my rabbit has lung fibrosis

[ncol147]

Hi, my rabbit is about 3 years old and has lung fibrosis, his breathing is too quick and his body rocks as he breaths, he also is extremely slow at eating and we took him to the vets and they said they had never naturally seen a case of lung fibrosis, they prescribed him 0.73 mls of terbutaline and 0.5 mls of baytril. his poos are different(clumped together and dark) this has only happened recently but he has had lung fibrosis for over a month (it was diagnosed just over a month ago but its been going on longer as the vets couldn't work out what was wrong). im worried he's on his last few weeks now, is there anything we can do to help him?, has anyone else rabbit had lung fibrosis? im sure this can't be the first case

 

[bunny momma]

I have no experience with that issue, yet wanted to send lots of positive vibes for your bunny. I hope the treatment allows you to have much more time with you.

 

[twistedtiggerz69]

Hi, my rabbit is about 3 years old and has lung fibrosis, his breathing is too quick and his body rocks as he breaths, he also is extremely slow at eating and we took him to the vets and they said they had never naturally seen a case of lung fibrosis, they prescribed him 0.73 mls of terbutaline and 0.5 mls of baytril. his poos are different(clumped together and dark) this has only happened recently but he has had lung fibrosis for over a month (it was diagnosed just over a month ago but its been going on longer as the vets couldn't work out what was wrong). im worried he's on his last few weeks now, is there anything we can do to help him?, has anyone else rabbit had lung fibrosis? im sure this can't be the first case

I can't help with fibrosis but my bun had a severe lung infection when he was 2 and needed lots of care over a few weeks. My bun also was fast breathing like your little bunny. I can empathise with you as it is very scary when they are so poorly.

You say his poops are clumped together. Is he eating normal amounts still? You need to make sure he eats enough to prevent GI stasis as their gut can stop moving if they do not eat enough through the 24 hours. This is life threatening in rabbits. Are you aware of gut stasis? Sorry I only ask as I am not on here very much and so do not know regular forum users.

Have you tried searching for lung fibrosis within the forum? There may be posts on here about previous cases. I would help but am not too great at using this forum yet.

Sending you lots of vibes for your bunny. What is his name? ❤

 

[Shimmer]

Some antibiotics can affect the gut flora, which would then affect faecal output (ie abnormal poos).

Is he eating normally? ie the usual amounts of his usual diet?

I would go back to basics (assuming he's eating OK and maintaining his weight) - more hay, fewer pellets, cut out / down on treats.
A pre-biotic may also be useful - a search on here would give recommendations (I've not used any).
The overall aim would be to increase fibre intake and reset the gut flora.

If he's not maintaining his weight, I would look at top-up syringe feeds of one of the critical care powdered feeds.
Weigh him weekly to check that he is eating enough, and adjust his feeds appropriately. Hay should be readily available all the time, even if he's slow to eat it and needs top up feeds.

 

[ncol147]

I can't help with fibrosis but my bun had a severe lung infection when he was 2 and needed lots of care over a few weeks. My bun also was fast breathing like your little bunny. I can empathise with you as it is very scary when they are so poorly.

You say his poops are clumped together. Is he eating normal amounts still? You need to make sure he eats enough to prevent GI stasis as their gut can stop moving if they do not eat enough through the 24 hours. This is life threatening in rabbits. Are you aware of gut stasis? Sorry I only ask as I am not on here very much and so do not know regular forum users.

Have you tried searching for lung fibrosis within the forum? There may be posts on here about previous cases. I would help but am not too great at using this forum yet.

Sending you lots of vibes for your bunny. What is his name? ❤

his names benji, I forgot to mention, hes a sable marten and there average weight is 2.3kg which is also the weight of my sable siamese, he weighs 1.7kg so it very underweight, we have to give him 2-3 barely rings a day to help increase his weight, we have been feeding him a good amount, he has a few blueberries everyday because we inject his medicine into it, a normal amount of pellets , hay, spring green and sometimes red grass, he hasn't finished all the spring green leaf recently but have eaten 1/3-1/2. we separate him and his niece (we bought them from the same breeder but both are neutered and spayed) at meal times as she is very dominant and would eat his food, separate feeding hs been going on for awhile now so that's not the issue

 

[ncol147]

I have no experience with that issue, yet wanted to send lots of positive vibes for your bunny. I hope the treatment allows you to have much more time with you.

thankyou so much, im getting worried hes done to his last few days-weeks with us , this has been my last resort, we go to the royal veterinary college so i had hoped they could help but apparently its never naturally been seen so im quite concerned.

