twistedtiggerz69
Mama Doe
Thank you Pets mum sorry for late reply xI hope Lillabelle is doing better this morning, I think you and your husband are doing a great job with her.
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Thank you Pets mum sorry for late reply xI hope Lillabelle is doing better this morning, I think you and your husband are doing a great job with her.
No need to apologise, you have your hands full, make sure you look after yourself too xThank you Pets mum sorry for late reply x
Thank you for your kind words. Yes it is hard to get the right info sometimes on Google. The more time I spend on RU the more I am learning as there are so many rabbit owners with experience on here and it is all for the benefit of our buns. We have been taking turns to sleep a couple of hours in between Lillabelle's feeds and that is really helping. This week reminds me of when my twins were newborn and I was breastfeeding them every 3 hours as I am walking around like a zombie on autopilotGood to see better news. Well done to you, OH and Lillabelle. Please don’t blame yourself about misunderstanding the pineapple juice info. Google can be helpful but not always. It’s only natural that we will want to try anything to help our rabbits. Inspector Morse is correct but you have a lot to take in and cope with and it’s easy to misunderstand when we are stressed and tired.
It’s really good Lillabelle is eating herbs. In my experience (limited as I have only had two rabbits) it is not unusual for it to take longer for rabbits to go back to eating pellets after an episode of gut stasis. I find that offering maybe 4-6 pellets is both less overwhelming to a poorly rabbit and easier to tell if they have actually eaten one. Sorry if this is stating the obvious!
Sorry not replied before. I actually feel quite cross now that he didn't check her over and did not explain that he was not experienced with rabbits or something! Anyone who knows bunnies would know that they can go downhill very quickly with gut stasis. It could have gone very wrong because of his negligence. I have been fuming and ranting to my poor OH about his treatment (or rather lack of treatment) to Lillabelle. Poor Lillabelle could have been feeling better much sooner if he was honest at the start.Continuing to send my support. I really don’t understand why a vet would not examine your rabbit. Even if not expert in rabbits surely any vet should know the basics. Poor Lilabelle, but she has a caring owner doing the best you can for her.
L is still on analgesia and at the correct dose nowI am glad she is improving with all the effort from you and your spouse. Good job figuring out how to syringe feed with less spit out.
It is wonderful IM was able to help you see a different vet. While I understand not continuing antibiotics, I am a little confused about the remark about pain meds and stasis. It may not be true in every case, yet ime a bunny rarely has stasis without primary or secondary pain.
Thank you for todayHopefully she will now continue to recover and be back to normal in a few more days x
Yes she is doing really well now but we will keep a close eye on her and also they are having long grooming sessions with us as a matter of urgency until their coats are good. She hasn't seen Lillabelle as I saw her this week. She shrunk to this teeny baby bunny she was so weak. Her big eyes looking at me and her ears back with no energy. It was awful to seeI am glad she is improving with all the effort from you and your spouse. Good job figuring out how to syringe feed with less spit out.
It is wonderful IM was able to help you see a different vet. While I understand not continuing antibiotics, I am a little confused about the remark about pain meds and stasis. It may not be true in every case, yet ime a bunny rarely has stasis without primary or secondary pain.
Thank you. She is doing well but she scared us to death. Stasis really creeps up on you doesn't it. Thank god we both noticed her not eating and my OH told me or we may have missed it. Oh and she had cold earsSo pleased to read more positive updates. Do hope Lillabelle continues her recovery. My Bertie also likes to be handfed, especially if he has been poorly or in the huff about something!
