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Lillabelle not eating again

twistedtiggerz69

twistedtiggerz69

Mama Doe
So Lillabelle did not eat any breakfast this morning plus she was lying in her litter tray facing the wall and fast breathing so we booked her for an urgent appointment this morning.

Our usual vet was not in so we saw another rabbit savvy vet who was really good with her today. We went through her history with him and said we would never normally hope for a dental needed but he said he understood why we would feel that way.

He said her gut sounds were good. She ate her forage last night well but even still we were happy to hear that. He checked her teeth and said she had a sore tongue plus one of her upper molars was longer than the rest. We explained how she had a burr last time that was hidden and was only found out after over 2 weeks of her not eating.

He did not want to go straight to a dental without trying her on painkillers first so he gave her an injection and asked us to give her 1.6mls daily of Metacam and to ring him on Monday for an update. If we were at all worried we should ring him sooner.

We got home and tried her on fresh coriander and parsley, cavolo nero, fresh greens and even pellets but she just refused everything. After 3 hours we decided to give her a syringe feed. She had 60 mls and spat the rest out.

I rang the vets back and said we were indeed worried and he said to keep trying her on different foods overnight plus syringe feeds and ring him with an update in the morning.

We have given her 3 syringe feeds since and each time she only had 40-60 mls and some of that she spat out. That was with added baby food both mango and apple, pear and apple and with mashed banana. All the same lack of success. She turns her nose up at ALL food. Even commercial treats that we never usually give her anymore.

We will ring the vets back in the morning and insist they take her in tomorrow for both an ultrasound on her abdomen first to check everything is stable there and then a dental. I will update you all then however she could really do with some vibes so we would really appreciate it if anyone can do this for her please? I realise I have not been on here in a while but the vibes are for Lillabelle and she needs all the help she can get right now.

Thank you everybun x
 
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If the vet has seen a tooth spike and an ulcerated tongue, I don't see why there's a need to delay the dental. If she's not eating on her own, you are going to have to syringe feed anyway and it's not going to improve over time if just left. The tooth will continue to grow - even in a week the difference will be noticeable, especially if she's not eating the tough fibres in normal food.

I hope she gets sorted soon. Sending lots of vibes for a smooth recovery.
 
Yeah i had the same thoughts - pain meds in this situation is like just putting a band aid on a big open wound and doing nothing else... It's not going to cure anything. The real problem will only get worse in the meantime.

I hope your usual vet comes back or someone who is confident enough to do a dental.
 
Pets mum said:
If she has a sore tongue, then it does sound like a dental issue that needs addressing, is the vet rabbit savvy ? Hope you can get her seen again quickly. Sending her lots of vibes, and a hug for you, hope you are keeping OK x
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Yes the vet is rabbit savvy. We have 3 vets that are rabbit savvy. Our usual, the main vet and the vet we saw who has had rabbits of his own. He does know his stuff actually
 
Shimmer said:
If the vet has seen a tooth spike and an ulcerated tongue, I don't see why there's a need to delay the dental. If she's not eating on her own, you are going to have to syringe feed anyway and it's not going to improve over time if just left. The tooth will continue to grow - even in a week the difference will be noticeable, especially if she's not eating the tough fibres in normal food.

I hope she gets sorted soon. Sending lots of vibes for a smooth recovery.
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Yes that is our worry. Her last dental was after 3 weeks of waiting on and off as they could not see the burr. They admitted her in for a dental but as was not informed of ulcer on her tongue they sent her home again which delayed it further. Our usual vet is here next week and she did her last dental. She is on a week's holiday this week unfortunately :(
 
William said:
Yeah i had the same thoughts - pain meds in this situation is like just putting a band aid on a big open wound and doing nothing else... It's not going to cure anything. The real problem will only get worse in the meantime.

I hope your usual vet comes back or someone who is confident enough to do a dental.
Click to expand...
I will update you on situation next but yes I agree we are seeing her getting worse not better 😥
 
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So I rang this morning and we got her booked in for the only appointment of 10.45am.

So firstly we spoke to the vet about their current situation. He actually left 2 months ago but due to our usual vet being overworked and desperately needing a holiday this vet has come in for a week to cover our vet's full time shift. So there were 3 rabbit savvy vets. Now there are only 2. Our vet and the lead vet.

They are all rabbit savvy. Inspector Morse can vouch for our usual vet as has spoken to her about Lillabelle in the past She does know rabbits but will admit when she does not know something and bring in a specialist vet.

The vet we saw today and yesterday has owned rabbits and has a real love for them as we were discussing today. He explained there is only one theatre and anaesthetist. There are 2 buns scheduled in for dentals today and he said they have already waited 3 days for these slots and they will die if they are not done today.

He agreed it is looking very much like a dental and he is aware that she had a hidden burr before that caused an ulcer on her tongue and was delayed far too long. He also said the dribbling wet under her chin is showing the likely culprit being teeth.

He said her gut is just about ticking along and he gave her a gut medication injection and pain relief injection and said he has spoken to the manager to have things moved around to admit her on Monday and I can expect a call from her later today. He said we can bring her in for more injections over the weekend as they are open in the mornings and their head vet will be there.

We were not happy but also understood that these buns have had to wait for their slots and we would be very upset if another bunny took our bunnies' place. We knew we would have to just keep her eating.

