Fern and GI stasis?

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Hi, Fern has not been eating properly or pooping for a couple of days (she only eats when we shove something in her face multiple times).

I took her to the vet on wednesday and the vet said that he did not feel an obstruction in her gut but he gave her laxatone to feed 2X a day and also he gave us some antibiotics to feed her 2X a day just in case it was a bacterial thing. I am not sure if this is right. What do you think? I was also skeptical when he said to give Fern yougurt. I have heard to never give bunnies yougurt. He also told me to give Fern V8 juice, this I was also skeptical about. He is not the same vet I took Fern to be spayed by, so I am not sure how knowledgeable he is, but he did say he was an exotics vet and he seemed to be knolegable about many other things.

I also wanted to make a pellet mush to feed Fern because she is reeally not eating at all, but the mixture I made (consisting of just ground pellets and water) will not go through the syringe. Only the water makes it through so she has been eating brown water that I give her. Is is fine to give her applesause? I thought it would be an Idea becuse it is the right consistancy.

Fern is still not eating despite out effots. What are some remadies that we could give her to get some food into her? Is there anything else I should do? The vet just said to give her antibiotics, Laxatone, Yougurt and V8 juice. Should I get a second opinion on her, go to a different vet? The vet I went to was Storybook farm vet. I hope Fern will be ok. It is horribe that I still have to go to school.

Also I was wanting to give her Smithecone. It is a solid or liquid medicine? How much should I give her?

Thanks.

[Sarita]

I honestly think you need another vet. I see know reason to give her laxatone at all and a vet MIGHT recommend that for a possible obstruction (mine never would as this is not going to help since an obstruction is basically the gut not moving and laxatone will not help get the gut moving). Also the yogurt and V8 juice aren’t helpful. There are 2 House Rabbit Societies in New York with vets listed – where in New York are you? Are you in Upstate New York or around NYC?

As for applesauce – I would say no to this as well – the whole purpose of the pellet slurry is to get fiber into her – I don’t know perhaps applesauce has fiber and maybe you can mix it with the pellet slurry – I sometimes mix baby food. Are you grinding your pellets before you make a slurry?

I honestly think you need to find a rabbit knowledgeable vet at this point though – you aren’t sure of what the underlying causes are.

What type of antibiotic did he give her?

[Sarita]

Also did he check her teeth?

[Moonlight_Wolf]

I don’t know what antibiotic it was, I was not there at the vet when Fern went because I could not get out of school at the time of the appointment, and my mom (who took Fern to the vet) said she did not remember what it was called and the bottle just says antibiotics.

Yes he did check her teeth and he said they were fine.
I am in upstate NY, we went to that one because it is the one that opened the earliest.
Thanks.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Can I feed her cheerios?
Is there anything I can give her just to make her eat?

[Sarita]

http://www.therabbitresource.org/recommendedvets.html

Here is a list of recommended vets from the Upstate New York House Rabbit Society.  Are you near any of these vets or Cornell?  I think it might be good to find another vet.

As for Cheerios – it’s not your best option – It won’t hurt to see if she’ll eat them but that’s not going to be the best option in the long run.  I would try to encourage her to eat some greens – try breaking them to entice her with the fragrance and try tickling her nose with them to see if you can get her to eat.

[Sarita]

The bottle just says antibiotics? I think that is odd and I would want to know what kind of antibiotics I am giving my pet.

[BinkyBunny]

I ditto Sarita with finding a second opinion…and quickly. The other thing is “breaking” the greens that Sarita mentioned. That really can make a difference! I know that if I wash my veggies and cut or break off the very tips, that really makes them more appetizing- just makes the “fresher” smelling and so that helps. I know with Rucy, when she wasn’t feeling well, I would do this with parsley and then let her sniff the end of the just cut stem and she’d munch on it, where as if it was a day old cut parsley stem, she’d snub it (when she wasn’t feeling well)

[peepi&warri]

With my boys, i can rub their back around their tail and the back of their thighs to trigger the licking response. If I do this and have food in front of them, they’ll start eating it even if they don’t feel like eating. Maybe that’ll work with Fern?

[KatnipCrzy]

It really sounds as though Fern needs to be seen urgently by another vet.

V8 is not recommended for rabbits as the main ingredient is tomato juice- which is very acidic and not recommended for bunnies and likely to not even be tasty enough for her to want to eat it.  Yogurt is not recommended either due to the sugar content- and I don’t see a benefit to giving it to a bunny that won’t eat on her own.  Yogurt can have benefical gut bacteria for loose stool- but I think the not eating needs to be addressed first.  The only way I would recommend any applesauce would be the unsweetened- no sugar added- and that would be to add a little to her pellet slurry to try to encourage her to eat it.  And even then she can not have much.  Have you tried adding pedialyte to her water to encourage her to drink?

