Running Hare
New Kit
Hi, new poster here, registered to thank the posters on this board for the wealth of information on the threads about e cuniculi. I don’t think my rabbit would have survived the last few days without the knowledge I gained here, desperately searching for answers between syringe feeds. So thank you for the life saving advice you give on here!
My Netherland Dwarf, Vince had a slight head tilt and was subdued on Saturday, vet prescribed 28 days of panacur for Vince and his buddy Howard. Vince wasn’t eating after the trip to the vets, but was eating well by the morning, after syringe feeding. By Monday he was racing around getting up to no good as usual.
Wednesday evening he went horribly downhill. Tilt was much worse, with rolling and curling, and eye flickering. After each syringe feed he looked almost unconscious, and I thought that even if he made it till morning I’d be taking him to be euthanised. Between feeds I was searching for information, which was how I ended up here.
Yesterday morning he had improved, the eye flickering reduced, and while still very uncoordinated and dizzy, he looked more ‘present’ if that makes sense.
So I phoned the vet, told them I wasn’t going to move him unless completely necessary at this stage, and asked for a Metacam prescription. It was a different vet at the practice, and she spent most of the call trying to push for me to euthanise Vince. She refused to prescribe Metacam, saying that they wouldn’t in case of renal involvement.
I was exhausted from a very late night and very early morning, as well as the worry, and I may not have been very nice to her. By the end of the call I’d bullied, I mean persuaded her to prescribe Metacam. Quoted the Vet Times research summary at one point. There are some benefits to being battle axe aged!
As several posters on here had mentioned in earlier threads, around 12 hours after his first dose he was noticeably improved. Today he’s eating (not a lot, but it’s a start), moving around, clumsily but determined. I’ve padded his hutch with rolled up towels for support and ordered a supportive bed from Hare Apparent. He’s making attempts at grooming himself, and wobbling his little head at us for pets.
He’s fighting back, and after what he’s gone through in the last few days, I’m blown away by his resilience.
So, onto the questions, so I’m forearmed at our next vet visit (I’ll be asking for the first vet or the head of the practice. The vet who tried to refuse him treatment is not someone I’ll consult with again, and she’ll probably be relieved about that after our phone call yesterday).
Firstly, Metacam - how long should Vince take it? I’m very conscious that he might not have survived this far without it, so will dose him for as long as it takes.
Second, the 21 day and 28 day disinfection - will steam cleaning kill the spores? I’ll bleach if necessary, but would prefer to steam clean if it will be effective.
If you’ve read this far, thank you, and thanks again for the advice on this forum. I’d welcome any advice on how to get my little man through the next few weeks/months, and would love to read your stories too.
It’s been a horrible week, many tears shed and not a lot of sleep, but we are cautiously hopeful for Vince today.
My Netherland Dwarf, Vince had a slight head tilt and was subdued on Saturday, vet prescribed 28 days of panacur for Vince and his buddy Howard. Vince wasn’t eating after the trip to the vets, but was eating well by the morning, after syringe feeding. By Monday he was racing around getting up to no good as usual.
Wednesday evening he went horribly downhill. Tilt was much worse, with rolling and curling, and eye flickering. After each syringe feed he looked almost unconscious, and I thought that even if he made it till morning I’d be taking him to be euthanised. Between feeds I was searching for information, which was how I ended up here.
Yesterday morning he had improved, the eye flickering reduced, and while still very uncoordinated and dizzy, he looked more ‘present’ if that makes sense.
So I phoned the vet, told them I wasn’t going to move him unless completely necessary at this stage, and asked for a Metacam prescription. It was a different vet at the practice, and she spent most of the call trying to push for me to euthanise Vince. She refused to prescribe Metacam, saying that they wouldn’t in case of renal involvement.
I was exhausted from a very late night and very early morning, as well as the worry, and I may not have been very nice to her. By the end of the call I’d bullied, I mean persuaded her to prescribe Metacam. Quoted the Vet Times research summary at one point. There are some benefits to being battle axe aged!
As several posters on here had mentioned in earlier threads, around 12 hours after his first dose he was noticeably improved. Today he’s eating (not a lot, but it’s a start), moving around, clumsily but determined. I’ve padded his hutch with rolled up towels for support and ordered a supportive bed from Hare Apparent. He’s making attempts at grooming himself, and wobbling his little head at us for pets.
He’s fighting back, and after what he’s gone through in the last few days, I’m blown away by his resilience.
So, onto the questions, so I’m forearmed at our next vet visit (I’ll be asking for the first vet or the head of the practice. The vet who tried to refuse him treatment is not someone I’ll consult with again, and she’ll probably be relieved about that after our phone call yesterday).
Firstly, Metacam - how long should Vince take it? I’m very conscious that he might not have survived this far without it, so will dose him for as long as it takes.
Second, the 21 day and 28 day disinfection - will steam cleaning kill the spores? I’ll bleach if necessary, but would prefer to steam clean if it will be effective.
If you’ve read this far, thank you, and thanks again for the advice on this forum. I’d welcome any advice on how to get my little man through the next few weeks/months, and would love to read your stories too.
It’s been a horrible week, many tears shed and not a lot of sleep, but we are cautiously hopeful for Vince today.