Vibes for Casper? And Sophie, too?

oh, poor Sophie & Casper.
Sending all my best wishes to them both & you too for a speedy recovery xxx

Thank you so much again, everyone. I'm really grateful for all the support.

They're not gassy, bunny momma. At least when the vet examined them they weren't, thankfully. And they do have plenty of output, IM. There are a lot of poops, but they're all small. And thank you for the advice on how to make pellet mush without having to grind the pellets first, Zoobec. That's really helpful.

I think the pellets might be fine after all, because they both ate some last night. It's like they're one bunny. They both eat and leave the same greens, too. Sophie jumped on the sofa last night to ask for some food.

They're still the same today. There isn't really any progress when it comes to how much they eat, sadly.

My mum dropped their poops off at the vets today so they could be examined (they just called and they didn't find anything), and to get some more syringe food, and they gave us some antibiotic nose drops for Sophie's sneezing. I'm supposed to put 2-4 drops in each nostril, 6 times a day? How am I going to do that? :shock: Won't it be distressing for her to have something put in her nose, since it's their only way of breathing? I'm guessing they gave the nose drops instead of regular antibiotics so they don't upset her guts further... They did say that it's only needed if the sneezing is really bothering her, so I might see how she does without it for a few days. She's already on so many meds...

Gosh, you have so much on caring for your elderly bunnies. You're doing a fantastic job but I do wish it was easier for you. sending bigger poop vibes (I had this issue with Mouse for a good 2 years, great number, size way too small). Are they seeming happy? Great to hear Sophie is up to her old tricks of wanting breakfast on the sofa again

joey&boo said:

Gosh, you have so much on caring for your elderly bunnies. You're doing a fantastic job but I do wish it was easier for you. sending bigger poop vibes (I had this issue with Mouse for a good 2 years, great number, size way too small). Are they seeming happy? Great to hear Sophie is up to her old tricks of wanting breakfast on the sofa again

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Thank you, j&b. Sophie does seem happy, but Casper is a bit withdrawn. He's not a active as usual, and just kind of sits there a lot of the day. Bigger poops would definitely be good! I just saw that Sophie needs a bum bath as she has a lot of poop stuck to her. I've been seeing her struggling a bit more with staying upright while cleaning herself, so I think her arthritis might be playing up, too. She hasn't wanted her Joint tablets all week, but that might be a coincidence...

The vet who saw Casper on Thursday called just now to ask how he's doing. Isn't that so nice? I told him he's exactly the same as last week, and that Sophie is sick, too, now, and we talked for a while and he said he'll discuss it with the other vets, to see if there's anything else we could do, and that he'll call me back tomorrow.

Aww thats a shame she won't take her JS tabs atm I'm sorry she has a poopy bum too but good she seems happy. Yes that is really sweet of your vets - so nice of them to discuss with the team for further ideas, I hope they come up with something. All paws crossed for your family

Aww that's some lovely care from the vets!

Fingers crossed everyone's appetite increases soon x

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joey&boo said:

Aww thats a shame she won't take her JS tabs atm I'm sorry she has a poopy bum too but good she seems happy. Yes that is really sweet of your vets - so nice of them to discuss with the team for further ideas, I hope they come up with something. All paws crossed for your family

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Thank you. I hope she'll want them again when she feels better.

CarelessSquid07 said:

Aww that's some lovely care from the vets!

Fingers crossed everyone's appetite increases soon x

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Thank you, too.


Sophie had her first ever bum bath earlier and she was so good about it. She minded the drying off more than the bath. She's all nice and clean and dry now.

So sorry to hear that both buns are still having problems, really hope the vets may be able to come up with something. Sending many more vibes for them, and you to Reader, they are lucky bunnies having you care for them xx

Pets mum said:

So sorry to hear that both buns are still having problems, really hope the vets may be able to come up with something. Sending many more vibes for them, and you to Reader, they are lucky bunnies having you care for them xx

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Aww, thank you for the vibes and hopes and very kind words.

Perhaps grind or dissolve joint tab and add it to recovery food.
It can be hard to give nose drops to a bunny. My avatar,my late cx, needed drops in her nose. Do one nostril at a time and try to keep drops small. I used different ways of turning bunny upside down until I settled on holding on bed.
Sending vibes they improve

I have had to use nose drops for Rabbits. Surprisingly they all tolerated it well. You do not have to put Rabbit on their back, in fact it’s best not to. Just elevate their head. As the drops hit the nostril they automatically inhale. It’s like a reflex response. You can use a nebuliser to administer the medication if using the drops directly into the nostrils is too stressful for the Rabbit.

