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  • 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.

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    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.

Fast breathing/odd posture: UD 22/3 Gone to the Bridge

So Bigwig was a bit brighter last night and came over to me and bit my ankle which is her usual greeting when you step over the baby gate and she kept coming over to us but still not eating hay. She was very keen as usual for pellets and veg, afterwards she was dry sneezing. Overnight there's been very little/no noticeable hay eating and still very tiny poo's, she ate her pellets but slower and didn't immediately rush off to find the rest (scattered) although she did go for them shortly after. I still think her breathing effort is more than it should be. Partner took her again to the vets and she was given repeat of the same injections, baytril, metacam and metoclopramide plus some recovery food. Vet advised she was 1 degree lower than normal temp, she did go with a snugglesafe but was outside for about 10mins in carrier.
I've called back as there's no improvement, so I'm taking her back tomorrow morning. I've said I'm keen for an X ray/worried about heart but it's not the usual vet but hopefully tomorrow we may be able to get some answers
 
I am sorry that Bigwig is still not right. Is she the Bunny that was displaying hormonal behaviour despite being spayed ? Or am I getting you/ her confused with someone/ someBun else ?
 
I am sorry that Bigwig is still not right. Is she the Bunny that was displaying hormonal behaviour despite being spayed ? Or am I getting you/ her confused with someone/ someBun else ?

She is! :) I had to split her from Jake and Jasmine due to this, she had bloods for adrenal and hormone check and came back normal. Whilst being housed upstairs (separate room) she was destructive and aggressive so to protect our carpets and us as she would lunge and bite us in our bedroom we moved her back downstairs to the dining/kitching where she was housed before and she has free range and has never showed any destructive/aggressive behaviour, literally all stopped as soon as we moved her back down. No more nests and she was fully litter trained straight away again, was very odd. We had some work down and moved her upstairs for a few hours and she was marking pooing and lunging to bite us again. I'm guessing she just really doesn't like the smell/scent of Jake and Jasmine?? She is normally really friendly, flops and Binky's daily but atm is just sitting in one spot :(
 
Thanks all. She's moving around more tonight although has left some pellets/a multi vitamin from Oxbow she normally loves. She's sitting more upright, I've took some more videos of her breathing/sneezing. The crate is always open, she doesn't normally spend much time in it :(

VID_20210126_183708241 by Hliz, on Flickr
 
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Aww bless her she's the spitting image of my Rodney!

I hope you get the answers at the vets and sending vibes for a quick recovery x

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Awww bless her! She is very cute [emoji175] She does look a bit 'troubled' doesn't she? She has a kind of worried look that I recognise from when Mischief was fast breathing.

Is she having an X-ray then tomorrow? Maybe that will find answers? Hope you get some results at vets and can find out what is wrong and so aid her recovery. Sending you caring vibes xxx

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Thanks both, I am hoping the vet agrees to do an X ray as it's really the only thing/first stage to diagnose potential heart problems. I'm not sure why they won't discuss it yet as my partner mentioned both times we want one doing.
 
Is it a rabbit savvy vets?

I found my old vets very reluctant to xray rabbits without a general anesthetic and they always referred us to our current exotics vet when one was needed.

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Is it a rabbit savvy vets?

I found my old vets very reluctant to xray rabbits without a general anesthetic and they always referred us to our current exotics vet when one was needed.

Sent from my SM-A705FN using Tapatalk

The regular vet is, this is a locum. I had a really good experience with a very poorly guinea pig here and felt the vet went above to help her and I like their drugs/protocols for small animals, just a shame the regular vet is off. They seem to keep pushing it's gut stasis and the reason she wasn't getting better today was because she was cold overnight and she just needed warming up, she doesn't she's indoors with the heating on and we did take a heat pod with her to the appt. I am disappointed, but we'll see tomorrow if the vet still won't offer X ray I'll take her elsewhere.
 