 

[ncol147]

Some antibiotics can affect the gut flora, which would then affect faecal output (ie abnormal poos).

Is he eating normally? ie the usual amounts of his usual diet?

I would go back to basics (assuming he's eating OK and maintaining his weight) - more hay, fewer pellets, cut out / down on treats.
A pre-biotic may also be useful - a search on here would give recommendations (I've not used any).
The overall aim would be to increase fibre intake and reset the gut flora.

If he's not maintaining his weight, I would look at top-up syringe feeds of one of the critical care powdered feeds.
Weigh him weekly to check that he is eating enough, and adjust his feeds appropriately. Hay should be readily available all the time, even if he's slow to eat it and needs top up feeds.

i responded to another comment in detail about his eating, he weighs 1.7kg so it very underweight, we have to give him 2-3 barely rings a day to help increase his weight, we have been feeding him a good amount, he has a few blueberries everyday because we inject his medicine into it, a normal amount of pellets , hay, spring green and sometimes red grass, he hasn't finished all the spring green leaf recently but have eaten 1/3-1/2. i will talk to my parents about critical care powdered feeds, is there any in particular for his issue, i will also mention a pre biotic thankyou! the vets want to give him another medication but its a pill so they are contacting there pharmacist to see if they can crush it up, however this is for his gut issue which i dont know too much about so ill have to ask my mum.

 

[ncol147]

I can't help with fibrosis but my bun had a severe lung infection when he was 2 and needed lots of care over a few weeks. My bun also was fast breathing like your little bunny. I can empathise with you as it is very scary when they are so poorly.

You say his poops are clumped together. Is he eating normal amounts still? You need to make sure he eats enough to prevent GI stasis as their gut can stop moving if they do not eat enough through the 24 hours. This is life threatening in rabbits. Are you aware of gut stasis? Sorry I only ask as I am not on here very much and so do not know regular forum users.

Have you tried searching for lung fibrosis within the forum? There may be posts on here about previous cases. I would help but am not too great at using this forum yet.

Sending you lots of vibes for your bunny. What is his name? ❤

im so sorry to hear about your rabbit, how long had the lung infection been going on for?, what were the vets like? is he or she okay now? x

 

[twistedtiggerz69]

im so sorry to hear about your rabbit, how long had the lung infection been going on for?, what were the vets like? is he or she okay now? x

As Shimmer said I would keep weighing Benji regularly and if he is underweight then he isn't eating enough to maintain his normal weight. I would get advice from your vets about what other hay/food to try your bun on to keep his weight on and whether to syringe feed first. If they think he needs help with feeding then they could give you advice about how to syringe feed as well.

Although there is help on here about syringe feeding and other topics most of us are not qualified vets. It is so important that you check with your vet first. I would do this as a matter of urgency if he is eating less due to fast breathing. 600 g seems a lot to lose for a bunny this size. (I only have giant bunnies and do not have experience of small bunnies.) It is vital he keeps eating regularly to prevent gut stasis which your vet should know about.

I have heard of RVC and they should have a rabbit savvy vet to help you with all of this. Rabbits United is here to give you added advice about rabbits but you should always discuss syringe feeding with your vet first. I say this because syringe feeding a bun who has a blocked tummy would be very dangerous for them.

My bunny did survive his lung infection but it was a serious infection and we were giving him full on care for a few weeks including syringe feeding and giving him water regularly. It was a very scary time for us. We got excellent advice on Rabbits United but also took him back to the vets a number of times as well. Our rabbit Mischief is still here but lung problems are extra serious due to rabbits only breathing through their noses, not their mouths.

