Jack's-Jane
Wise Old Thumper
It was indeed! We had this suspicion ourselves actually, he was pretty much falling asleep on his feet before he went in the second time. He's home now, and to be honest he looked a lot perkier when he was being collected! He was thumping apparently, which is always nice too - he looked utterly lifeless earlier. He ate a little bit too! Our vet is confident he doesn't have a blockage - she also said he should be fine if he doesn't poo overnight. We've been given some critical care and syringes to keep him fed and hydrated, so he will be eating. We're not totally out of the woods yet, it's just a matter of feeding him every hour and hoping for the best. Will keep you all updated on how he gets on.
Whilst Buprenorphine can be very sedating there are cases when it's use is appropriate.
see page 4 on here http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Chem/ChComplex/Buprenorphine.htm
Just mentioning this as I would not want anyone to read this thread as 'never let a Vet give your Rabbit Buprenorphine' But the Vet should warn the care giver that Bunny may become very 'flat' for several hours and that means care giver must be around to closely observe the Bunny, syringe feed (with extreme care to avoid Bunny aspirating feed) and to make sure Bunny remains warm (Buprenorphine can lower the Blood Pressure, a poorly Bunny may already be struggling to keep warm).
The other thing to be mindful of is that Rabbits require a much higher dose of the NSAID Meloxicam (Metacam/Loxicom etc) as they excrete it very quickly compared to other species such as cats and dogs.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed...bbits may require a dose,over a 24-h interval.
Less 'Rabbit Savvy' Vets may not realise this BUT all Small Animal Veterinary Practices should have access to the BSAVA Small Animal Formulary Part B- Exotic Pets
https://www.bsavalibrary.com/content/formulary/exotic-pets appropriate dose rates for Rabbits can be found there.
I hope that Hamish is feeling better today xx