Lillabelle's teeth are long and she had an ulcer in her mouth that the vet said was probably caused from the long teeth however the vet says they are ok for the moment and eating hay will help with her teeth. Her weight is 4.9 kg (so she has lost 200g this week) and she said Lillabelle's ideal weight is 4.7 kg. So nearly there. The vet asked us about their diet and when I told her she was really impressed![]()
Yes I realise I hadn't told you in messages due to tiredness sorry. After the vets Phil and I discussed the fact that her teeth probably need doing soon due to this ulcer. Also that the GI stasis may have been a secondary problem due to her teeth. The vet made a point of saying we must phone her Monday morning to let her know what her situation is moving forwards. So I imagine the vet will want to check her teeth again soon. I did feel that she had good knowledge of rabbits until she said Lil's won't need pain meds for GI stasis. That threw me a bit tbh ☹Going forward, once she is fully recovered from this episode she needs that mouth ulcer looked at.In our other messages you didn’t mention the ulcer. Dental problems causing soft tissue damage seldom resolve without treatment (a dental).
We can discuss things further privately![]()
Yes I realise I hadn't told you in messages due to tiredness sorry. After the vets Phil and I discussed the fact that her teeth probably need doing soon due to this ulcer. Also that the GI stasis may have been a secondary problem due to her teeth. The vet made a point of saying we must phone her Monday morning to let her know what her situation is moving forwards. So I imagine the vet will want to check her teeth again soon. I did feel that she had good knowledge of rabbits until she said Lil's won't need pain meds for GI stasis. That threw me a bit tbh ☹
There is also the worry that she may go in to GI stasis due to this ulcer hurting her and stopping her eating again so we need to be vigilant. The pain meds may also be helping her to eat and as soon as we stop the meds she may struggle to eat again.
We didn't end up feeding her again. I got the feed ready and we were going to offer some to her again but she totally freaked out and tried to make a run for it. I do gently put a hand on the top of her head now as otherwise she tries to launch herself up really quickly to escape over Phil's shoulder but I just gently hold her there so my OH can get hold of her again. She was stronger than ever after eating . It is such an ordeal for her as she hates being picked up and she looked really scared
So we gave her the metaclopramide and then let her go into the pen with Chief. We felt she had had enough today. I really hope she eats tonight when we go to bed
We are leaving them in the pen with their sheets over it so they feel safe and are keeping quiet so she can rest. It also means she has hay, forage and water right next to her tonight to encourage her to eat.
I am off to bed now. Our babies are snuggled up together and they look so cute together. Makes it all worth it for moments like these. Thank you once again Inspector Morse ❤
I am glad you were able to intervene and help the family get Lillabelle proper care.L is still on analgesia and at the correct dose now![]()
I am glad you were able to intervene and help the family get Lillabelle the proper care.L is still on analgesia and at the correct dose now![]()
Yes I agree she is not eating without pain meds and so there is probably a reason for her gut stasis. She was not eating much again this morning so we are syringe feeding her again.Gut stasis is not a stand alone illness, but a symptom of another primary problem. As is stated here in this article written by an Exotics Qualified Vet and a Rabbit Savvy well known Vet Nurse
‘’Gut stasis is one of the most serious conditions a rabbit could have, and it deserves to be taken seriously by both the owner and veterinary staff. Because there are many possible causes (many of them external to the gut itself), it must be highlighted that it is a symptom and not a final diagnosis. A rabbit that presents in gut stasis requires a full clinical examination and husbandry review. At this stage, the cause of the gut stasis may become obvious.’’
Full article:
https://www.veterinary-practice.com/article/working-together-on-gut-stasis
Which is why it was so appalling that the initial Vet didn’t examine L before giving her prokinetics, which putting it bluntly could have killed her.
There are a multitude of possible primary causes that lead to gut stasis. Sometimes identifying the cause can be a challenge, sometimes it’s obvious eg a Dental
problem. So unless the cause of the gut stasis is identified and treated gut stasis will keep recurring.
I will text you later re the Vet Hospital, I too have concerns about the comment about a Rabbit in gut stasis not needing pain relief. Given the rest of the account you gave me of the consultation that remark is especially surprising.
L has been far too unwell to have a GA/Dental over the last few days, so if the treatment she is now on gets her eating and pooping normally again getting her teeth sorted out will be a priority.
Later this morning I will call the Veterinary Hospital we discussed yesterday and then text you![]()