Our vets is rabbit savvy however I do understand how a vet can not always explain things properly. RU can help with advice to care for Benjy but don't be afraid to ask your vets to explain things properly and ask any questions you are unsure about. I write a list of topics to discuss on a small pad first and take it with me. You will need to contact them urgently to discuss your concerns as if he stops eating altogether it would be an emergency situation.

I don't mean to scare you, just to know this needs to be done urgently for little Benji. Also we are here to help you so feel free to ask for advice if you feel you need it. I am sending you extra extra vibes for Benji and yourselves ❤❤

 

[ncol147]

i will go with my mum to the next appointment as Im only 14, as i have been busy for the past few vet visits i cant quote them exactly but they want to prescribe him something else which is in a pill form and they are looking to see if we can crush it up for benji to digest, he has been eating well for the past 3 days and we have added a pinch of oats to his diet to help with the weight gain, last November he had been loosing weight so we went to the vets and they suggested monitored or separated feeding for the rabbits as his companion (called lady) was eating quicker than him so stealing his food, they offered us a bone marrow exam of some sort but at the time it seemed too unessasary and its quite a big thing for a small rabbit (the vet we had on the day didn't seem so worried about benji more intrested for his own gain but maybe it was needed), he then picked up his weight but its been decreasing since , staying between 1.6-8kg. the vets have no clue how to treat it and we are down to our last resort which is this pill. since his eating is looking okay for now im not sure if we need to syringe feed yet but i will mention it to my mum asap. I know im young so im not an expert on rabbit healthcare but im really suprised that the RVC cant help us and have no clue whats wrong with him, i feel worried because they havent mentioned Critical care formula nor syringe feeding yet. me and my family feel we or the RVC mustve missed some crucial signs along the way

 

[ncol147]

As Shimmer said I would keep weighing Benji regularly and if he is underweight then he isn't eating enough to maintain his normal weight. I would get advice from your vets about what other hay/food to try your bun on to keep his weight on and whether to syringe feed first. If they think he needs help with feeding then they could give you advice about how to syringe feed as well.

Although there is help on here about syringe feeding and other topics most of us are not qualified vets. It is so important that you check with your vet first. I would do this as a matter of urgency if he is eating less due to fast breathing. 600 g seems a lot to lose for a bunny this size. (I only have giant bunnies and do not have experience of small bunnies.) It is vital he keeps eating regularly to prevent gut stasis which your vet should know about.

I have heard of RVC and they should have a rabbit savvy vet to help you with all of this. Rabbits United is here to give you added advice about rabbits but you should always discuss syringe feeding with your vet first. I say this because syringe feeding a bun who has a blocked tummy would be very dangerous for them.

My bunny did survive his lung infection but it was a serious infection and we were giving him full on care for a few weeks including syringe feeding and giving him water regularly. It was a very scary time for us. We got excellent advice on Rabbits United but also took him back to the vets a number of times as well. Our rabbit Mischief is still here but lung problems are extra serious due to rabbits only breathing through their noses, not their mouths.

Our vets is rabbit savvy however I do understand how a vet can not always explain things properly. RU can help with advice to care for Benjy but don't be afraid to ask your vets to explain things properly and ask any questions you are unsure about. I write a list of topics to discuss on a small pad first and take it with me. You will need to contact them urgently to discuss your concerns as if he stops eating altogether it would be an emergency situation.

I don't mean to scare you, just to know this needs to be done urgently for little Benji. Also we are here to help you so feel free to ask for advice if you feel you need it. I am sending you extra extra vibes for Benji and yourselves ❤❤

thankyou for being so kind and helping me its really made a differnace because this could save his lfe and even if he passes i will you there were peple out there who cared and tried to help.i agree something needs to happen urgently and i really trusted the RVC but i dont know what to do now, i will pass all this info on to my mum and dad

 

[katbun]

You're doing well for your bunny and I hope the vet can get to the bottom of it. I know being the primary caregiver for a pet while you're a minor can be really difficult, you're clearly doing your best! I would definitely try to get the next appointment at a time when you can go, but if not I found that writing a list of questions/concerns and observations for the vet was helpful so my parents didn't forget anything, and you can always ask for a printout of all the vets suggestions and instructions for care. That helps avoid miscommunications. Don't be afraid to ask the vet about things, they may have a perfectly good reason for not recommending something, or they may have missing information. It's always better to ask, and a good vet will not be annoyed by this, on the contrary it shows your dedication to the care of your pet, which should be something they are passionate about!

