending to do:

leave him a good selection of food available overnight & try to make it so you will be able to tell if he's eaten anything by the morning

fresh water available

if he's free to roam in the house, keep him in the best room for him & try and make it so he can't be in a draught. - you said he was on the windowsill & if's that where he wants to be it's prob gonna be difficult to prevent him, but i think a draught is prob not best.

warm, but not too warm. i would guess if he's in the house & out of draughts then you wouldn't need to do anything else.

try & ensure you will be able to tell if he's poo'd overnight

syringing food or meds orally isn't easy at first. i struggled to be able to do it at first but it doesn't take too long to be able to do it. with Chester (& i assume all rabbits) putting the syringe in just behind the front teeth seems to be the way i did it best. it can all be a bit stressful for bunny & owner at first though
 
mikek said:
i have to go to bed now, but if you don't get any other advice tonight i would advise what you're probably already intending to do:

leave him a good selection of food available overnight & try to make it so you will be able to tell if he's eaten anything by the morning

fresh water available

if he's free to roam in the house, keep him in the best room for him & try and make it so he can't be in a draught. - you said he was on the windowsill & if's that where he wants to be it's prob gonna be difficult to prevent him, but i think a draught is prob not best.

warm, but not too warm. i would guess if he's in the house & out of draughts then you wouldn't need to do anything else.

try & ensure you will be able to tell if he's poo'd overnight

syringing food or meds orally isn't easy at first. i struggled to be able to do it at first but it doesn't take too long to be able to do it. with Chester (& i assume all rabbits) putting the syringe in just behind the front teeth seems to be the way i did it best. it can all be a bit stressful for bunny & owner at first though
Click to expand...
He wont let us near him with the syringe. He has a fresh bowl of food, fresh water and hay. His tray is still clean from this morning. He sleeps in his cage where he has a blanket and everything he needs. Thanks for your advice!

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
 
slob1231 said:
He wont let us near him with the syringe. He has a fresh bowl of food, fresh water and hay. His tray is still clean from this morning. He sleeps in his cage where he has a blanket and everything he needs. Thanks for your advice!

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Regarding not letting you near him - if the vet excluded a blockage and told you to syringe feed, I'd make some up, wrap him in a towel and force feed him, because if there's no output that's extremely dangerous for a rabbit :(

You can slot the syringe into the side of the mouth behind the front two teeth and syringe small amounts and allow him to swallow. That's the best advice I can give regarding that.

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
slob1231 said:
He wont let us near him with the syringe. He has a fresh bowl of food, fresh water and hay. His tray is still clean from this morning. He sleeps in his cage where he has a blanket and everything he needs. Thanks for your advice!

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Unfortunately when they're ill you kinda have to force the syringe on them!
You can burrito them in a towel and do it (some good youtube videos on this) or you can kneel down with them between your legs and get the syringe in their mouth that way.
 
I wrapped him in my dressing gown but he went absolutely nuts I'll try again!

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
 
nap91 said:
Unfortunately when they're ill you kinda have to force the syringe on them!
You can burrito them in a towel and do it (some good youtube videos on this) or you can kneel down with them between your legs and get the syringe in their mouth that way.
Click to expand...
Yea this ^

Hope it helps x

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
slob1231 said:
I wrapped him in my dressing gown but he went absolutely nuts I'll try again!

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Be forceful! It's horrible and I used to get really upset when I had to syringe feed mine for the first time but I've had to do it so much it's just second nature now :lol:
Wrap the towel/dressing gown tight, make sure the paws are wrapped in too so he can't kick out. Very stressful but will be worth it! Hoping he is feeling better soon :)

Edit: Always find a good strategy with my Phillip is to cover him with the towel when he's sat on the floor, then pick up and wrap around from the front once he's in my arms. He hates being picked up so it's the only way of catching him!!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Benji is coming to his end
Replies
10
Views
162
olices
olices
C
EC help
Replies
5
Views
87
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
G
Bunny Not eating 3 weeks HELP
Replies
4
Views
105
a reader of books
a reader of books
Back
Top