aspirin for rabbits

[bunnytowne]

I had a previous post on an emergency that Loopy broke his leg.

Someone said something about giving buns aspirin.    Yes we can there is a good website called Medirabbit.com I had hit bone damage or something and found broken bones section and aspirin can be given to treat. Also the vet was ok with me having given Loopy some aspirin. She treats buns.

I am not sure but I think I read somewhere that ibuprofen is not to be given to buns. I checked the website b4 I gave him any. I didn’t know what to give tylenol aspirin ibuprofen. I had to find out poor thing was in pain.

I find Medirabbit.com a little easier to navigate than etherbun in certain situations.

I am just replying cause someone had asked as most of us don’t know that. I certainly didn’t. Of course don’t overdose them. I just gave Loopy 1 at nite and 1 in the morning since he was going to be traveling to the humane society to try and get treatment.  I thought they would treat him and send him home with us.  They only treat if I adopted him that way I didn’t know that.

Well anyhoo things work out for a reason. Loopy is in good hands.

[MarkBun]

There is no major difference between the use of Aspirin or Ibuprophen for bunnies. Some prefer Aspirin because it was originally made from Willow Bark and seems more natural. However, both come with a high risk of toxicity events such as ulcers. Aspirin will thin the blood a bit more so if your bun has recently had surgery, you should not use it.

Again, NO MEDICATION should be given without a vet’s discussion first. Most deaths occurr because the owner didn’t know what would be a toxic dosage for a bun.

Now, with all of that said, if my bun was in great pain and I couldn’t get to a vet, I would find someway to find out what a good dosage would be for the bun and give them either of the meds.

[MimzMum]

If you are not sure of dosages and there’s no vet to be found, is it okay to wrap a bun who’s in pain in some kind of warm or cold towel depending on the injury and just holding the bun for comfort? I have terrible back problems lately and I find that if I can just get some heat or cold on the right place, it does a world of good.
Also, lavender is used in sachets for soothing and inducing a tranquil state…does anyone know if this would work for a bun? (as long as one made sure the bun did not consume the lavender, of course)
I know Tylenol is toxic for dogs and cats…so I can imagine it is not indicated for usage in rabbits. Heck it doesn’t even touch pain in most humans, it’s a wonder it is used at all anymore, regardless of it’s non-irritational properties in the stomach.

[bunnytowne]

Well hopefully none of us will need to treat our bun alone again. I truly do not know the correct dosage for a bun. Fortunately Loopy made it ok.

Ahh back pain yes yuck. I can definitely relate.

[Binkles]

Mimz -yes. Hold. Hold. HOLD. If you can get the weight off of whatever it is that’s paining them or relieve it with heat/ cold in some way, DO IT. You’ll probably find that your bun will realize that whatever you’re doing to relieve the pain while your holding it makes the pain less, and will probably welcome it.

…in my last few hours with Binkles, I began holding her in such a way that there was no weight on her forelegs by resting her upper body/ head on my arms. She had NEVER rested her head on ANYTHING before -rarely even when she was sprawled out- but after I put her back in her cage, she was resting her head on things. She knew. I taught her. And she took the idea to use herself.

Most buns know that their human slaves are there to help them, and especially when their pain is alleviated by something we do, they cooperate.

[Scarlet_Rose]

I agree 100% with Markusdark.  NO medication human or otherwise should be given to your rabbit without direction from a rabbit savvy vet.  There are few exceptions though like Osprey and the like who do a great deal of rabbit-rescue work and know how to properly administer medication specifically for a rabbit.

Aspirin is not a safe thing to use, nor is Advil, Tylenol and so on.  Even if  they are O.K. (and I am not saying that they are) to give to a rabbit, the dose can be very tricky and is best left up to an expert as different brands have different formulations that work in different ways.

Please read here:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=31&A=552&S=0

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=T&C=31&S=0

http://www.rabbit.org/health/pain.html

Dosing a rabbit yourself with what seems to be “safe” medicine I liken to a roulette wheel, you may be fortunate and “luck out” with it being O.K. and other times, you are not so lucky and end up hurting the animal more.

This is a good site to check out too:

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html

 

[Binkles]

..point being, sometimes it’s a life-and-death case because of the pain. Under which circumstances, giving the pain killer can’t possibly do any harm.

[BinkyBunny]

That’s why I also think it is important to have a list of emergency vets to call. I have two recommended from my own rabbit-savvy vet. I also called the emergency vets to talk to them about their “rabbit-savviness” The closest one did specify to call first as they don’t always have a rabbit savvy vet on staff. I have their phone numbers AND a map and driving directions on how to get there in the emergency kit. I don’t want to take time “googling” maps and directions in an emergency.

So if you ever do get into a situation where you feel it’s life or death, at least IF you have a place to go, you may not have to make these choices.

I do still need to talk to my own vet about the aspirin thing.

[Beka27]

there was another member that posted within the past month or so (i’m sorry but i don’t recall who right now) and she received two meds from an emergency vet, but was not given instructions to give them separetely. she gave them together and it resulted in a fatal outcome. medicine, human or animal, is never 100%. but trying to treat yourself is far more likely to fail, or result in the bunny (or cat, dog, lizard, bird, etc) not making it thru. i would hate to think that something i did, or did not do, resulted in my bunny dying. it’s always better to take them to the vet. form a goos relationship with your vet from day one, and keep ER info, so if/when an emergency arises, you know what needs to be done.

[Sarita]

well in the case of a possible broken bone and pain I think any emergency vet who can get your rabbit stabilized is the best thing. Basically that is all they might do until you can get your rabbit to your regular vet. I’ve been lucky to have quite a few emergency vets I feel comfortable using in case of emergencies.

[bunnytowne]

these are all good points. good input.

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