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Rabbit not eating post op - any suggestions?

dex179

Warren Scout
Hi all

My rabbit dexter came home yesterday following the draining of a tooth abscess. I've been having to feed him roughly 10ml of critical care every 4 hours (so 50ml per day roughly).

He still hasn't eaten anything by himself, but will eat banana and his dried papaya treats. I've put pellets in front of him and fresh greens but he won't eat it.

Are there any suggestions on what I can feed him to encourage him to eat by himself? Looks like he's only going for things that are either very sweet or very soft.

At the moment he is on antibiotics (denopecillan), metacam an metroclopramide (I give him that 3 times a day).

Thanks for your help!
 
Poor Dexter :( Its early days so hopefully he'll pick up over the next few days. I'd try & tempt him with dandelions, brambles, fresh grass, herbs (& keep up with the cc til he's eating normally - though he may accept moistened nuggets from a saucer)
 
Just checking his antibiotics are injected. Its important to check fur for any leakages & clean thoroughly as its really toxic if ingested - apologies as I expect you know
 
Just checking his antibiotics are injected. Its important to check fur for any leakages & clean thoroughly as its really toxic if ingested - apologies as I expect you know

Yes his antibiotics are injected (I had no idea rabbits can't take it orally). The vets have trusted me to do it at home but since I've taken him home Thursday I've been back to vets Friday and today for them to help with the injections as I just can't do it right! Going to try again tomorrow as vet visits stress Dex out, and I can't keep wasting the injections they give me as they're charging me over £7 a pop!

Joey&boo - will try out the moistened pellets. Thanks
 
Hi all

My rabbit dexter came home yesterday following the draining of a tooth abscess. I've been having to feed him roughly 10ml of critical care every 4 hours (so 50ml per day roughly).

He still hasn't eaten anything by himself, but will eat banana and his dried papaya treats. I've put pellets in front of him and fresh greens but he won't eat it.

Are there any suggestions on what I can feed him to encourage him to eat by himself? Looks like he's only going for things that are either very sweet or very soft.

At the moment he is on antibiotics (denopecillan), metacam an metroclopramide (I give him that 3 times a day).

Thanks for your help!
dear dex179,-post op-? facial abcesses/are visible,and can be dealt with,post draining it will require flushing with betadine,as it heals.-eating is by syringe with critical care.-normal eating will not resume for a couple days-providing the mouth has improved.-the antibiotic mentioned[denopecillian]-check the spelling,-penicillin G-is the only penicillin suitable for rabbits.-metacam is for inflammation/pain-reglyn-[metroclopamide]-makes the gi tract contract to make poops,-so monitor the poops closely.-when syringe feeding always focus on the inside cheek area,opposite the surgery..the critical care has probotics in it and mixed with water shall keep dexter from becoming dehydrated-watch the pee,s.-.I generally keep a running log of all meds,procedure/notes.--be careful to not overmedicate,-sincerely james waller from the other kent-usa
 
dear dex179,-post op-? facial abcesses/are visible,and can be dealt with,post draining it will require flushing with betadine,as it heals.-eating is by syringe with critical care.-normal eating will not resume for a couple days-providing the mouth has improved.-the antibiotic mentioned[denopecillian]-check the spelling,-penicillin G-is the only penicillin suitable for rabbits.-metacam is for inflammation/pain-reglyn-[metroclopamide]-makes the gi tract contract to make poops,-so monitor the poops closely.-when syringe feeding always focus on the inside cheek area,opposite the surgery..the critical care has probotics in it and mixed with water shall keep dexter from becoming dehydrated-watch the pee,s.-.I generally keep a running log of all meds,procedure/notes.--be careful to not overmedicate,-sincerely james waller from the other kent-usa

Thanks, it's been 2.5 days now and still not feeding by himself. I have a followup appointment on Monday morning so can discuss with vet. And I'm pretty much going to vets everyday for his injections so I get some unofficial consults.

The question I have is more - what can I do to help encourage my rabbit to eat?
 
Poor Dexter :( Its early days so hopefully he'll pick up over the next few days. I'd try & tempt him with dandelions, brambles, fresh grass, herbs (& keep up with the cc til he's eating normally - though he may accept moistened nuggets from a saucer)

Tried moistening the pellets...and it worked! Don't know why I didn't do that in the first place....

Now need to see how much he eats before deciding whether he needs another 10ml shot of critical care (which he absolutely hates, even mixing in baby food etc)

Thanks for your help!
 
Sending you and Dex some positive vibes for a quick recovery. It is great he is trying to eat normally. If he eats enough on his own to have poo that is close to normal, I would not stress him giving syringe feeds of CC.
If his poo becomes small, very hard, or misshapen I would continue some CC .
 
What dose of Metacam is he on and how often are you giving it ? Rabbits metabolise meloxicam (Metacam) a lot faster than other species and some Vets under-dose when prescribing it, thus the Rabbit does not have adequate analgesic cover.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16521861

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/pain-management-rabbits/drug-focus-meloxicam/

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


It may also be necessary to add an another analgesic such as Tramadol if Metacam alone is not enough to give adequate pain control. Most Rabbit Savvy Vets also now prescribe dosing every 12 hours rather than every 24 hours.

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

Have you tried making a 'mash' out of Dexter's usual pellets. Soak them in boiled water-mash them up and allow to cool. He may eat them like that. You could add a bit of vegetable puree baby food

Fresh herbs often tempt an anorexic Rabbit to eat- especially Coriander, Methi (Fenugreek) and Basil.

I would avoid feeding him banana as whilst he is on Depocillin foods high in sugar are best avoided.