Thanks all. She's moving around more tonight although has left some pellets/a multi vitamin from Oxbow she normally loves. She's sitting more upright, I've took some more videos of her breathing/sneezing. The crate is always open, she doesn't normally spend much time in it :(

VID_20210126_183708241 by Hliz, on Flickr

I would say that there is definitely a lung or heart issue going on. I assume that she is on a course of Baytril,, she did not get just the one off dose given by the Vet ? If the latter then personally I would try to consult a more Rabbit Savvy Vet.

https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?pId=11349&id=5328323

Sending lots of vibes for Bigwig xx
 
I would say that there is definitely a lung or heart issue going on. I assume that she is on a course of Baytril,, she did not get just the one off dose given by the Vet ? If the latter then personally I would try to consult a more Rabbit Savvy Vet.

https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?pId=11349&id=5328323

Sending lots of vibes for Bigwig xx

Thank you, I am almost sure of it too. Her upright posture and breathing reminds me of Gordon rabbit who, after X ray followed by ultrasound, was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. I have told the vets already I'm concerned since her brother passed of possible congenital heart problems but will say again and that I've had experience of a rabbit with heart problems. I just can't understand why my primary concern, the breathing, isn't being acknowledged. I also said yesterday we have no medication at home and I can't keep taking her back daily for injections (since I have no oral baytril, what use is 2 single injections) but was told she should recover at home if warmed up so no need to come back.
 
I'm not anywhere near as knowledgeable as Inspector Morse (who gives brilliant advice and definitely knows her stuff!) however surely if she is sneezing then that is cause for concern aswell for the vets? It could be an infection that has gone to the chest maybe?

Her breathing posture is like Mischief's and he had fluid on the lungs from an original ear/nose infection. But it could be her heart aswell. I don't know the signs but you sound as if you do.

If her breathing is a concern I would push for a chest X-ray if that's how you feel. You have every right to ask for one as a client and if they refuse, as you rightly said, I would go to a rabbit savvy vet and get one done there as best to get it done asap if she is uncomfortable and seems in distress.

Best of luck today and hope you get some answers soon xx

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Also Mischief got seen by a locum when he was poorly and he fobbed us off with a course of Baytril when it had not worked previously. I think locums tend not to take chances and go with safe meds etc? When is your vet back from holiday? xx

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Thank you, I am almost sure of it too. Her upright posture and breathing reminds me of Gordon rabbit who, after X ray followed by ultrasound, was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. I have told the vets already I'm concerned since her brother passed of possible congenital heart problems but will say again and that I've had experience of a rabbit with heart problems. I just can't understand why my primary concern, the breathing, isn't being acknowledged. I also said yesterday we have no medication at home and I can't keep taking her back daily for injections (since I have no oral baytril, what use is 2 single injections) but was told she should recover at home if warmed up so no need to come back.

Is there any way you can get in touch with the Rabbit Savvy Vet you have mentioned ? It is really hard to understand how such an obvious increased respiratory rate an effort could be overlooked :?
 
Thanks all, I really appreciate the input x
So good news the regular vet is back and they were in and out talking to me in carpark 3 times, before my partner only had the nurse speak to him after the injections were already done. Apparently she has no heart murmur, heart and respiratory rate normal, lungs sound clear. When she is interested in something her breathing does so shallower so perhaps is hard to see at the vets but I think it would still be not right. I got given 4 options, one of which was an X ray so I've left her for that and she's first on the list. Another option was trial a diuretic, which I was a bit tempted by but now I think ultimately she'll need an X ray for diagnosis anyway. I would've tried a diuretic on Monday with a view of an X ray the following day or so but sadly that wasn't given as an option. A referral was discussed depending on the X ray to BattleFlats Vets which I would be happy with.
 
The vet has called she's had the X ray already :) She's got no obviously enlarged heart, but does have a small amount of lung edema. She also has small spurs on her bottom teeth, I've given the ok for a dental just in case. She'll start antibiotic and diuretic treatment to start with and we'll have another chat with the vet later.
 
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