Weight loss and small poo

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 15sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 1 month ago by Sarita.

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- 03/30/2014 at 1:15 PM
  rhianna
  Participant
  37 posts
  I’m pretty worried about Bear right now and can’t get into the vet until tomorrow. I suspect that he might have a GI problem, but I’d like to know what others think about it. His symptoms:
  - Over the past week or so, his poos have changed from normal to being small and hard. There are also less of them than usual.
  - The other day after feeding him veggies, his stomach started making loud gurgling sounds. He didn’t seem to notice or care at all but I gave him a small dose of children’s gas relief and it made the sound go away. This repeated the next day but hasn’t happened again since then.
  - He has been drinking slightly less than normal over the past few days, however he hasn’t completely stopped drinking. I’m just having to refill the bowl a bit less often than normal.
  - He’s losing weight. I first noticed yesterday that he just visibly appears skinnier than before, and his bones feel slightly sharp. A month ago and forever before that he was a steady 3 pounds, 4-6 ounces. I weighed him yesterday and he was at 2 pounds, 7.2 ounces. Today he’s at 2 pounds 6.3 ounces. This is the main reason for my concern.
  The thing that’s stunned me is that he’s completely fine otherwise. He’s hopping around like crazy per usual, and he has shown absolutely no signs of pain, even when his stomach was making strange noises. He’s also eating pretty much normally. He might seem a little less interested in his pellets today or that might just be me being paranoid. Overall his appetite has not diminished at all.
  
  I’ve called the vet and left a message (they’re closed today) but I’ll be calling the second they open tomorrow morning. I really hope it’s nothing serious but of course I’ll be completely willing to pay for treatment no matter what. Any ideas on what the problem is would be extremely helpful.
- 03/30/2014 at 3:55 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  It could be a number of things – how old is he? It is possible it is dental problems but I’m just putting that out there because like I said, it could just be so many things. A check up by the vet is the best idea at this point.
- 03/30/2014 at 4:20 PM
  rhianna
  Participant
  37 posts
  He’s only about a year and a half old. It’s possible that it’s dental problems (of course I’m hoping for something that simple) but like I said he’s eating normally, so that likely isn’t the problem.
- 03/30/2014 at 4:57 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Even rabbits with dental problems might eat normally…it’s unlikely it could be that at his age though (but it’s possible).
- 03/30/2014 at 5:17 PM
  rhianna
  Participant
  37 posts
  Really? I thought that dental problems would make it difficult for him to eat normally. It’s possible that his back molars could be a bit overgrown, though, because he’s very fussy about eating his hay. I’ll definitely bring up that idea to the vet.
- 03/31/2014 at 11:32 AM
  rhianna
  Participant
  37 posts
  I brought Bear to the vet this morning. She checked his teeth with a scope and had a little bit of trouble, but she said nothing really stood out. She said that it’s probably related to him not eating hay very much and recommended a place where I can get a great quality hay that most bunnies seem to like.
  
  She gave him some fluids through an IV; he’s not exactly dehydrated, but he was getting close to that point. She told me to give him pedialyte as well as critical care and he’s scheduled to go back in 3 weeks. She took a stool sample and said she’ll call me when they get the results.
  
  I gave Bear his first round of critical care just over an hour ago, and he’s already been back to normal round poops rather than the small dry ones he’d been leaving.
  
  I’m wondering if I should use the pedialyte instead of water for the critical care, or if I should be doing them separately?
- 04/02/2014 at 10:40 AM
  rhianna
  Participant
  37 posts
  Sorry to revive this topic again but Bear is showing another sort of symptom today. I gave him his absolute favorite treat (he doesn’t get it very often, don’t worry) and he was really excited to get the treat, but he wouldn’t bite into it. He was sort of softly gnawing at it. I know that this points toward dental problems, but he’s trying to bit it with his incisors, which are perfectly healthy. I’ll attach a photo of his incisors:
  
  And here’s a video to show him trying to eat the treat:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YowyMNC8Zqs&feature=youtu.be
- 04/02/2014 at 10:46 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Well it may be a good idea for the vet to sedate him and take a very thorough look at the teeth.
- 04/02/2014 at 11:07 AM
  rhianna
  Participant
  37 posts
  I think I may have to do that. I hope it’s okay if I wait a couple of days though, because his visit the other day was just over $100 and I have to get the money to bring him in again.
  
  Also the photo didn’t upload before, but here’s a link to it: http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/rhiannagerbils/media/teeth_zps32ce8bbe.jpg.html
- 04/02/2014 at 11:10 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  It should be and if it’s the molars that are the problems it can be very difficult even with an otoscope to see those very back molars.
  
  My rabbit Bobby has dental problems – get’s his teeth trimmed every 2 or 2.5 months and I don’t see much of a change in his eating habits – I do know that he has to get his teeth trimmed regularly though – he has not lower left molars and came to me with a severe abscess.
  
  I’ve had many rabbits though with dental problems and sometimes the change in habits (eating or otherwise) is either no change or a very subtle change.
- 04/02/2014 at 11:25 AM
  rhianna
  Participant
  37 posts
  The vet did look with a scope the other day but she said nothing stood out, so she didn’t want to sedate him for a better look just yet. I think that could really be the problem though since he hasn’t really been eating his hay to get his teeth down. He’s actually still gnawing at this treat right now so I can tell he’s definitely having trouble eating it.
  
  Do you know how much the sedation might cost? I’m in New York so everything’s really expensive here. I feel bad not being able to just bring him right in but money isn’t exactly easy to come across. I found one source online that said sedation alone can cost up to $200 which just seems ridiculous.
- 04/02/2014 at 11:50 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Usually the full cost for Bobby’s dental trim is around $200 – that includes pain meds, the trim, the sedation. My vet is not cheap either. I’m certain I could find a cheaper vet but my vet is good and she knows Bobby’s situation.
  
  I do think though the best thing to do is to call your vet’s office for an estimate – that’s truly the only way to know exactly or approximately what your vet charges otherwise you are going on a wild goose chase asking around.
- 04/02/2014 at 12:08 PM
  rhianna
  Participant
  37 posts
  If it comes to $200 for the full treatment then I could handle that. I’m just afraid of it being something like $200 for the sedation, then another $100 for pain meds, another $50 for the trim, not to mention the examination beforehand.
  
  I’m going to call when I’m ready to make an appointment which will probably be this weekend sometime.
- 04/02/2014 at 2:48 PM
  manic_muncher
  Participant
  1061 posts
  Maybe ask if you can pay X-amount and make payments on the balance. I know times are super tough, and the vet would know this too, and may be seeing a cut in elective procedures in their practice. I really can’t imagine a vet not working with you, especially when you consider it’s not something you want to keep waiting too long on.
- 04/02/2014 at 3:31 PM
  rhianna
  Participant
  37 posts
  That’s a good idea. I decided to call for a quote earlier and the vet was out at a meeting so the receptionist is going to call me back when the doctor is back. When I know how much it costs, I might ask to do something like that if it’s too expensive. My mom’s also offered to help pay a small amount which will be very helpful; of course I don’t want to take my mom’s money if I don’t have to, though.
- 04/04/2014 at 7:34 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  I found my receipt for Bobby’s latest trim – here’s a breakdown…follow up exam – $34.50 – Small Mammal Teeth Trim – $65.00 – Buprenorphine (pain meds) – $22.14 – Sevoflurane Anesthesia – $67.40 – total $189.04.
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