Bunny Won’t Eat after Antibiotics

[BunnyLady1]

I have a boy bunny who is less than a year and a half old.  Basically I took him in to vet #1 for what they said was an ear infection and a skin infection, where they cleaned him up and gave him a Convenia antibiotic shot.  He didn’t eat at all afterwards except a few nibbles, so Friday I took him to vet #2 who said that the problem was more than that….he had ear mites and a urinary tract infection, where they also gave him an antibiotic injection (knowing about the shot of Convenia he already had and saying the other antibiotic would be ok and necessary).  He seemed to be getting better activity wise and has been drinking water, but still won’t eat on his own and now it’s been a week of the same, with multiple overnight hospitalization stays to keep him force fed and going to the bathroom.  I’m at a total loss of what to do next.  He’s had blood work, X-rays and dental exams and nothing seems to be wrong.   I’ve read that probiotics can help, but he is currently at the emergency vet and they won’t do this treatment.  If anyone has any ideas or has been through something similar, I’d love any feedback….I am so worried about my little guy!

[Bam]

I’m sorry you are going through this. The main issue with Convenia is the possibility of dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, which is why probiotics could be beneficial. Probiotics are (still) considered more or less experimental and not a legitimate veterinary treatment for a very sick bun.

I hope you will get more answers. Has your rabbit had diarrhea? (diarrhea in rabbits is ample, watery/mucosy and, most importantly, not seen together with any round “normal” poop). Is he at home with you now?

Inappetence is a common side effect of antibiotics.

 

[BunnyLady1]

He has not had any diarrhea since this all started.  I did go visit him in the hospital last night, and was able to get the vet to give him the probiotics I brought with me (Bene Bac).  I also ordered a rabbit specific probiotic online that I plan to give him when I am able to take him home again.  The vet gave him something for nausea as well, which I believe was Cerenia or possibly a version of it.  When I called this morning to check on him, he had nibbled a little bit at his food, so I’m hoping we are finally starting to move in the right direction.  I would never let another one of my rabbits have Convenia ever again, since it seems like this is what may have caused him to stop eating.   🙁

[Bam]

I’m so glad to hear that your bun seems to be doing a bit better! Prebiotics won’t harm, the question is if they really help, which is why vets can be reluctant about giving them.

Bunny specific prebiotic as a rule contain saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is an important yeast that’s active in the rabbit gut.

Fingers so crossed for your little boy!

[BunnyLady1]

Thank you so much!  I’m really hoping that the little bit of good news this morning means that he is on his way to recovery.  🙂

[DanaNM]

My suspicion is that he needs supportive gut care and pain management while he recovers from all the antibiotics. Are all of the vets you saw rabbit savvy? Sometimes non-rabbit vets will push antibiotics for things that make matters worse.

It sounds like you have had some positive signs lately though, so I would just keep up the supportive care (fluids, syringe feeding, pain management, probiotics).

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[BunnyLady1]

The current vet is one who handles exotics, so luckily she is rabbit savvy.  Unfortunately, even though things were starting to look more positive this morning, I just spoke with the vet again and Hershey has not nibbled any more food and has not pooped at all.  She also said that he had a bit of a fever.  So he will be in the hospital again tonight.  🙁  Going to go visit him now….

[DanaNM]

(((Vibes for Hershey)))

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bam]

Vibes for Hersey from me too (((((Hersey)))).

[Bam]

Have they checked his liver enzymes? They can be elevated due to stasis alone, but since this has been going on for a while, an ultrasound of the liver to rule out a problem there could be good.

[BunnyLady1]

Thank you so much for the well wishes!   And they did do a blood test that checked his liver and kidney function, and said everything looked ok.  I will ask about an ultrasound though.  When I talked to the vet this morning, he had actually eaten a bit but still hasn’t pooped (seems weird to me because when I visited him the night before he did while I was there) and still has a fever.  I’m worried about giving him more antibiotics if he is actually starting to eat now, since I’m thinking it’s what caused his lack of appetite in the first place.  They will be doing another X-ray soon if he still doesn’t go to the bathroom.  I so badly want my little guy to get better!

[Bam]

I am not sure of course, because I am not a vet, but it seems to me there’s more going on than antibiotic intolerance. Your worries are perfectly understandable though, and inappetence is a common side effect of most, if not all, antibiotics we give to buns.

[LBJ10]

I’m curious why the vet prescribed Convenia. What I mean is, it isn’t a typical “go-to” antibiotic for rabbits. I’ve heard of people using it, but not very often. Is the infection atypical in some way? Is it something that, say, Baytril couldn’t treat?

I know Convenia is known for causing nausea and lack of appetite in dogs, so I can see it causing a problem with a bunny’s willingness to eat. As Bam said though, there could be something else going on. Perhaps the only way to find out is to try a different antibiotic? If the problem corrects itself, then it was the antibiotic. If it doesn’t, then further investigation will be needed.

[BunnyLady1]

I’m not sure why the first vet used Convenia, but I’m guessing it may have been because she wanted to give him something other than an oral antibiotic, and that was the one she had available that she has used on rabbits before.  On this initial visit, he was only diagnosed with an ear infection and a skin infection from where he went to the bathroom on himself.  It was the second vet I took him to that said it was ear mites and a urinary tract infection.  The second vet gave him oral Baytril when he started to have a fever late last week.

On Friday night when I got him home I gave him run of the house and he pooped.  So happy!  But he still wasn’t eating much of anything at all.  So starting Sunday I tried something that made me very nervous, but I can happily say it worked!  Knowing that the Convenia should be about out of his system, I decided to take him off off of the Metacam (pain medication), the Cisapride, the Metaclopramide and the Baytril and watched him closely.  He didn’t seem to be in any pain, and with the little he was getting in him for food through his nibbling and some syringe feeding he was still pooping.  I also have been giving him probiotics made just for rabbits, and little by little he has been getting his appetite back!  Now the only thing I am concerned with is that he is not drinking enough, but I am working on that one now.  ; )

[DanaNM]

Glad to hear he’s improving!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bam]

Progress! You can serve his greens freshly rinsed and dripping wet to get more water in him – if he gets greens. You can add a few drops of unsweetened applejuice to his water to entice him to drink more- but serve plain water too in another bowl, because some rabbits refuse water that tastes “funny”.

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