Is Dexter's poo output OK ? No signs of very soft fecal poo and/or diarrhoea ?

I hope that Dexter feels better soon
 
Echoing what JJ said:
- make sure he is getting adequate pain relief. Rabbits can take quite high doses of Metacam (under vet supervision), and other analgesics are available
- soft food (grated apple, carrot, moist pellets, grass, lettuce)
- strong smelling food - herbs, celery leaves, dandelion leaves
- keep syringe feeding him until he is eating normally by himself.
 
Thank you all for your well wishes...

Unfortunately Dex isn't eating on his own again. He was eating the mushy pellets yesterday but this morning I found that he didn't eat any that I had left out. Not sure what's going on. Had to give him critical care this morning but that was a massive struggle.

Will give him another round of critical care shortly, and maybe see if I can give some fibreplex too. At the moment he seems very sleepy

I do leave him greens - coriander, mint, dill, parsley - but he's not touching it at all

Regarding the metacam - I give him 0.75ml every 24 hours as the vets have prescribed. Do you think I should call them and ask about a higher dosage? Is Tramadol another common pain killer to give to rabbits on top of metacam? And is that something vets should stock?

Out of interest - my rabbit weighs roughly 1.7kg and I was previously instructed to give him about 50ml critical care per day - is that enough? Is this about right, too high or too low?

Thanks
 
Thank you all for your well wishes...

Unfortunately Dex isn't eating on his own again. He was eating the mushy pellets yesterday but this morning I found that he didn't eat any that I had left out. Not sure what's going on. Had to give him critical care this morning but that was a massive struggle.

Will give him another round of critical care shortly, and maybe see if I can give some fibreplex too. At the moment he seems very sleepy

I do leave him greens - coriander, mint, dill, parsley - but he's not touching it at all

Regarding the metacam - I give him 0.75ml every 24 hours as the vets have prescribed. Do you think I should call them and ask about a higher dosage? Is Tramadol another common pain killer to give to rabbits on top of metacam? And is that something vets should stock?

Out of interest - my rabbit weighs roughly 1.7kg and I was previously instructed to give him about 50ml critical care per day - is that enough? Is this about right, too high or too low?

Thanks
dear dex 179,-he doesnot need more pain meds.--and I question the amount he has been prescribed[0.75]-metacam x daily.-this med has a half life of 24 hours.-normal dosages are rated in micro grams,-ie.-[0.2mg]-is 200 micrograms/kg.--even in severe pain the dosage isnot too much more,--there are side effects-ie.sleepy,inactive-internal organs-[kidney,s]--which will effect eating.--you will have to syringe feed critical care-and watch closely-during his time of need,watch for the poops please view this link http://www.medirabbit.com and email professor esther van pragg sincerely james waller from the pther kent-usa
 
Thank you all for your well wishes...

Unfortunately Dex isn't eating on his own again. He was eating the mushy pellets yesterday but this morning I found that he didn't eat any that I had left out. Not sure what's going on. Had to give him critical care this morning but that was a massive struggle.

Will give him another round of critical care shortly, and maybe see if I can give some fibreplex too. At the moment he seems very sleepy

I do leave him greens - coriander, mint, dill, parsley - but he's not touching it at all

Regarding the metacam - I give him 0.75ml every 24 hours as the vets have prescribed. Do you think I should call them and ask about a higher dosage? Is Tramadol another common pain killer to give to rabbits on top of metacam? And is that something vets should stock?

Out of interest - my rabbit weighs roughly 1.7kg and I was previously instructed to give him about 50ml critical care per day - is that enough? Is this about right, too high or too low?

Thanks

Which Metacam is it? The cat or dog one? As they're different strengths.

My Vet always says to give Metacam 2x a day, but obviously the dosages may be different so you'd need to speak to your vet regarding this. I often find once every 24 hours doesn't work for my buns though.

Tramadol can be prescribed, and used along side Metacam, I've had lots of my buns on both at the same time.

Sending lots of vibes for him x

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 
Which Metacam is it? The cat or dog one? As they're different strengths.

My Vet always says to give Metacam 2x a day, but obviously the dosages may be different so you'd need to speak to your vet regarding this. I often find once every 24 hours doesn't work for my buns though.

Tramadol can be prescribed, and used along side Metacam, I've had lots of my buns on both at the same time.

Sending lots of vibes for him x

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

Hi Graciee

Just checked and it's Metacam for dogs. I'm going to the vets tomorrow morning for post op checkup so will ask then

He definitely is in pain as he only eats the moistened pellets after I give him the metacam - before that he wasn't interested and so I had to give him critical care all day.
 
Hi Graciee

Just checked and it's Metacam for dogs. I'm going to the vets tomorrow morning for post op checkup so will ask then

He definitely is in pain as he only eats the moistened pellets after I give him the metacam - before that he wasn't interested and so I had to give him critical care all day.

Ah dosage seems about right then (in my unqualified opinion) but my Vet always does twice a day.

Yea I think you need to get the pain under control asap, as he won't want to eat if he's in pain. Good luck tomorrow :)

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 
Dexter still isn't eating by himself....help!

I took him to the vets today for his follow up op check-up, and mentioned regarding possibly increasing the amount of pain killer. They agreed to increase metacam dosage from 0.75ml to 1ml. So at 5:30pm I gave him this higher dosage, and he's not eating anything at all! This is unlike the last two days where he would suddenly get really hungry and eat the mushy pellets after the metacam..

Does anything have any ideas on what I can do??

At this rate I'm definitely going to bring him back to vets again tomorrow....
 
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