Mimzy refused his probiotic

[MimzMum]

I guess he’s wise to me sprinkling it on a piece of banana now. Either that or he’s decided he doesn’t want the banana.

So I don’t think he even got half of it (half a capsule every day is the dose), should I mix another half in some water and syringe it into him?

[RabbitPam]

did anyone answer you elsewhere about this?
If not, I’m thinking that the syringe is worth a try. Have you done it yet?
Any risk of diluting its efficacy if it’s mixed with water?

[MimzMum]

No, we just went with what he had in his system last night. He did surprisingly well, but I also gave him some simethicone since he was feeling a little firm and he left some lovely rabbit raisins this morning and ate well during the night. So I was relieved.
I’m not letting it go past one more day without it…too much risk of his tummy losing all it’s flora. And I won’t use a lot of water, just enough to make it fluid to go in the syringe.
Actually, I wonder if it would be okay to put in his dose of simethicone? That way we eliminate one nasty medicine feeding.

We’re only halfway through the round of antibiotics and he is so sick of stuff being squirted in his mouth…ENOUGH ALREADY he says. lolz….

[Barbie]

Awww Mimzy! What a stinker! I can’t blame him though. I hate medicine! I can’t offer any suggestions for how to handle that but… Good luck!!!! (((vibes!)))

[MimzMum]

Well, we got it in him today, but..I think I could’ve used less water. >.< I think I refilled the syringe 5 times at least. I thought I only added about a tablespoon at the most. ~_~ But he drank it down like a good boy.
It’s a little 0.2-1.0 ml syringe, but yeah…he was getting tired of it by the time we stopped.
A little simethicone went down as well, his tummy still feels all ballooned up to me and he was thumping like he usually does when his tummy hurts.
Plus we had more snuggles. ^_^ Too bad I can’t let him free roam at present, I think he’d be the best sleep aid I could take. I start petting him and my eyelids close automatically. Which scares me because God forbid I fall asleep with him loose and he gets into something he shouldn’t. (Which we know all bunnies do!)

EDITED TO ADD: You know, it just occured to me that 5 x1 ml syringes of water might have not been a good idea, seeing as bunny’s tummy was already pretty full of what felt like gas. Did I do wrong? He seems okay at the moment, but I don’t think we’ll go this route again anyhow.

[BinkyBunny]

I’ve gotten to this section in the forum later tonight — sorry for the delay. I hope he’s feeling better by the time you read this post again.

Having fluid/water should not hurt him, most of the time fluid is helpful with digestion, but honestly, I don’t know what’s really going on with him with his extended stomach, so i really don’t know for sure. If he does have gas, exercise can sometimes help. Is there anywhere where he can run around a bit – even for just 30 minutes – hour?

[RabbitPam]

Hi, MM,
I think you’re over-analyzing his responses and your administrations because you’ve been through so much lately – losing your beloved dogs, and Shimmer – and are just really, really worried about Mimzy.

As a friend who loves you, may I ask you to step back, administer the meds as instructed originally by the vet, leave him alone to let it take effect, feed him on schedule, and give him some exercise? I don’t mean to sound like I am dismissing your questions, but I think it’s your own stress talking and he is actually getting better. Your vet may have now pinpointed the chronic problem he’s had (nose and respiratory) and too many changes one after another don’t allow you to ascertain whether the latest change helped or not. As you know with ongoing illness, it just takes so much longer to get better than you want it to. And he is probably better, just not totally well yet.

Try this: administer the meds, don’t look back. Don’t second guess. Give him snuggles and pets, or let him run around (he’ll tell you his preference), then stop and go play with Pip, Fiver, and Hello Kitty. Read a book. (I can recommend some excellent mysteries.) Try to stop the cycle of dwelling. I think it will help your anxiety, and you will find if you ignore the minutia for a few days, you will see improvement later in the week.
Yes? *Hugs*

[MimzMum]

Thanks very much, BB & Pam. Yes, he was fine last night. Yes I am worrying too much. But Mimzy is intensely important to me, being my ‘first’ bunny and all. I just want to be sure I’m not making things worse…so I probably am. lolz…

Anyway, he did eat well last night…tried out a little bit of the rye hay from one of the free gifts last night, BB…BOY did he like that! ^_^ Also he’s starting to beg for him timothy treats again, which is an excellent sign. He wouldn’t be able to chew those if his teeth were still bothering him. I still get a few sneezes, but there’s no sign so far of the old, huge goobers he was putting out, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed! ^_^

Mimzy does get time out to ‘go whee’ as Fiver and I call it. And you should’ve seen the tussle we had today with his Pen-G shot dripping again (groan!) and my subsequent attempts at getting him to hold still long enough to thoroughly wash and dry his back. Oy. No matter what we do, this isn’t going as well as our first round of injections back in August 09. I kept one of the syringes and hopefully hubby will remember to bring home an orange I can practice on…I’m going to have to take over. *shudders*

As far as me taking a little time to ‘chill’, my boy came home for the weekend and we discussed our strategies for the upcoming Pokemon VGC (sounds like it’s going to be a tough one to get past the prelims, btw) and we watched that Tim Burton movie, “9” (the animated one about the little gunnysack dolls, not the bordello one!), but he had events to attend today and just as they left to return to the college, it starts snowing, bigtime! >.< Our car is not up to snuff right now, so I'm praying they make it there and hubby makes it back safely.

