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Gut thickening

Pixsmudge

Young Bun
Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has heard of rabbits having gut thickening. My 9 1/2 doe Strawberry suddenly went off her food Saturday afternoon and was sneezing horribly. I decided to take her to the same vet that gave her a conscious tear duct flush as its all so connected, they were not open until Monday. She was given Baytril and Metacam to deal with a suspected nose/tear duct infection. I did express my worry about gut stasis to the vet who didn't really prescribe any gut stimulants to address this. As a result I ended up at a different vet Tuesday which as excellent emergency care. She was given the usual treatment of injectable gut stimulants and a strong painkiller and where for a few hours she seemed to pick up she soon reverted back to not eating. She was back down there this morning for the same treatment in the hope it would help but a different vet examined her and found she had a thickening of her guts. She admitted shes never personally experienced it in 14 years in rabbits, just in cats. She seemed perplexed and troubled hinting at a deeper sinister internal issue. This was not picked up by a vet the day before.
I was given three options: Diagnostic x-rays, painkillers, PTS. I am devastated and don't know what to do for the best. I cannot bear her in pain. I will keep going with critical care and oral meds and get her to another vet for a second opinion tomorrow.
I just wondered if anyone has heard of this? Has experience with this? Can offer some advice? Berry is an absolute piggy and in her lifetime has never really been ill, this is unbearably hard to process.

Thank you.
 
Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has heard of rabbits having gut thickening. My 9 1/2 doe Strawberry suddenly went off her food Saturday afternoon and was sneezing horribly. I decided to take her to the same vet that gave her a conscious tear duct flush as its all so connected, they were not open until Monday. She was given Baytril and Metacam to deal with a suspected nose/tear duct infection. I did express my worry about gut stasis to the vet who didn't really prescribe any gut stimulants to address this. As a result I ended up at a different vet Tuesday which as excellent emergency care. She was given the usual treatment of injectable gut stimulants and a strong painkiller and where for a few hours she seemed to pick up she soon reverted back to not eating. She was back down there this morning for the same treatment in the hope it would help but a different vet examined her and found she had a thickening of her guts. She admitted shes never personally experienced it in 14 years in rabbits, just in cats. She seemed perplexed and troubled hinting at a deeper sinister internal issue. This was not picked up by a vet the day before.
I was given three options: Diagnostic x-rays, painkillers, PTS. I am devastated and don't know what to do for the best. I cannot bear her in pain. I will keep going with critical care and oral meds and get her to another vet for a second opinion tomorrow.
I just wondered if anyone has heard of this? Has experience with this? Can offer some advice? Berry is an absolute piggy and in her lifetime has never really been ill, this is unbearably hard to process.

Thank you.

I am sorry to hear that your Bunny is so unwell. Personally I would opt for some diagnostics, ie full blood profile and the Xrays. I would also want Strawbery to be on fluid therapy (IV or subcutaneous) as in cases of gut stasis, whatever the cause, good hydration is very important as when the GI tract is not working properly the gut contents become very dehydrated and impacted.

Did the Vet check for any signs of Lymphadenopathy ? (enlarged/abnormal lymph nodes). Sadly one cause of thickening of the intestines is Lymphoma. The following link is about the condition in humans

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/grp/2016/2498143/

Your Vet may be able to gain access to the full article on here, one has to subscribe to the site

https://www.vetstream.com/treat/lapis/freeform/lymphosarcoma-overview

I had one Rabbit who was sadly diagnosed with this condition at the age of 10. I do hope the Vet can help today, sending lots of vibes for Strawberry.
 
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