Feeling like a terrible bunny owner.

[Paradigm]

I went back to uni today and was out most of the day. When I got back Mr Roger seemed quieter and was hiding under things, but he does that so I thought I’d keep an eye out. He was eating normally when I left in the morning and pooping normally and both my wife and I are ill so I wasn’t as attentive as usual. Shortly after 7pm I realised that be seemed uncomfortable and flopping himself between positions.

I called over my wife and she quickly identified that he seemed ill. The normal vets were 45 minutes from closing so they asked us to call the emergency vets, who are much further away. We’re now in the taxi.

I feel so bad. If I’d realised earlier it would have been far less journeying and stress for Roger and less money – although we should be able to claim back the vets fees the taxi fare is still a fair bit.

I have a horrible feeling that he’s got a GI track problem, perhaps from mistaking his new bedding for pellets and that he’s going to be dead by morning.

[Paradigm]

Finally getting a taxi home. Several injections later, we’re armed with enough feed for the next day, a bottle of painkiller, two syringes and instructions to take him to the vets again if he’s not eating by noon tomorrow.

It wasn’t a dire situation (as we’re allowed to take him home) but the vet did confirm that he had very little gut movement sounds. His teeth are wonderful though.

We were in such a rush that my wife had food on her jumper and I’m in my pjs sans undies.

[Sarita]

Vibes to Mr. Roger! Hope he recovers quickly. I bet you two were a sight at the vets :~)

[MoxieMeadows]

(((Vibes))) for Mr.Roger!

[Paradigm]

Yes, we looked utterly ridiculous. And just after we got in the taxi on the way home, a friend said they could give us a lift. Just our luck!

Thanks for the vibes.

So far we’ve given him approximately 5ml of feed. It was a messy job as he spat some out, dribbled a bit more and then during one break for freedom my wife accidental sprayed the remainder on our cream wall! So we had to refill and start over.

I’ve put all his favourites in a bowl plus some spring greens. He teased me by nudging at the greens but ultimately decided not to.

If nothing else, he’s no longer changing positions every few seconds and seems comfy(ier).

[MoxieMeadows]

Glad there’s a bit of improvement for Mr. Roger.
More ((((Vibes))))

[Megabunny]

My favorite is canned pumpkin. Everyone’s tired of hearing about it. You can get some in him with a celery stick for starters, then he should get the taste and eat it on his own…when he’s ready to eat. It’s amazing fiber, too!
I’m sorry to hear you folks are sick at the same time. That’s really rough. If you’re able to handle getting up during the night, keep putting individual strands of hay in front of him.Sometimes I think rabbits just get mad and eat things in front of them in hopes you’ll leave them the heck alone. If you’re in a warm state where there are still dry oak leaves on the ground, get clean ones and pile them up in front of his face. And massage his belly if he seems bloated or needing some stimulation to poop. Glad you didn’t leave him with the vet. I wouldn’t do that even if mine was in severe stasis. They need round the clock attention and hand feeding. Did they have any idea what it is?? Is he pooping??

[Paradigm]

He seems to have pooped some but not as much as usual. Vet just said it seemed like his gut wasn’t moving, so he wasn’t eating more and therefore also not pooping more. He was injected with something to move his gut along plus a few painkillers.

Yeah it sucks. We had our dinner early and were just about to get into bed. Now we’re on hourly timers for food.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure putting hay in his face would work if he’s not up for it. He won’t eat food if he’s not hungry when he’s well even if it’s his favourite and is repeatedly shoved in his face. I’ll give it a go though.

We’re in England so no dry leaves and I have no idea where canned pumpkin is sold.

I’ll try a massage after his next feeding.

Thanks again for the support. I just really want him to eat. (And to sleep).

[MoxieMeadows]

If you can’t buy canned pumpkin to mix her meds in(?) then use baby food. That’s what I used when my bun was on baytril. I had to crush up the pill and then mix it into baby food, then syringe it into her.
Here are a few safe baby foods:
Banana and strawberry
Blueberry and apple
Blueberry and pear
Pear
Pineapple and pear
Banana
Strawberry

[Megabunny]

Oh I feel so bad for you guys. What a nightmare! I hope you’re able to get something in him one way or the other…and I hope you don’t have to go in to work tomorrow. Keep us posted. You must be walking in your sleep about now

[MoxieMeadows]

Keep us posted!
(MB, we keep posting at the same time! )

[Paradigm]

Thankfully I’ve got the day off tomorrow. My wife doesn’t and she’s just about at the end of her tether.