Me? I LAUGH in the face of danger! HAHAHAHA! ~_~

But yeah, I think Mimz may be over the hump. If we can just manage to get the meds into him the right way, we should be fine.

[RabbitPam]

[jerseygirl]

ditto “”
He probably picks up on your worrying too. Not worrying though….easier said than done!!

On the pen-G I have no experience. Only things I can suggest is from what I saw on velveteen lop channel on sub q fluids/
Needle inserted bevel side up. Fluid might leak if 1) have peirce skin on other side or 2) needle not in far enough.
Did letting it sit after for a bit before taking out needle help?

[MimzMum]

Yeah, Jerz, we did leave the needle in for a moment this time and at first when we removed it it seemed we had it sussed. Then I pull my hand back from Mimzy and there’s some on my hand and on his back. we even tried not pulling the skin so tight this time. It’s a good thing I check him thoroughly afterward, or I might have missed it. 0_o
So bevel up or down? This makes a difference?
I’d like to know if there’s a better way to get it washed off too, rather than just warm water and cloth. It seems to pill the fur and I can never tell if I’ve gotten all the Pen-G. Perhaps I should just dab it at first with a tissue and see if it soaks up into that and then wash…would weak dishsoap or even vinegar/water be okay?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Awww Mimz! Just finally saw this. *HUGS* {{{Mimzy}}} I know that-trying not to worry-then your worrying about not worrying I think just distraction or meditation is the best route. And sounds like he’s feeling even better

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By MimzMum on 02/07/2010 07:35 PM

I’d like to know if there’s a better way to get it washed off too, rather than just warm water and cloth. It seems to pill the fur and I can never tell if I’ve gotten all the Pen-G. Perhaps I should just dab it at first with a tissue and see if it soaks up into that and then wash…would weak dishsoap or even vinegar/water be okay?

I really do think that just taking a wet washcloth and rubbing the fur between your fingers with the washcloth) will be fine.  You can have a little cup of water with a wash cloth next to Mimz and that way you can dip the half of a wash cloth in as you continue to clean and then use the other half (dry) of the wash cloth to just dry off the fur.   I don’t think vinegar would be good to clean the fur due to it’s acidic nature.   (more irritating to skin and eyes I would suspect).  Plus, I just don’t think that the vinegar is going to do any better with getting out the pen-g than just plain water. 

if you are still worried about, it would be better to just get a pet safe gentle soap. But tomorrow, if you have any questions about it ask your vet if she recommends a particular soap if she thinks that just the water is not enough. 

 

[MimzMum]

I was thinking that too, BB. Mostly it’s that darned smell that gets me, I just never know if I’ve gotten it all. But for the most part, his fur seems nice and clean by the time it dries, and my guess is the penicillin doesn’t live very long once you dilute it (water) and it hits the open air.
I’d rather not use soap on him at all…I just wondered if I was supposed to be using it. If not, then that’s less for me to clean up.

Luckily the shots are only every 3 days and #5 is on the 10th. Then just the other two and we’re almost out of the other antibiotic, so…no more meds soon…YAY! (Well, unless doc says to continue the Reglan, which he doesn’t seem to mind as much.)

[BinkyBunny]

Yeah, almost done! I bet he will be happy and you will be happy when this is finally over! Hopefully his sneezing and other issues are better now. Hopefully he’s eating more now that his teeth are good as new.

[MimzMum]

He’s definitely eating better but we had another spill today. I’m pretty sure it must be going through since this one went down his back and onto the blanket. I spent hours making sure I didn’t miss any…even tried to wash his feet to be sure he hadn’t stepped in it. He was summarily furious with me afterwards.
I just don’t understand, we’ve tried every suggestion here. I actually called the doc today to see if we should just forget the last two shots, since we don’t seem to be getting enough of the medicine into him anyway. I didn’t hear back from her though. (My vet is on the Yukon Quest as team vet right now, so I’m dealing with a backup vet.)

[Lintini]

*hugs* for you MimzMum and *snuggles* to Mimzy. I hope everything clears up soon for you! My thoughts and prayers are with you. *bear hug raaawr!!*

[Author]

Messages