I don’t want to scare you but Fern sounds dangerously ill and home care does not appear to be helping at all.  It is very odd that the bottle only says antibiotics- it is illegal to not clearly label prescription medications.  I think Fern needs to see another vet immediately.  Something made her stop eating and that needs to be addressed before she can get better.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Ok an update,
I went to see a better rabbit vet at Cats and critters. The vet and all the people there seemed very knowledgeable and nice. The Vet said that Fern looked very healthy despite the fact that she was not eating, she was moving around and being curious and not lethargic. The vet gave her some painkiller just in case she was in pain. She also gave Fern some motility (is that what it is called) drugs to get her gut moving. Lastly she gave us some critical care to feed to Fern 3X per day along with the motility drug.

She told me to Cease treatment of antibiotics and Laxatone which I did, (the antibiotics actually did have a name on it, some kind of letters, I can’t remember, but the Cats and Critters vet said that they do prescribe that antibiotic and it is safe)The antibiotic was pink (I am just too lazy to go upstairs and check its name)

The Vet was very helpful and I really think that the motility drugs worked because not long after we gave Fern the Motility drug she pooped a big weird shaped poop. That might have been causing her considerable discomfort, aggravating her lack of eating. As instructed twenty minutes after the motility drug was given to fern I gave her two big syringes of Critical care. She seems much better. I saw her eating some hay on her own.

I feel so much more relived, the critical care is wonderful and it is so much more easy to suck it up the syringe, also it smells better that the mush I made, the mush i made smelt horrible!

Thanks for the support guys, I am happy I went to another vet for help, I really liked that vet and will make them my regular vets

P.S. Total money spent on Fern on the two vet visits was $185! wowee, BUT FERN IS WORTH IT!!

[jerseygirl]

I was relieved to hear “motility drug” and “criti care” just now. Sounds like you’re on a better care plan. Obviously you are seeing the results of this.

Critical care will be a handy thing to have around in case of future episodes.  I’m guessing the suggestion of yoghurt from the former vet was to aid growth of good gut bacteria as katnip said.  Sort of probiotics.  Still, the other ingredients may have cause more problems.

Sounds as if was all a GI episode.  Did you have the teeth looked at anyway?  Any teeth issues can potentially lead to GI issues too.

Teeth prob>>pain>>stress and lack of eating>>no food=gut movement slowing>>stasis.  If that makes sense! :o)

((Fern))

[KatnipCrzy]

Glad to hear she is doing better, I was really worried about Fern!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

PHEW! That vet sounds waaaayyy better! Critical care is just what you need-much easier to syringe feed then mushed pellets. How is Fern doing now?

{{Fern}}

[Sarita]

I’m so glad you went to another vet! Yes, keep the critical care on hand – you can put it in the freezer. I’m glad she did the pain killer too…that is so important.

I think the antibiotics may be SMZ TMP (or bactrim) which is safe for rabbits – mine is usually a pink liquid.

It does sound like she is on her way to getting better – keep us posted.

[BinkyBunny]

Oh good! This vet definitely sounds better than the first. So glad Fern is doing better. Keep us updated.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Thanks guys,
Yes! the antibiotics were SMZ TMP they were pink.

Yea jersygirl, that was the first thing that I thought would cause it, teeth problems, but according to both vets (good one and not so good one) Fern’s teeth were fine.

Fern is doing very well now, I actually only had to feed her one dosage of Critical Care and I fed her 2 doses of motility drugs becuse her recovery was so quick! Can I keep the motility drugs for later or will they go bad? I know I can keep the critical care but can I keep the motility drugs too?

Fern is now eating and pooping in good quantities, she is not 100% better, but on the way there. She even did some binkys yesterday and a bunny 500 today. Fern really did make a speedy recovery, and I assumed that because we force fed her stuff she did not want to eat, she would be angry at us, but nope. Only right after the feeding stuff would we get some foot flicks (that is her favorite way of saying ‘I am mad’). Now she actually seems to want to be petted more. Fern is such a sweetie.

I really liked the vet I went to, they said that rabbits are their second most treated animal in their clinic. When I was there I saw a bunny and a guinea pig come into the clinic. And you know how most clinics you bring small pets in carriers, well both of them were just brought in being carried in the peoples arms. It was kind of cute. Oh and i forgot to mention that the vet who served us was actually allergic to rabbits, she must be dedicated to them if she is allergic and still treats them, she was actually wearing one of those masks that doctors wear when doing operations. And the thing I loved about the clinic was that the receptionist was knowledgeable as well as the vet. She also did not mind answering my questions on the phone, some vets say that they cannot answer questions on the phone. All the people who went to the vets office were nice too! I will definitely go to that vet again.

It is almost Fern’s first birthday, (April 11) and I was planning to get her willow stuff from Binky bunny if I could, considering that is the only wood things she likes to chew. Too bad you can’t buy willow balls in bulk.

Thanks everyone I am so happy Fern made a speedy recovery.

[Sarita]

I would call the vet and make sure that they don’t want you to continue for a few more days with motility drugs (is this reglan/metroclopramide). If it’s oral it should be okay for awhile but I would ask the vet about how long it is good for as well since they do expire.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

WOW Great news!! I’m glad she’s feeling better already! And your new vet sounds awesome!

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