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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Rabbit in pain, vet filling in doesn’t know rabbits

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    • Beth-28
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        Kairi broke a bottom front tooth on Sat. I took her to the vet on Monday and he clipped the one next to it so they would both grind against the top ones properly. He gave me Metacam for her pain. At first, I softened her kibble with water and she ate it. Now I don’t see her eating anything (except she still loves stuff like yogurt and treats, which are softer than kibble…and yummier). And I’m not seeing her poop. She never ate greens or hay before she broke the tooth, so I can’t tempt her with that.

        I know she’s in pain because her eyes are half-lidded, and she’s grinding her teeth. My vet is off til Monday, and the fill-in vet is new and knows nothing about rabbits. I’m panicking because she’s not eating and pooping. She can’t eat only yogurt until her teeth quit hurting, right? But if she doesn’t eat anything she’ll go into staisis. I even mixed the soft kibble with a little yogurt, but she wouldn’t eat it.

         

        Suggestions?


      • Sarita
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          Can you have the vet on duty call the rabbit experienced vet for advice? Perhaps she needs a stronger or different pain medication than the metacam. She may also needs sub-q fluids to hydrate her if she is not eating at all.

          I would not recommend yogurt though. Rabbits should not eat dairy. Does your vet carry Critical Care that you can syringe feed her?


        • Beth-28
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            I’ve called every local vet in our area. Only one other sees bunnies, and she’s off today! Augh!! I have no choice but to take her to Columbia (4 hour total round trip….not including time spent at the vet there). Hubby doesn’t understand the lenghts I go to for this rabbit (she’s at the vet for GI Staisis at least every 2-3 months), but I love her too much to let her suffer or die.

            She’s drinking just fine, but I just can’t get her to eat.


          • TH004
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              Force feed Critical Care. Call around to vets to see if someone has it to sell to you. My rabbit goes into Stasis a lot too, so we have learned a lot about prevention.
              1. Keep Critical Care on hand.
              2. Get baby gas liquid medicine. Ask your vet how much and how often you can give it to your buns. Mine I can give .3 to .5 ml/ 3 times a day. I do this as soon as he starts acting huffy. I know it is that he is feeling bad.
              3. Get the furiminator brush, sold at many online pet places. It gets tons of hair out! Brush regularly.
              4. When he is going into stasis, start feeding him pineapple fruit and juice.
              5. Put a little juice in his water to encourage more drinking. It helps get things moving.
              6. Feed lots of greens, especially kale, when sick (sprinkle water on top of greens). If he refuses to eat, try different greens that have smells to them, such as mint (which has soothing effects for the tummy) and parsley.
              7. Tummy rubs! This site explains it: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
              It is incredibly effective!! We get results overnight!
              8. Make sure your pellets are the highest possible in fiber and don’t have added sugars, with dried fruit, etc. I like Oxbow.
              9. Increase hay, try different kinds.
              10. Give him daily papaya vitamins, even when well.

              Good luck!! I know your pain all too well.


            • TH004
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                Sugar in treats can cause stasis too, so be careful with those. My vet, who is savvy with stasis, said no treats during times of nearing stasis. My rabbit thinks his papaya vitamins are treats, so he never feels deprived

                Make sure your vet gives him better pain meds and injects him with fluids. She can teach you how to do that at home too.


              • TH004
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                  My first rabbit died of Stasis, so I’ve had to learn the hard way with this. You can’t wait with this stuff. Do you need critical care? I have a bag and I can overnight ship it to you.


                • Sarita
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                    The above is good advice but I do think the main reason your rabbit isn’t eating is due to dental pain so critical care and some different pain meds will be most important. Pain can definitely cause a rabbit to stop eating.


                  • skunklionshow
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                      This all sounds correct to me…

                      Updates?

                      Usually the practice will contact the rabbit savy vet for advice, even when they are off.


