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    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.

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Rabbit not eating post op - any suggestions?

Difficult one. Sorry to hear he's no better yet. Personally I'd syringe feed now then leave him til chill for a few hours. He probably didn't appreciate the vet trip - a necessary evil of course. I'd continue with supported feeding as much as you can tonight & if he hasn't picked up maybe your vet would consider tramadol. Hows the actual abscess? Was it drained then left the wound left open? My bun had a big open wound after her abscess which I had to flush with saline & pack with manuka several times a day. Do you know if the whole abscess capsule was removed?
 
joey&boo said:
Difficult one. Sorry to hear he's no better yet. Personally I'd syringe feed now then leave him til chill for a few hours. He probably didn't appreciate the vet trip - a necessary evil of course. I'd continue with supported feeding as much as you can tonight & if he hasn't picked up maybe your vet would consider tramadol. Hows the actual abscess? Was it drained then left the wound left open? My bun had a big open wound after her abscess which I had to flush with saline & pack with manuka several times a day. Do you know if the whole abscess capsule was removed?
Click to expand...

I've been syringe feeding him all day so will continue with that. Funny thing is that he will eat his papaya treats...so not sure what's going on

Yes abscess was drained and left open with stitches. Vets checked it today and looks fine. They checked his temperature and guts, was all fine. Just need him to start eating himself!

Not so sure about the removal of abscess capsule?
 
dex179 said:
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....
Click to expand...

When was his last Depocillin injection ? In so rare cases Depocillin can cause anorexia and gut problems. Is his poo normal ?Can you hear load gurgling from his stomach ?
 
Jack's-Jane said:
When was his last Depocillin injection ? In so rare cases Depocillin can cause anorexia and gut problems. Is his poo normal ?Can you hear load gurgling from his stomach ?
Click to expand...

I gave the Depocillin at 6pm last night, and the metacam was at 5.30pm. But it took about 5 hours for the metacam to kick in because he started eating frantically at about 10.40pm. However this only lasted around 30 minutes, and after that he didn't eat any mushy pellets.

So based on that, again it sounds like its pain that's stopping him from eating? Or like you said JJ, do you also think it's the anti biotics?

Going to call vets again today and see what they think.

Thanks
 
Really hope your vet can help , and suggest a way forward for Dexter. Sending more vibes, it's so hard looking after a sick bunny, you are doing a great job xx
 
Pets mum said:
Really hope your vet can help , and suggest a way forward for Dexter. Sending more vibes, it's so hard looking after a sick bunny, you are doing a great job xx
Click to expand...

Thank you. It's the most stressful thing ever and I've had to work from home for the last week to syringe feed him. My 10 month old daughter is small time compared to looking after my rabbit!:lol:
 
dex179 said:
I gave the Depocillin at 6pm last night, and the metacam was at 5.30pm. But it took about 5 hours for the metacam to kick in because he started eating frantically at about 10.40pm. However this only lasted around 30 minutes, and after that he didn't eat any mushy pellets.

So based on that, again it sounds like its pain that's stopping him from eating? Or like you said JJ, do you also think it's the anti biotics?

Going to call vets again today and see what they think.

Thanks
Click to expand...

It may be a combination of both. Is he having Depocillin daily or every 48 hours ? Did the Vet mention if there was any bone involvement in the infection (osteomyelitis) ? If so the Metacam alone is unlikely to provide adequate analgesic cover, even at the maximum dose. Bone pain is VERY painful. So IME an additional analgesic is needed.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
It may be a combination of both. Is he having Depocillin daily or every 48 hours ? Did the Vet mention if there was any bone involvement in the infection (osteomyelitis) ? If so the Metacam alone is unlikely to provide adequate analgesic cover, even at the maximum dose. Bone pain is VERY painful. So IME an additional analgesic is needed.
Click to expand...

Depocillin is administered only once a day. Not sure about the bone.

Went to the vets today and they agreed to give tramadol, on top of the metacam. It's come in table form - what's the best way of giving this to him?

They also said to split the metacam in two, 0.5ml twice a day.

Gave him both tramadol and metacam around 1pm earlier an it's been 3 hours and still nothing. Let's see how it goes....
 
dex179 said:
Depocillin is administered only once a day. Not sure about the bone.

Went to the vets today and they agreed to give tramadol, on top of the metacam. It's come in table form - what's the best way of giving this to him?

They also said to split the metacam in two, 0.5ml twice a day.

Gave him both tramadol and metacam around 1pm earlier an it's been 3 hours and still nothing. Let's see how it goes....
Click to expand...

With the Tramadol I crush up the tablet/half tablet and mix it with a drop of Apple Juice. Did the Vet comment on the possibility of Depocillin being a possible cause of Dexter's Anorexia ? What are his poos like ?
 
Vet didn't say anything about the depocillan being a possible cause...I'll have to remember to ask next time. They've asked if I can clean Dexter's open wound for him, but I'm too scared as he's so skittish, so will pop to the vets next few days for them to help me..will ask then..

