Help- Vet hasn't called back!!

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 12sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 11 months ago by Daisy1029.

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- 07/04/2009 at 5:32 AM
  Daisy1029
  Participant
  77 posts
  First off I have called my vet but since it’s a holiday her office is closed so I left an emergency message on her ‘exotics’ line and have not received a call back.
  
  Problem-
  
  I got up this morning to find Benjamin, trembling slightly in his cage. Then I swear I heard tummy gurgling noises. I laid on the floor for a while next to his cage trying to figure out if the noises were coming from him or me. After a hour my husband and I believe they are coming from him. We let him out of his ‘nighttime’ cage and into his condo. He is now in there laying down (though shifting around a lot as if he is not comfortable) and if we get near the condo he moves to another place farther from us. This is not like my little boy. He has also not eaten anything this morning, though he has peed and pooped.
  
  Basically, what I want to know is…. can Benjamin’s tummy really make those gurgling noises? is that fact that I think it is a very bad thing? how can I calm him down so he is not trembling so much? The trembling is breaking my heart!
  
  I am hoping that the vet calls back very soon even though it is a holiday.
- 07/04/2009 at 5:54 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  From what you describe, it sounds like he’s suffering from a gas episode. Normally, you should be able to hear stomach sounds but if they are quite loud, it could be gas – also his shifting around alot indicates this. You can give him a tummy massage if he allows it or give simethicone (infant formula) 1 ml every hour for first 3hrs then 1ml per 3-8hrs after.
  
  There is more detail on this under Mechanical Treatments in this article
  
  http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
  
  Hope he feels better soon!
- 07/04/2009 at 7:47 AM
  Daisy1029
  Participant
  77 posts
  Thanks JerseyGirl. We tried it and he did stop shaking for a while. I think it helped some.
  
  The vet has called and I am taking him in for x-rays. She thinks it is major gas buildup and wants to check him out.
  
  I will post an update when I have one.
- 07/04/2009 at 2:23 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  Jersey, thanks for giving the good advice to Daisy while she waited for the vet. It sounded like bad gas to me, too.
  
  Keep us posted, Daisy, on how he is. (I worked today so didn’t read this until now. )
  
  {{{{{{{{{{Healing vibes for Benjamin}}}}}}
- 07/04/2009 at 6:00 PM
  Daisy1029
  Participant
  77 posts
  Okay now that I am home…. He went to the vet and he has a mass of gas in his tummy which is causing discomfort and has caused his digestive system to sort of shut down. He was given iv fluids to get things ‘moving’ again as well as a laxative and other medicine (cisapire & baytril) to get his system going. He is doing well but very tired. We also have to force feed water to him and critical care for the next couple of days to ensure he gets plenty of fluids. At least he got to come home with us and she didn’t have to keep him at the clinic, which she told me on phone was a good possiblity. Since he was allowed to come home and we had to give him water every couple of hours as well as meds and critical care, we has to take him to my parent’s house for my Daddy’s birthday party (he is a July 4th baby). I do think he liked this because he usually stays home by himself and he got to see his Grammy and Grampy.
  
  He is showing some progress. His pooping has slowed but is picking up again. His tummy is not gurgling anymore and he is starting to be more active again (eventhough he is still pretty tired as well). Now he hasn’t eaten much hay yet but since he is on critical care it should be okay (vet said). Hopefully once he gets even more comfortable now that we’re home, he will start eating more hay.
  
  Thanks for the vibes. I really believe they helped. This forum is great. Jersey thanks again for the massage info. We tried it before we went to vet and he seemed to be comfortable with it and the vet even told us to continue doing it. Thanks so much for sharing. You all are awesome and I am SO VERY HAPPY to have found this forum and website. It is an amazing resource.
- 07/04/2009 at 7:42 PM
  Deb'sBuns
  Participant
  160 posts
  I’m so very glad he’s better.
- 07/04/2009 at 8:52 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  Ditto, glad to hear he’s improving……….and going off to a party – lol. So the massage gave him some relief? I usually know it’s definately gas when Jeresy allows me to massage her tummy, whereas this would be near impossible if she was feeling fine. Gas is thought to be a pre cursor to GI stasis so we should be careful not to write it off as “just a bit of gas”. Did Benjamin eat anything prior to this that may have given him gas? Did the mass show up in the x-ray?
- 07/05/2009 at 2:42 AM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  I’m glad you got him to the vet. Your vet sounds very good, which is good to hear as well.
  
  It’s nice that you both have family around, which will distract him since he seems to like the company.
  (Maybe he snuck a piece of birthday cake and got tummy trouble? I’m just kidding.)
  So glad he’s gotten good meds and procedures. {{{{{{{{{{{{Get well soon, Benjamin}}}}}}}}}}}
- 07/05/2009 at 6:40 AM
  Daisy1029
  Participant
  77 posts
  Jersey, we told the vet what he had eaten lately and she said it was fine but that he probably was not drinking enough water. The limited water intake probably caused the gas. We could see a mass in the x-ray which she said would come out once it ‘soften’ up which is why he got iv fluids and we have to syringe feed him water every couple of hours.
  
  He is definitely getting his activity and personality back today. We can tell because he fought us this morning and didn’t want us to hold him. Yesterday it was very easy to scoop him up to give him with meds and such. Today, his fighting spirit is back so we are going to have a fun day. I do take this to mean he must not be in pain today.
  
  I am a bit concerned still because he did not drink any water on his own overnight. We are going to try to increase what we syringe feed him today and if he does not drink on his own by this afternoon I am calling the vet back.
- 07/05/2009 at 6:55 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  It would make sense that he might not be drinking as much if you are syringe feeding him – he probably feels full that at the mass. You need to keep up the cisapride which is a motility drug – the mass is a result of the gut slowing down.
- 07/05/2009 at 7:13 AM
  Daisy1029
  Participant
  77 posts
  We have a few days worth of cisapride and have been making sure he gets it right on time (3 x a day). He has been pooping more overnight and today.
  
  I never would have thought that he wasn’t drinking due to the syringe feeding. Thanks Sarita. That’s makes me feel a lot better.
- 07/05/2009 at 8:22 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Pooping is a very good sign! You may want to continue the cisapride still for a few more days after he is back to his full capacity – see if the vet will refill it for you. Best to keep the gut going.
- 07/05/2009 at 7:40 PM
  Daisy1029
  Participant
  77 posts
  update- My husband just caught him taking a nice long drink from his water bottle (he has a bottle and a bowl). He has also continuing pooping like normal as well as being pee to more frequently. He also didn’t fight us to take his evening medicine. He was a good boy and gave us very little trouble.
  
  He also ventured out of his condo a couple of times today and even jumped the hall gate to explore the bedroom for a while. All in all I would say he is feeling much better.
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