                    • TH004
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                        You know, my doc told me before that if I’m ever in a bind and can’t get Critical Care, to crush up rabbit pellets and add water for consistency. Use a syringe to force feed your buns.


                      • Beth-28
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                          I had moistened up her pellets, and at first she ate them. Then she stopped completely. Took her to Cola. vet, he looked in her mouth and saw that the 1st left lower molar didn’t have an upper twin, and was poking her in the roof of her mouth when she tried to chew. He got her into surgery today (to get back there he had to sedate her), ground it and the 2 behind it down (they had sharp points). I get her home and let her out of her carrier, and somehow between leaving the carrier and going to her cage, she hurt her left rear leg/foot?!?! OMG! I dreaded the thought of turning right around back to Cola (4 hour round trip), so I called my local vet to see if they’d xray it. They said come on, so I did. After getting there, getting into a room, and waiting 30 minutes, we were told that the (new/fill in vet?) didn’t see rabbits. WTH? So (while being furious that my vet would employ someone who can’t/won’t see all their clients) I called the next local rabbit vet (a 40-45 minute drive there). Thank heavens they saw her, and said that her knee was popping out and she prob tore a ligament. This rabbit is trying to give me a heart attack!

                          I now have critical care, metacam, and reglan for her, and have been told to keep her in her cage (for 2 months??) so her leg/ligament can heal. No binkys or jumping. She hasn’t binkied in a long time, and I’m doing all I know what to do for her. 3 vets offices in one day, and close to 400.00 dollars for 4 visits in less than a week.

                          What am I doing wrong here? Why can’t I get her healthy? Her bonded mate has the constitution of an ox! But her digestive health is so fragile, and she refuses any type of hay or greens that I offer to them. He’ll eat it, but she won’t touch it. I’ve tried 6-7 different types of hay, some of them bought from this site.

                          And the stress she’s gone through today from surgery/driving/driving//driving/new injury/more driving/more pain, I’m terrified I’ll wake up (assuming I can get to sleep at all…I didn’t sleep last night even with 2 ambiens) and she’ll be dead!

                          I’ve been in tears half the day because she’s so delicate on good days, that a day like today might kill her.

                          Can anyone tell me something that will ease my mind? Please?


                        • Beth-28
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                            Oh, and she’s on the Oxbow pellets, and she loves papaya but the local stores only get it sporadically, and she won’t touch the dried papaya or tablets. She won’t eat pineapple, but loves bananas. She’s so picky, TH004, that I’m really at my wits end with her. I bought the “Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents Clinical Medicine and Surgery” book, the Rabbits for Dummies, have read the bio.Miami site front and back. She literally gets staisis about every 2 months, and I know that her not eating hay at all has alot to do with it, but how do I force feed hay?


                          • Dee
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                              Wow, TH004, our bunnies are twins- same white nose even!

                              Beth,I did what TH004 recommended last time Bun was ill and I didn’t have Critical Care. Didn’t even need to crush pellets- I added hot water to them which instantly turns them to mush. Then, to cool down the mix, you can add cooler water or unsweetened apple juice. I also added 100% pure canned pumpkin- learned about it on here. It’s very nutritious and most bunnies like it! My BunBun hates to be syringe fed, but it’s saved his little life a couple times now, so I feel more confident doing it now.
                              Sounds like the pain issue really needs to be addressed- I know it’s very frustrating when your bunny is sick and experienced bunny vets aren’t available. But at least you can keep Kairi from going into stasis hopefully by syringe feeding. Good luck- I hope she feels better soon!


                            • Sarita
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                                I think the problem is her teeth based on what the vet said. And that is normally an issue that is related to maloclussion and there is not much other than regular dental trims. That is a genetic problem and not a diet problem so there is nothing diet wise you can do – maybe encourage hay eating but that most of the time does not clear up dental problems.

                                Papaya tablets, brushing, etc…those won’t help an underlying dental problem.

                                 Healing vibes to your little bunny.