Good luck and positive vibes for Benji!

 

[twistedtiggerz69]

I agree with Katbun that anything you want to ask you should write down for your parents to ask if you are not able to go yourself. Your parents and you are doing everything right looking after Benji and the oats is a good idea and he obviously likes them.

Have you showed this thread to your mum? It might be useful for her to know what we have been talking about and may help her to know what to ask at the vets such as whether to syringe feed him and if it is necessary.

I am sending lots more vibes and to you as well. I did not realise you were 14. You are so mature and I actually thought you were an adult as you know so much about Benji. You should feel proud that you know so much about bunnies. You obviously love Benji very much ❤

 

[ncol147]

You're doing well for your bunny and I hope the vet can get to the bottom of it. I know being the primary caregiver for a pet while you're a minor can be really difficult, you're clearly doing your best! I would definitely try to get the next appointment at a time when you can go, but if not I found that writing a list of questions/concerns and observations for the vet was helpful so my parents didn't forget anything, and you can always ask for a printout of all the vets suggestions and instructions for care. That helps avoid miscommunications. Don't be afraid to ask the vet about things, they may have a perfectly good reason for not recommending something, or they may have missing information. It's always better to ask, and a good vet will not be annoyed by this, on the contrary it shows your dedication to the care of your pet, which should be something they are passionate about!

Good luck and positive vibes for Benji!

UPDATE: not super intresting but benji is having 0.18mls of viagra to quicken his blood stream, he can be very up and down but since thursday hes been quite lively however this may not last long,i keep forgetting to show this to my mum so will send to her asap, hes also still having 0.5mls of terbutaline. Thankyou for everyones kind wishes to Benji and we are all hoping he can recover, In the sad case he does pass our other rabbit will be left alone, shes very dominant as does apparently are, our breeder said she would be fine without a companion for a few months but im not too sure, although she steals benjis food and is very dominant shes just got a motherly instinct and i feel leaving her alone too long would make her sad as they still groom eachother and snuggle up in the hutch, my mum is having surjery mid december so im not confident we could get a rabbit until march, is that bad? atleast it will be warmer so bonding wont be so difficult as benji and our other rabbit (called lady) live outside.

 

[ncol147]

I agree with Katbun that anything you want to ask you should write down for your parents to ask if you are not able to go yourself. Your parents and you are doing everything right looking after Benji and the oats is a good idea and he obviously likes them.

Have you showed this thread to your mum? It might be useful for her to know what we have been talking about and may help her to know what to ask at the vets such as whether to syringe feed him and if it is necessary.

I am sending lots more vibes and to you as well. I did not realise you were 14. You are so mature and I actually thought you were an adult as you know so much about Benji. You should feel proud that you know so much about bunnies. You obviously love Benji very much ❤

thankyou so much for being so kind, hopefully benji can get better fingers crossed we get to the bottom of this!

 

[twistedtiggerz69]

Again really amazes me you are only 14! You obviously love your bunnies very much which I can definitely relate to. And my bunny is poorly like your bunny so I know what you are going through.

I'm afraid I don't know anything about lung fibrosis. It sounds like it is quite rare for bunnies so it must be very frustrating that your vet has not seen a case of this before.

My two bunnies are my first bonded pair so I don't have experience of a rabbit losing it's friend so I can't give you advice on this either. So sorry.

I can say though that you are doing everything you possibly can for Benji right now and you are also worrying about Lady. Have you talked to your mum about this? Firstly I would say that you don't know what is going to happen yet with Benji. You love your bunnies and you want to look after them the best you can. I think Lady will miss Benji of course but he may be ok for a while yet. Idk about lung fibrosis but the vet sounds like they are trying viagra to see how Benji gets on with it?