What is the name of the nose drops ? Having to use them 6 times a day does not sound ideal and I doubt they are abx

bunny momma said:

Perhaps grind or dissolve joint tab and add it to recovery food.
It can be hard to give nose drops to a bunny. My avatar,my late cx, needed drops in her nose. Do one nostril at a time and try to keep drops small. I used different ways of turning bunny upside down until I settled on holding on bed.
Sending vibes they improve

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Ooh, I hadn't thought of adding the joint tabs to her syringe feed! That's a great idea! They're really hard, so I don't know if I'll be able to grind or dissolve them, but I'll try! And thank you for the advice on the nose drops and for sending vibes.

InspectorMorse said:

I have had to use nose drops for Rabbits. Surprisingly they all tolerated it well. You do not have to put Rabbit on their back, in fact it’s best not to. Just elevate their head. As the drops hit the nostril they automatically inhale. It’s like a reflex response. You can use a nebuliser to administer the medication if using the drops directly into the nostrils is too stressful for the Rabbit.

What is the name of the nose drops ? Having to use them 6 times a day does not sound ideal and I doubt they are abx

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Oh, that's so good to know that they actually tend to tolerate the nose drops well! Thank you for explaining how to administer them, too. They actually are antibiotics, though. It says so on the box. It says it's gentamicin.

a reader of books said:

Ooh, I hadn't thought of adding the joint tabs to her syringe feed! That's a great idea! They're really hard, so I don't know if I'll be able to grind or dissolve them, but I'll try! And thank you for the advice on the nose drops and for sending vibes.


Oh, that's so good to know that they actually tend to tolerate the nose drops well! Thank you for explaining how to administer them, too. They actually are antibiotics, though. It says so on the box. It says it's gentamicin.

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They are the ones I used, just not 6 times a day. They can also be used as eye drops and eye drops will have some effect on the nasal passages as long as the nasolacrimal ducts are not blocked. Nebulising gentamicin is an option too.

InspectorMorse said:

They are the ones I used, just not 6 times a day. They can also be used as eye drops and eye drops will have some effect on the nasal passages as long as the nasolacrimal ducts are not blocked. Nebulising gentamicin is an option too.

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Ah, I see. That's good to know. 6 times a day does seem like a lot, doesn't it? But both the box and the instructions from the vet say 6 times a day so it must be right!

The vet who called yesterday called me back this morning and said we can do an ultrasound of Casper's belly, but he also wanted to see if Casper will eat better if we stop the gut meds (not the Metacam) and the syringe feeds, in case he's not eating much because he's so stressed out because of everything. So, I'm willing to give that a try, since he has just not gotten any better at all this past week. The vet said to call right away if he stops eating completely, of course, so it's not like I'm going to let him starve! But we'll just give him some time where he doesn't get handled so much, since he does hate that. So, we'll see how that goes and then we can do an ultrasound if he still doesn't get better.

Sophie is getting better, at least. She's eating a bit more every day.

Sounds great that Sophie is doing so much better!

It's possible it's all the handling, if he's very stressed by it and I'm sure it's hard for you as well.

Have you changed hay recently? Or tried him on a teeny bit of alfalfa?

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Gosh what a lot to be going on at once RoB! Sorry things have been so hard. I really hope Sophie and Casper improve asap.

Have you tried some herbal forage? When my buns have been unwell they've refused their normal food and treats, but things like dried dandelion and plantain have encouraged them to nibble.

Sending you all healing vibes xxx

CarelessSquid07 said:

Sounds great that Sophie is doing so much better!

It's possible it's all the handling, if he's very stressed by it and I'm sure it's hard for you as well.

Have you changed hay recently? Or tried him on a teeny bit of alfalfa?

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Yeah, I'm glad Sophie's getting better! Casper does get stressed out a lot by all the handling. He's an anxious bunny, and he's become so quiet and sad. Last time I gave them a bit of alfalfa, when Sophie needed to gain weight, Sophie got a lot of gut trouble and stasis, so I don't feel safe getting some of that, as it'd be difficult to make sure only Casper ate it... I did order some new hay, though, but it's the same order as the new bag of food, which is still delayed. :roll: They've had their current hay for a few weeks now, but they haven't been liking it as much as their previous box of hay, sadly, which was really nice and stalky. This one's very soft.

Boots said:

Gosh what a lot to be going on at once RoB! Sorry things have been so hard. I really hope Sophie and Casper improve asap.

Have you tried some herbal forage? When my buns have been unwell they've refused their normal food and treats, but things like dried dandelion and plantain have encouraged them to nibble.

Sending you all healing vibes xxx

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Thank you so much. I've given them a big tray of dried forage and they've been eating quite a bit of it, especially the plantain. Casper loves dried plantain!

Sending more vibes for your bunnies. Glad Sophie improving and hope Casper follows.
When I get a new package/box of hay I mix some old with the new so it is not a big change in taste or texture since color and texture can vary. Though my Lionhead bunnies are not as fuzzy as Heidi and Raven who are older.
I hope vet's plan works so Casper can get back on tract.