I will be doing future feeds in the bathroom for minimum disruption. We diluted it as directed but it seems to be getting stuck in the tube around the last millimetre and then spurting (this time onto the bathroom wall… and my onesie… And the towels. The latter two of which were clean out of the wash).

I’ve taken to wrapping him in a towel for the feeds. I let him roam for the last swallow and it seems to have worked. Must be a distressing ordeal.

I’m trying to decide if the distress induced by keeping him in the bathroom is weighed out my being able to see if he poops. I’m concerned that I’m just stuffing him up at this point. I rubbed his tummy for a bit but want to read to make sure I’m doing it right.

[Paradigm]

We’re alright for meds – we’ve got liquid meds to give him in the morning (he’s all dosed up for the night) and liquid feed for noms. It’s just getting him to want to eat.

[Paradigm]

Just realised that my vet didn’t do any x rays, etc. I hope he doesn’t have an obstruction.

[Paradigm]

I wish I hadn’t tried to encourage him to get used to the lino yesterday. He seemed fine after his attempts but then some nitwit in another flat set their fire alarm off and the warden didn’t turn it off for 15 minutes. Between that and his new cage set up, I’ve provably stressed him into sickness.

[MoxieMeadows]

Don’t blame yourself.
((((Vibes))))

[Megabunny]

Oh heavens no!! Don’t blame yourself! You’re right on top of things, despite your illness and who would know what all is going to go on with the new cage set up. Stop beating yourself up. He’s a lucky bunny to be getting so much care, and I would think they could have felt his belly to get an idea of what’s going on. I’m not sure they have to xray. If the animal is a good weight, vets can often feel a lot with their hands and I’m just as impressed that an emergency vet didn’t talk you into all kinds of stuff. You probably would have been there forever, and then you all would have been even more stressed. This is all just rotten timing. You’re probably in bed now. I’m glad Moxie got on sooner.

[Cottontail]

Posted By Paradigm on 2/02/2015 5:26 PM

Thankfully I’ve got the day off tomorrow. My wife doesn’t and she’s just about at the end of her tether.

I will be doing future feeds in the bathroom for minimum disruption. We diluted it as directed but it seems to be getting stuck in the tube around the last millimetre and then spurting (this time onto the bathroom wall… and my onesie… And the towels. The latter two of which were clean out of the wash).

 

 I  had similar issues with medicine droppers, with it getting clogged.   I finally gave up and mixed/measured in a little cup, then put the medicine in a cupcake syringe.  The one I’ve got holds about 2oz/4tbsp of fluid.  The upside of it is that you don’t have to push the plunger as hard or quickly for flow, and the opening is 2-3 times as large as the medicine dropper since it’s designed for creme/filling.  I found that I don’t have to put as much fluid in the CC (it can still be rather thick) and it is much easier for Peter.. and harder for him to take chunks out of the syringe.    The one I use I got with a “babycakes” set.  Works great for CC (Critical Care).

As for blaming yourself; try not to.  You’re doing the best you can for your little guy, and you know it’s love when you hop in a taxi in your jammies.    Just try to keep things in as calm a routine as you can and keep an eye on him.  We’ll be sending good  vibes your way!

[Roberta]

We can’t get canned pumpkin here either. I steamed it and mashed it through a seive.

[JackRabbit]

{{{{{Mr Roger}}}}}

[Paradigm]

Yeah. The vet did feel his tum and was very efficient in general. I was really glad – just wish it was closer. So hopefully he’s alright.

I’m just really, really tired and I guess it’s easy to beat myself up in the dark, lol. Not like it would change it even if it was my fault.

I’m hard of hearing, so anything loud enough to wake me would wake my wife too. We live in a studio so there’s so couch to camp out on.

I found a mini massager and he tolerated that for 4 minutes. I’ve also added slightly more water to the mixture because it kept blocking the tube. Still does a little, but its better.

The most recent attempt got about 3mls into him but after that he spat everything out.

I think this was the 4th feed? No feed on the walls (I’ve had two of those) and finally wised up to taking the whole pot with me and sitting by the sink.

