Critical care feeding

[Suzeliza]

Hello everyone I’m sort of new here! I had an old account with my previous buns but couldn’t log in so new account and new bunnies 🙂

I adopted Betty 18 months ago (black and white rex) and this summer I adopted Herman. He’s a little black bun and is now 8 months old. Since Saturday he’s been in hospital at the rabbit specialist vet in Toulouse (about 1hour from here) He had stopped eating and they’ve had him on an IV, done ultrasound, blood tests and everything is normal but he’s still not eating.

I’m wondering if it’s hospital stress stopping him and if he was back home he might get his appetite back. My question (thank you if you made it this far) is how long does CC keep in the freezer? I’ve 3 bags unopened from my previous bunnies. Would it still be ok or should I buy new if they let me bring him home?

thank you!

[Bam]

Crirical Care lasts a very long time in the freezer. I had to use old CC last year for my bun when he was ill. That bag had been in the freezer for about 2 years.

 

 

[Suzeliza]

Thank you for your reply! I just called the hospital and he’s eaten a bit unassisted overnight so they’re letting him come home this evening. Good to know I can supplement with the CC in my freezer if I need to 🙂

Does anyone have any tips for a convalescing youngster?

Thank you again

[DanaNM]

Yep you should be all good to use that CC. Glad he started eating on his own. 🙂

For his recovering, keeping his area warm and quiet will help him. Keep up with the syringe feeding and medication schedule your vet recommends, but other than that try not to hover too much. You can also offer favorite greens to entice him to eat as well.

. . . 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.  

[Suzeliza]

Thank you, he’s home now and eating a little. Betty is furious with him so I’m keeping her away and spoiling her with cuddles and celery (her favourite) We tried syringe feeding him last night but got more on us and the wall than inside Herman! When the vet showed me how to do it he was a perfect angel, didn’t fight me at all 🙂

[Bam]

It’s actually a good sign when a bun fights being fed CC and meds by the owner, because it means the bun has strenght. It’s pretty much par for the course to get more CC on the bun, yourself and the furniture when you first give CC. Practice will help, its one thing to know how it should be done, another to actually do it with an uncooperative bun!

Both rabbits and dogs tend to not protest when theyre handled by vets and vet techs, because when they are with new people in an unfamiliar place, it’s best to not make too much of a fuss.

[Suzeliza]

Thanks for the reassurance! 🙂

[Suzeliza]

I’m back again with another question if that’s ok! Herman is eating a reasonable amount of greens – celery, fennel, parsley and mâche (I think that’s lambs quarters in English?) and nibbles on hay. I don’t feel like it’s enough but he absolutely hates CC! I’ve 2 different flavours the aniseed one and the fine ground fruit one and he hates them both. I tried mixing with fruit juice, tried a smaller syringe and then tried spreading it on his greens but he refused to eat them so I washed it off.

If he’s eating on his own, even if it’s not a lot my gut tells me chasing him around, restraining him, fighting with him only to have him spit it out anyway is less helpful. And it then means getting his medicine in him is now a battle too.

Should I just let his appetite pick up without my fussing about the CC?

I’m also a bit worried as he’s barely drinking anything either. I’m sure dehydration will make him ill again. Any ideas? He has 2 bowls, one has a drop of apple juice in to entice him but so far not a lot happening.

Sorry for the long post but the vet is such a long journey for him I’m hoping I won’t have to take him back there.

Thank you in advance

[Bam]

You are very welcome to ask many questions! 🙂

The difference between fresh vegetables and CC is that fresh veg is low in calories and protein and also comparatively low in fiber. Its absolutely great that he eats a lot of veg by himself, but it may not be enough to sustain his caloric needs. This means he could lose weight, which would be detrimental. A low fiber diet can cause issues with his poop, since the rabbit gut needs indigestible fiber for the assortment of the tummy contents into fecal and cecal poop. Disturbances in this process can result in sticky poop.

If you decide to cut back on the CC, you should weigh him daily and keep a weight diary. I weigh my bun in a bowl on digital kitchen scales. Rabbits can lose weight rapidly, so if you weigh him often, you’ll soon see which way his weight is heading. Its always a judgement call, but if he’s stable you can experiment a little bit. If you cut back on CC, maybe he will eat more. If he doesnt eat enough, you’ll see weightloss, and that means you need to up the CC again. (Allow for sth like 10-15 grams up down if you weigh him daily, to compensate for the variations in bladder and intestinal contents.)

It is as a rule a struggle to feed a bun meds and CC. I had one bun who was furious with me and bit me, at one time he even screamed when I picked him up for feeding. It was very stressful, so I asked my vet about it. She was adamant that I keep feeding him, because without food he would not make it. I thought my bun would hate me forever, but when the whole ordeal was over, the exact opposite happened. Other members have reported similar things. Rabbits seem to not just forgive but to actually become more attached to their human once they are healthy again.

[DanaNM]

I agree that you should keep trying to get the CC into him until his hay consumption is back to normal. He is prob drinking less since he’s eating less hay.

This video on syringe feeding is my favorite. https://youtu.be/8iGZVYVm5Bg

The bunny in the video isn’t struggling much but she demonstrates the “C hold” and syringe placement very well.

I usually put bun on a table on a towel. They spit tons out and it gets everywhere, but they do swallow more than you might realize. You can try mixing it with some mashed banana or canned pumpkin as well.

He will forgive you! I have def experienced just what Bam described after caring for sick bunnies. They hate you during, but after they forgive you and then some. 😉

. . . 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]

I just want to add, that when I weigh my bun, I put the scales and bowl on the floor. This is because if the bun decides to jump out of the bowl during the weighing, the distance to the floor will be quite manageable.

I always use the C-grip that Dana mentions. And remember, as long as you get some of the CC into the bun, it’s a win!

 

 

[Suzeliza]

Thank you so much for your help. Today I got on much better, I switched to 1ml syringes and filled 8 of them. I threw a towel over him and basically sat on the floor with him between my knees and just his head poking out of the towel. My daughter then slowly syringed the CC in and he ate the lot. Straight afterwards he ate some blackberry leaves and hay and let us stroke him. 3 hours later we did exactly the same and apart from initially getting hold of him he was quite well behaved and had another 10 mls or so from small syringes. Obviously he’s much happier on the floor and with the smaller syringe in his mouth. I hope we can keep this up until he’s eating enough hay. The nurse in the video was doing it exactly as the vet showed me, but I think maybe the table frightened him?

Fingers crossed!

[DanaNM]

Glad you found a method that worked!

. . . 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]

Fingers very crossed! You seem determined, which is the most important thing. You should out-stubborn your bun, so to speak 🙂

It is important to have a good feeding syringe. I used a 20 ml syringe with a flexible tip for feeding my bun, but any size syringe is good, as long as you’re comfortable with it. If the syringe becomes “stiff” with use, you can use simethicone baby gas drops to lubricate it.

[Suzeliza]

That’s great to know, some of them are a bit tricky now. We’ve done another successful round, this time another 10 mls in him. As he’s eating reasonably well I think 10mls x 4 per day will be sufficient. The vet had said if he wasn’t eating the daily dose was 70mls. Obviously I don’t want to fill him up on CC so he doesn’t bother eating hay. It’s so difficult to judge these things! Thank you so much for the help, it’s hard to find the info in French and it’s always hard to get through to the vet as the line is constantly busy! You’ve been so helpful, thank you 😊

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