Perhaps just give them extra snuggles for now? That is something you can do. I am sure your parents want to help your bunnies as much as possible and they will try and help you do this when it is time. However Benji is here now. With Lady. With you. I would enjoy your time with the both of them so you make memories.

Sending Benji and Lady more vibes. And extra for you ❤

 

[ncol147]

I can't help with fibrosis but my bun had a severe lung infection when he was 2 and needed lots of care over a few weeks. My bun also was fast breathing like your little bunny. I can empathise with you as it is very scary when they are so poorly.

You say his poops are clumped together. Is he eating normal amounts still? You need to make sure he eats enough to prevent GI stasis as their gut can stop moving if they do not eat enough through the 24 hours. This is life threatening in rabbits. Are you aware of gut stasis? Sorry I only ask as I am not on here very much and so do not know regular forum users.

Have you tried searching for lung fibrosis within the forum? There may be posts on here about previous cases. I would help but am not too great at using this forum yet.

Sending you lots of vibes for your bunny. What is his name? ❤

It has been a while, so I thought I would give an update, Benji had been quite up and down but we thought he seemed okay through December, the idea of putting him down wasn't in the discussion; mid-late dec his terbutaline was all finished and my mum went into surgery so ordering more never happened although we aren't convinced it made a huge difference. In London, it reached -4 degrees, and although rabbits can survive in colder temperatures Benji passed away on Saturday morning as I found him lying just inside his hutch at the entrance. I'm very heartbroken as I never really expected to find him passed away, and I don't think it's fully hit me he's not coming back but I feel so sick just reading what I've written. Hopefully, I can upload a photo as he was such a sweet little rabbit and so cute. We think ladies a bit depressed as she has been avoiding the hutch (which is a double-decker) and we aren't sure if it's because she saw where Benji was lying. We contacted the breeder we got him from and told her the news but she has 2 more boys who are around 7 months old that we could have I want both because although they don't live together I'd feel awful leaving one behind as I've grown attached just through pictures of them but I know it might be hard to bond 3 rabbits all together and I'm not sure if two will bully the other. Lady is very dominant so I don't think they could bully her but I just need some advice as I want to give the best life possible to my future rabbit/rabbits because Benji never got an easy pain free life. RIP baby Benji

(im going to copy and paste this to respond to other people)

 

[ncol147]

You're doing well for your bunny and I hope the vet can get to the bottom of it. I know being the primary caregiver for a pet while you're a minor can be really difficult, you're clearly doing your best! I would definitely try to get the next appointment at a time when you can go, but if not I found that writing a list of questions/concerns and observations for the vet was helpful so my parents didn't forget anything, and you can always ask for a printout of all the vets suggestions and instructions for care. That helps avoid miscommunications. Don't be afraid to ask the vet about things, they may have a perfectly good reason for not recommending something, or they may have missing information. It's always better to ask, and a good vet will not be annoyed by this, on the contrary it shows your dedication to the care of your pet, which should be something they are passionate about!

Good luck and positive vibes for Benji!

It has been a while, so I thought I would give an update, Benji had been quite up and down but we thought he seemed okay through December, the idea of putting him down wasn't in the discussion; mid-late dec his terbutaline was all finished and my mum went into surgery so ordering more never happened although we aren't convinced it made a huge difference. In London, it reached -4 degrees, and although rabbits can survive in colder temperatures Benji passed away on Saturday morning as I found him lying just inside his hutch at the entrance. I'm very heartbroken as I never really expected to find him passed away, and I don't think it's fully hit me he's not coming back but I feel so sick just reading what I've written. Hopefully, I can upload a photo as he was such a sweet little rabbit and so cute. We think ladies a bit depressed as she has been avoiding the hutch (which is a double-decker) and we aren't sure if it's because she saw where Benji was lying. We contacted the breeder we got him from and told her the news but she has 2 more boys who are around 7 months old that we could have I want both because although they don't live together I'd feel awful leaving one behind as I've grown attached just through pictures of them but I know it might be hard to bond 3 rabbits all together and I'm not sure if two will bully the other. Lady is very dominant so I don't think they could bully her but I just need some advice as I want to give the best life possible to my future rabbit/rabbits because Benji never got an easy pain free life. RIP baby Benji

(im going to copy and paste this to respond to other people)

 

[ncol147]

Some antibiotics can affect the gut flora, which would then affect faecal output (ie abnormal poos).