Also. I’m seriously swaying towards adopting a slightly older kid at this hour, lol.

Thanks for the advice cottontail. We were given the syringes by the vet. Wish I’d thought of using a frosting tube before I watered it down. Would have been easier, I bet.

He’s been an angel really, considering how distressing the whole thing must be for him – he hasn’t nipped the syringe once (down side: he also won’t nip food wafted at him). At one point my finger was on his teeth (I have no idea why, in hindsight) and he didn’t even attempt bite then.

[Paradigm]

Going to see if I can get my phone to vibrate and wake me but not my wife up. I’ve never pulled an all nighter and it seems I’m not about to start.

No sign if Roger pooping or being interested in food but the most recent feeding was the most successful so far.

I’ve settled on a burrito that works for him, slowed the pace down to about 1/5 of a ml every 20 seconds and some strokes in between. He ate about 15ml ( the vet said if he was happy to have more then feed him, but if he was eating loads then he would probably eat normal food anyway).

He sat still the whole time and didn’t spit any out (or maybe there wasn’t enough to spit out, Idk, lol). He even closed his eyes for strokes with a syringe in his mouth.

I can only hope the next one is just as peaceful.

[BinkyMom14]

Sending vibes for Mr Roger! I hope everyone gets well soon and can have a good nights sleep!

[Deleted User]

I was awake all Saturday night (Aussie time) – I would have taken a turn for you! Lol!

(((((Mr Roger))))) & (((((Mr Roger’s mummy and daddy)))))

[Megabunny]

I don’t know if I’m more worried about you or Mr. Rogers!!

[Deleted User]

Doesn’t it remind you of when the kid’s were little MB??? One of my worst nights was taking Den to the hospital twice and by the time I thought he was ok, I had to jump in the shower and go to work – how did we do it??? And to think we are doing it again – for our bunny’s??? Ha ha ha ha!

[Megabunny]

Yup Nights of lost sleep, trips to the hospital… I really hope all this comes to a happy conclusion very soon Paradigm

[Deleted User]

YES! We NEED the good news Paradigm…….

[Paradigm]

We’ll we’ve made it through until noon. I accidentally gave him too much painkiller – I was sure the vet said to give it to him every hour but it says on the bottle 2-3 times a day.

I’m not too worried though because I think he spat the entirety of the one an hour before out.

Although I am utterly exhausted, the penultimate feed was trying but the most recent showed some improvement – I got 20ml of some more lumpy feed (more or less spooning some of it) into him.

Early this morning he took his first bite of spring greens. Since he’s eaten another two mouthfuls of spring greens, 3 strands of hay and a centimetre of carrot as far as I can see.

Still no pellets, which he usually regards as the best treats ever.

Before he had more painkillers, which I was warned might make him drowsy, he even started hopping a little and then running away when he realised it was time to eat.

I stopped feeding him at 10am to see if he would become hungry enough to eat and the 12 hours for the feed expired shortly afterwards.

Now waiting to hear back from the local vets about whether I can have more feed without carting him around on public transport and so that we don’t have to go as an emergency again.

…Just now he’s started eating a little more hay and spring greens.

[Paradigm]

I must say, sometime in the middle of the night I started thinking that we’d be much better off adopting a slightly older kid.

Not sure how I’d cope with tons of night feeds with a baby!

[Roberta]

In lieu of Critical Care or similar products you can crush pellets and mix them with water or fruit juice, usually apple. Make it into a slurry and feed just like the supplement. You can do the same with the steamed/mashed pumpkin.

[Roberta]

If you have a pet supply store nearby you should be able to buy Critical care directly from them.

[Paradigm]

Ah, thanks. I’ll see about ordering some in future.

The vets have said I can pick up a box of 10 sachets.

[Paradigm]

Here’s him eating –

[MoxieMeadows]

((((VIBES))))

[Paradigm]

Thanks Moxie (I find your username amusing because for several years my username was abbreviated to MM on another forum).

He’s now eating his pellets.

So relieved.

Not sure how I’m going to stay awake for my roller derby game tonight but that’s a much nicer thing to worry about.

[Paradigm]

Thanks ever so much for all your support.

[MoxieMeadows]

No problem! I am glad he’s getting better!

[Author]

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