Because he's not eating, his poos are very small but roundish. The colour isn't black, but more greenish (kind of like the critical care - I'm assuming it;s this colour because of it)

Ok great will pop out to buy some apple juice...i tried mixing it in with the critical care...and realised it wasn't going to work!
 
dex179 said:
Vet didn't say anything about the depocillan being a possible cause...I'll have to remember to ask next time. They've asked if I can clean Dexter's open wound for him, but I'm too scared as he's so skittish, so will pop to the vets next few days for them to help me..will ask then..

Because he's not eating, his poos are very small but roundish. The colour isn't black, but more greenish (kind of like the critical care - I'm assuming it;s this colour because of it)

Ok great will pop out to buy some apple juice...i tried mixing it in with the critical care...and realised it wasn't going to work!
Click to expand...
dear dex 179,-sometimes you have to take the Bengal tiger by the tail,-you require extra hands,reinvent yourself.--you can do it,we all feel the same way until there is a life to be saved..-the poop are small-,this means the gitract has not shut down;[stasis],keep up the feeding even if by syringe-[critical care]-and tend to the incision,treat with bactine,or-betadine.--keep a ruuning log of eating weight,etc.--you can do it.-poops are the correct color for critical care.--sincerely james waller from the other kent-usa
 
Jack's-Jane said:
How is Dexter doing this morning ?
Click to expand...

Hi JJ

To be honest he's not good

Been giving him 2 doses of tramadol per day but he's still not eating...nearing a full 2 days of him not eating anything apart from small bits of papaya treats and the critical care syringes. Tried giving him full dose of metacam this morning and it's still not encouraging him to eat :(

If he's only eating papaya treats, and very small pieces of banana, is there anything I can do to make him eat using these two things? Any advice at all?

He is drinking water out of his own accord though.

Tried giving him doses of fibreplex too but think i need to mix this into his critical feeds

There's mucus/jelly in some of his poo - I'm assuming I'm not giving him enough critical care? Is there anything else I can do to help prevent this? Apart from that he's not pooing much either.

Would appreciate any help
 
dex179 said:
Hi JJ

To be honest he's not good

Been giving him 2 doses of tramadol per day but he's still not eating...nearing a full 2 days of him not eating anything apart from small bits of papaya treats and the critical care syringes. Tried giving him full dose of metacam this morning and it's still not encouraging him to eat :(

If he's only eating papaya treats, and very small pieces of banana, is there anything I can do to make him eat using these two things? Any advice at all?

He is drinking water out of his own accord though.

Tried giving him doses of fibreplex too but think i need to mix this into his critical feeds

There's mucus/jelly in some of his poo - I'm assuming I'm not giving him enough critical care? Is there anything else I can do to help prevent this? Apart from that he's not pooing much either.

Would appreciate any help
Click to expand...

I would contact your Vet urgently. This is potentially a sign of antibiotic induced mucoid enteropathy. Penicillin is considered to be a high risk abx for Rabbits as far as adverse side effects ( enteritis ) goes

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/Mucoid_EnteropathyRabbits.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Chem/ChComplex/Penicillin.htm
 
Last edited:
Jack's-Jane said:
I would contact your Vet urgently. This is potentially a sign of antibiotic induced mucoid enteropathy. Penicillin is considered to be a high risk abx for Rabbits as far as adverse side effects ( enteritis ) goes

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/Mucoid_EnteropathyRabbits.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Chem/ChComplex/Penicillin.htm
Click to expand...

I rushed to the vets as soon as I saw your message - sometimes we just need someone to spell out the obvious. They've agreed to stop the depocillen and see if they can try something else. Dex will be staying at the hospital tonight.

Thanks JJ
 
Sending lots more vibes, I really hope he will be ok. You’ve done everything you can for him.
 
Thank you all.

Just hope the vets come up with a new plan for him. He must hate being at the hospital but I think it's best for the time being
 
He's probably in the best place, they can keep a close watch on him, and hopefully come up with a plan. Sending lots more vibes for Dexter, I hope you get a good nights sleep xx
 
dex179 said:
I rushed to the vets as soon as I saw your message - sometimes we just need someone to spell out the obvious. They've agreed to stop the depocillen and see if they can try something else. Dex will be staying at the hospital tonight.

Thanks JJ
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for acting promptly, you are doing brilliantly with trying to help Dexter. Hopefully the Vets will stabilize him (treatment as shown on this link http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/Mucoid_EnteropathyRabbits.htm ) and then perhaps try another antibiotic for his jaw abscess, maybe one applied directly into the abscess cavity

''Antibiotic beads: Some abscesses are too deep and painful to clean every day, or are inaccessible. Antibiotic impregnated polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads can be packed into the abscess cavity which is then sewn shut. The choice of antibiotics is not simple, as some do not work well with the beads and some may cause antibiotic associated diarrhoea if ingested by the rabbit. The beads are left there for anything up to a few months and provide a slow but continuous release of antibiotic as well as filling in the hole left by the abscess and preventing it being filled by newly formed pus.'

Full article here : https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/further-reading/abscesses-further-reading/

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00...Indiv_TechniquesRabbit/AntibioticBeadProd.htm
 
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