                              • Beth-28
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                                  And how much critical care can I force feed her? She’s about 5.5 lbs ( a Dutch bunny) . Thanks to all of you for any advice/help, and thank you for letting me vent and for understanding how I’m feeling. My family tolerates me about her, but they don’t truly have the depth of feeling I have for her (trust me, they’ve told me in no uncertain terms that only for the love of me, do they humor me about the extent I go through to care for her).


                                • Beth-28
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                                    Dee, most rabbits do love pumpkin, but not my rabbit. I have tried that several times, tried baby food, tried pineapple juice(she used to have an issue with not drinking enough….now she loves water thank goodness or else that would be another compounding issue. 🙂


                                  • Sarita
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                                      I usually feed my rabbits critical care as long as they will take it.


                                    • TH004
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                                        I have these small bowls, that for people, is used for like a pudding dessert. I fill that with Critical Care (including the water to make it a paste) and force the whole thing throughout the day. That is me though. I would ask a vet how much to do.

                                        As for the papaya vitamins… my first buns wouldn’t take them either at first. So, I rubbed them in a fruit she loved to get the taste/smell. Try that with bananas to see if you can get her eating them. Eventually, my buns took them without the added flavor!

                                        I agree this is a dental problem, but if she goes into stasis every other month then you need to treat that too (pain can cause stasis). Keeping up on the dental issues and pain may prevent the stasis, if that is the underlying problem. I cannot stress belly rubs enough. Are you doing that?

                                        Don’t give up on hay!! I have still not forgiven myself for giving up on hay with my first buns, who passed due to stasis. I refused to give up with this buns. My rabbit now won’t eat hay from certain stores — it isn’t fresh enough. He will only eat Oxbow hay. He will only eat botanical or orchard grass. If a bag is open for a while, he will no longer eat it. It’s annoying, but I have learned! Also, he eats more hay in the litterbox. It’s more convenient for him

                                        Use veggies that are high in fiber always, but especially while you try to learn the right hay. Add water on top of the veggies (more water intake = less constipation). Kale is my favorite to use. I also use mint– it helps calm the tummy. You can google various veggies to get the fiber content. Stasis may make your buns not like any food… she feels very sick. So, the trial and error may have to wait until she feels better.

                                        Hang in there!!!


                                      • Beth-28
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                                          Thanks! I will get hubby to rub her belly, she likes him better. I don’t know if I can handle it if she passes away. This is too stressful!


                                        • BinkyBunny
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                                            Regarding the critical care dosage – here is the Oxbow link with dosage 

                                            And here are instructions on how to feed it safely — http://www.mybunny.org/info/gi_stasis.htm (just scroll down to syringe feeding)

                                              You have done an AMAZING job to make sure your bunny is taken care of.  What luck for her to hurt her leg after all of that!

                                            We fully get the depth of care you have and give – so even if some of your family members may not fully understand….we do! 

                                            Try not to worry — I know that’s impossible.  But you have done so well.  She is in great hands and now she will just need time to heal and things will get better.     So get the rest you need and try and take a deep breath.   

                                            Sending healing vibes for your bunny, and big hugs and sleep/rest vibes to you!


                                          • Beth-28
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                                              I wanted to give ya’ll an update on Kairi (that’s her in the avatar). I offered her some kale today, not really thinking she’d touch it (she hasn’t eaten it for at least 2 years) and she ate some of it! OMG, I was so surprised and happy! A little later, I offered her some slald greens (romaine and other lettuces, no iceberg) and she nibbled on it too. Yay!! She hasn’t touched anything like that in so long. Hopefully after she gets back on more solid food, she may try hay. I hope so.

                                              Thanks everyone!


                                            • TH004
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                                                Yay!! Sounds like she is starting to feel a little better. Know that you are doing everything you can and that she is appreciating that you are making her feel better. Keep us updated!

                                                ((healing vibes))


                                              • BinkyBunny
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                                                  Yay! Good news!

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                                              Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Rabbit in pain, vet filling in doesn’t know rabbits