Today though has been a nightmare. When I try to coax her to eat she just keeps her mouth firmly closed and will not give in. She just gives me this determined what I call the 'Paddington hard stare' and if I do manage to get some in her mouth she just spits it right back out again. She is so stubborn. It is very frustrating. We are trying all different ways...thick mix, thin mix. With water in between. Without water. We have tried carrot baby food. Mango and apple. Pear and apple. Banana. Mashed banana. Mashed banana and baby food.
She is still pooping syringe feed so she is getting some in her tummy.

But then at 5.30pm I received a text from the vets saying they are expecting Lillabelle on the 13th May at 8.30am. I realised that was Tuesday. I tang the vets straightaway but after speaking to the manager I know it is of no use. She explained they had to change things around to admit her on Tuesday. There is no way they can fit her in for Monday. And they couldn't even ring us to tell us.

Her last feed was just like the others. A Paddington hard stare. We will just have to keep persevering and take her in for another set of injections tomorrow. Each costing us a £60 trip plus taxis to keep her 'ticking along' and then she has an abdominal ultrasound and dental for Tuesday. The way things are going we won't have any money left to pay for them! Feel like screaming!!!
 
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Her abdomen feels bloated so rather than syringe feed her I have rung out of hours vets for advice and am awaiting a call back. I realise we can't syringe feed her if she has gas build up. I will let you know what OOH says
 
Ok so I spoke to OOH and they quoted us £660 to see her and get gut mobility and pain meds. Since then she has passed more poops so am I right in thinking her gas is passed and we can syringe feed her again now please?
 
We are taking turns lying her on our chests to keep her warm as her ears felt cold earlier. Poor little thing. We feel so helpless so we do what we can which is to show her love. She seems o like it as gets lots of head rubs plus her tummy is much less swollen now
 
I am sorry she is having issues with her teeth again. As you know my bridge bunny Raven was a dental bunny and it was always stressful. Though I was fortunate to have a vet who prescribed motility injections I learned to give at home Multiple times each day out of necessity (no ooh vets or weekend coverage for rabbits).

If her bloating has resolved and vet not available to ask, I would try small amounts of syringe feeds. Also, if she was not already used to eating fruits, I would only give very tiny amounts to flavor the syringe feed. Syringing watered down juice (mostly water with a little juice) can be helpful if hydration is a concern.

If there are treats she already eats, you may be able to crush or grind them to add to syringe feeds.

I wonder why ultrasound is being done now if vet suspects dental, especially because it is outside your budget?

Sending vibes.
 
Thank you for this. We have Metoclopramide liquid left over from earlier this year. Perhaps we could get some in her but I have no idea on amounts as these were prescribed for her abscess situation. I mean we are paying £60 a pop to get this done at the vets and she will most likely need this until Tuesday. Just a thought.

We are not unduly concerned about hydration atm as she is drinking quite a bit. I presume to fill her up as she is hardly taking any syringe feeds. As we are struggling to get any syringe feed down her as it is I think we need to stick to food but we will bear that in mind. Thank you.

We can try syringe feeding small quantities then. We were giving her feeds every 3 hours and the vet suggested changing that to every 4 hours so she wasn't too stressed. However as she is hardly taking any I think we need to change it back to 3 hourly. She only took 20 mls last time and as she is 4.7 kgs that doesn't seem like much at all.

Unfortunately we don't have any treats here now. They only have dandelion root and broccoli stalk as treats usually. We will just give her a little baby food then so it does not upset her tummy. Perhaps the fruit is what has been causing the gas. Why didn't I think of that? So stupid! Hopefully if the gas settles down she may start eating her syringe feeds again.

Yes the vet did say that if the money is an issue we can leave the abdominal ultrasound. I think that is best. Then we can take her for gut motility injections this weekend and be able to afford the dental.

It is so difficult to know what is best when we are in the middle of it all and don't have the experience needed. Thank you for your help. We really appreciate it x
 
Quick update...she ate 20 mls syringe feed at 10.30pm. I think you are right in saying the fruit could have upset her tummy Bunny Momma. She actually ate it with a little coaxing and chewed and swallowed it this time so we will just give her small amounts every 3 hours and take it from there.

I will ring vets in the morning and ask about whether we can give her Metoclopramide at home. If not we will just take her down for injections for the next 3 days. I have asked before about the vets showing me how to give fluids and gut motility drugs by injection and they wouldn't do it. I can ask again when speak to them in the morning
 
The vet should be able to prescribe oral motility drugs while she is at home to avoid the stress of her going to the vets. It sounds like her guts are moving, and the syringe feeds and drugs are to keep things moving. She may not eat regular quantities until after she heals from her dental issue, so she may lose a little weight which she can gain back once she recovers.

Sending more vibes!
 
I don't understand why you haven't been given oral meds. It's fairly standard to do so, especially as you've been here before. It also reduces the stress on the rabbit if you don't have to keep travelling.

I'm glad the syringe feeding is getting a bit better. I usually makeup the recommended amount for 24h and keep it in a jar in the fridge beween feeds - that way you can see how much you need to do at each feed. It usually thickens up, so add a bit of hot water to each separate feed (eg in an egg cup) to bring it to the right consistency & warm it up.
 
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