advice about reporting a product

[caelei]

so on 5/8/20 my rabbit was sick. he is free roaming but generally stays in and around his home base. i woke up and he was hiding under a piece of furniture in the corner of the room and would not come out. when i tried to feed him he wouldn’t eat pellets, greens, or hay. he ate 2 blueberries when offered, but very very slowly, when he normally just eats them right up. he was also in discomfort and his expression and demeanor were wrong.

obviously i was concerned and in the afternoon he was seen by the vet. the vet did a checkup and said that rabbit looked fine and that he likely had a stomachache. still, the vet gave me liquid reglan to give the rabbit orally 2x a day. i gave the rabbit the reglan 2x daily from 5/8/20 to 5/10/20, and this morning 5/11/20 he seemed back to himself.

the strange thing, however, is that this all happened after i opened a new pack of oxbox adult rabbit pellets. in hindsight, the rabbit seemed to like these pellets less; he stopped going crazy for them. normally he LOVES pellets. at the time i thought it was strange, but didn’t think something might be wrong with the pellets. now i have to wonder.

the pellets don’t smell bad and don’t appear to be much different than any other oxbow pellets i’ve given him. but yesterday 5/10/20 i offered him some of the pellets and he sniffed them and walked away kicking his back feet.

it just seemed so strange to me and made me think that the pellets might be bad. right away i bought a new package of oxbow pellets and the rabbit ate them right up.

i’m still watching him for signs of another stomachache, because it’s only been three days since he was sick. i stopped the reglan this morning 5/11/20 because his litter box was back to normal and he absolutely HATES being given the medicine.

should i try to contact oxbow and report the product? i don’t know for certain it was the pellets, but it just seems like it was. the rabbit is smart, and putting everything together, it seems like he didn’t like those pellets from the start- though obviously not enough to stop eating them, until after he was sick.

i’m just afraid that if there is something wrong with the pellets, that other people’s rabbits might get sick too. but i do have anxiety, so it is possible i am jumping to conclusions / worrying over nothing.

thoughts?

[Bam]

Oxbow is generally great with consumer contact. You could email them about your worries.

It is however very likely that something else caused your bun’s tummy trouble. It could’ve been the start of a tummy ache that made him want his pellets less. Rabbits often go off pellets when they’re not feeling right.

What causes bunny tummy trouble could be many things  ranging from fairly innocent things such as temporary stress or a seasonal molt, to more serious issues like dental problems. Reglan is very good, it “kick starts” the tummy, and often that’s all that’s needed. Sometimes you have to treat for a somewhat longer period, though, but hopefully your bun will stay well now. Obviously keep a close eye on his eating and toiletting behaviours. For example, clean out his litter box often so you can keep track of amount, size and consistency of his poop. (It’s erfectly normal for bun owners to obsess about bunny poop! 😄).

You can help his tum by serving him water in a bowl as well if he’s normally using a bottle, and by serving him his greens freshly rinsed and wet for extra moisture (moisture is super important for the tummy). Also brush him often if he’s molting.

[caelei]

thanks for your reply!

because of covid-19 nobody was allowed to go into the vet’s office, so i wasn’t present when the rabbit was examined. however, i think the vet must have looked at his teeth, so i don’t think anything is wrong there. i haven’t noticed the rabbit shedding and i don’t know why he might be stressed. he’s generally a happy bun, and he was his normal self up until that morning- other than not wanting his pellets as much. but he was still running around and binkying up until the morning of 5/8/20.

i wasn’t sure how long to give him the reglan because there weren’t any instructions. the bottle didn’t say how long to give it, and i didn’t think to ask the vet when i was there. the rabbit really HATES being given the reglan; it really stresses him. do you have any advice for how long to give it if his stomachache returns? or should i continue giving it to him for a certain length of time, even if his stomachache is gone?

thanks!

 

[Bam]

Sometimes you can never identify an underlying cause, a bun can get a bit of gas, which is painful, it stops eating and needs a little help getting the tummy back on track. The earlier you intervene, the better. Underlying causes is sth you start looking more closely for if episodes like this won’t resolve with simple measures, of if they keep happening.

Reglan can be stopped when the tummy is working again. How often do you give him the Reglan? If its several times per day, you could start spacing it out more.

[caelei]

i gave it 2x a day. i stopped giving it to him when his stomach seemed back to normal- his litter box looked normal, and he was eating again. so i didn’t give it to him all of yesterday 5/11/20.

sorry if i’m doing the wrong thing 🙁

[Bam]

It’s not the wrong thing to do, quite the opposite. Reglan can be stopped short, tapering off should not be needed. 💚

[caelei]

thanks so much for answering my questions!

[Author]

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