Is he eating normally? ie the usual amounts of his usual diet?

I would go back to basics (assuming he's eating OK and maintaining his weight) - more hay, fewer pellets, cut out / down on treats.
A pre-biotic may also be useful - a search on here would give recommendations (I've not used any).
The overall aim would be to increase fibre intake and reset the gut flora.

If he's not maintaining his weight, I would look at top-up syringe feeds of one of the critical care powdered feeds.
Weigh him weekly to check that he is eating enough, and adjust his feeds appropriately. Hay should be readily available all the time, even if he's slow to eat it and needs top up feeds.

It has been a while, so I thought I would give an update, Benji had been quite up and down but we thought he seemed okay through December, the idea of putting him down wasn't in the discussion; mid-late dec his terbutaline was all finished and my mum went into surgery so ordering more never happened although we aren't convinced it made a huge difference. In London, it reached -4 degrees, and although rabbits can survive in colder temperatures Benji passed away on Saturday morning as I found him lying just inside his hutch at the entrance. I'm very heartbroken as I never really expected to find him passed away, and I don't think it's fully hit me he's not coming back but I feel so sick just reading what I've written. Hopefully, I can upload a photo as he was such a sweet little rabbit and so cute. We think ladies a bit depressed as she has been avoiding the hutch (which is a double-decker) and we aren't sure if it's because she saw where Benji was lying. We contacted the breeder we got him from and told her the news but she has 2 more boys who are around 7 months old that we could have I want both because although they don't live together I'd feel awful leaving one behind as I've grown attached just through pictures of them but I know it might be hard to bond 3 rabbits all together and I'm not sure if two will bully the other. Lady is very dominant so I don't think they could bully her but I just need some advice as I want to give the best life possible to my future rabbit/rabbits because Benji never got an easy pain free life. RIP baby Benji

(im going to copy and paste this to respond to other people)

 

[katbun]

It has been a while, so I thought I would give an update, Benji had been quite up and down but we thought he seemed okay through December, the idea of putting him down wasn't in the discussion; mid-late dec his terbutaline was all finished and my mum went into surgery so ordering more never happened although we aren't convinced it made a huge difference. In London, it reached -4 degrees, and although rabbits can survive in colder temperatures Benji passed away on Saturday morning as I found him lying just inside his hutch at the entrance. I'm very heartbroken as I never really expected to find him passed away, and I don't think it's fully hit me he's not coming back but I feel so sick just reading what I've written. Hopefully, I can upload a photo as he was such a sweet little rabbit and so cute. We think ladies a bit depressed as she has been avoiding the hutch (which is a double-decker) and we aren't sure if it's because she saw where Benji was lying. We contacted the breeder we got him from and told her the news but she has 2 more boys who are around 7 months old that we could have I want both because although they don't live together I'd feel awful leaving one behind as I've grown attached just through pictures of them but I know it might be hard to bond 3 rabbits all together and I'm not sure if two will bully the other. Lady is very dominant so I don't think they could bully her but I just need some advice as I want to give the best life possible to my future rabbit/rabbits because Benji never got an easy pain free life. RIP baby Benji

(im going to copy and paste this to respond to other people)

I'm so sorry for your loss. I've just recently lost my Joey very suddenly, I know exactly what you mean about not grasping that you've fully lost him. You did so much for him, I know that must have helped him feel more comfortable. Do keep a close eye on Lady, I can tell you from current experience that rabbits can go into gut stasis just from stress and grief, and you want to catch that early. Try to keep a close record of her eating and poos, and keep all her favourite foods on hand. Sending vibes for her. It may help you to know that although it's upsetting for us, it is thought to be very healthy for rabbits to see their companion's body, it helps them understand what happened.

I wish you luck finding a new friend for Lady, I'm embarking on the same journey myself. People on here have so much experience bonding, when you need support/advice on that just post.