FORUM

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

FORUM HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Fiver not eating, smaller poos, please help

Viewing 29 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • MimzMum
      Participant
      8029 posts Send Private Message

        Hey guys! I posted last night about both Mimzy and Fiver’s behaviors being unusual, now I’ve got bigger problems this morning.

        I found Fiver’s been making smaller poos the last day or so. He’s also sitting kind of hunched up and won’t puddle unless I pet his nose. Last night the last thing he ate was a few bits of timothy treat, some canned pumpkin with benebac and a little orhard grass. He left a few poos int he litter box and a little pee.

        This morning there is a smeared cecal on his bedding that honestly looks like it has something red in it. This terrified me so I have an appointment to take him in a 4 today (it’s -30 out there and the hub is NOT pleased) or if he worsens I can just jack him in quick as an ER visit.

        I gave him some mylicon last night and, since he seemed uncomfortable and this is his rx, about .1 ml of metacam.

        There were a few very dark, small fecal pellets near the cecal. Now that I think of it, this is the first cecal I’ve seen him leave in a few days.

        He did have a small piece of kale earlier in the week that he hasn’t had in a long time, but seemed to enjoy that and I don’t think that could be the problem this late in the week.

        He last had a leaf of green lettuce yesterday about noonish. He didn’t eat much hay if at all yesterday.

        This looks like his symptoms when he last had either some kind of stasis or a gas bubble. He took a leaf of dried willow and a timothy seedhead from me this morning, but won’t eat his hay.

        He was all boisterous last night when I took him out of his pen to check his bum, which was mostly clean except for some smeared brown color on his penis. HIs belly did not feel full or tight, but I can’t find my stethoscope to listen to it well.

        Right before bed though, I had Mimzy out on the blankets and Fiver’s pen door open. They didn’t interact much, Fiver should’ve tried to come out of the pen to investigate like he usually does since this is the first time in awhile they’ve had this opportunity, but not last night. After an hour of basically ignoring one another they were both loafed, although Fiver didn’t seem comfortable and that’s when I gave the meds. In a sense I thought they might just be happy to be together, but now I think Fiver is just not well enough to give Mimzy any grief. Something is not right, I can feel it.

        Anyway, I’m going to keep trying to get him to eat today, but I don’t have high hopes. Can anyone tell me if the cecal color sounds correct? It’s 98 % the dark brown, with the mucous, but just that tinge of reddish brown too around the edges. Is there anything else I should look for? (I know, I should have the symptoms down pat by now, but Dana’s article is not helping with what I’m seeing today and I’m really a nervous wreck at this point.)


      • jerseygirl
        Moderator
        22356 posts Send Private Message

          Has he been drinking water do you know? Does he normally have a bottle or bowl? If a bottle, try offer a small bowl to see if he drinks just because it’s something different.
          {{{Fiver}}} I hope he comes good.

          It funny you were allowing Mimzy and Fiver some interaction as I was thinking to suggest that in your other thread. Even though you don’t have the room ready, some play together on the bed might be a good start. For another day anyway. Keep us posted on how Fiver is doing.


        • MimzMum
          Participant
          8029 posts Send Private Message

            He’s taking in a little water. I just put a new crock in today (he had a small one last night that went down by almost half) and just saw him drinking out of it. And here’s another thing, I put back his organic timothy (bb.com Valley Organic) and he’ll eat a few strands or a seedhead, but nothing more. He alternates between puddle and hunched position still, and he’ll take a dried leaf of willow from me and chew it almost straight down. He does tend to pause as he’s eating, in a bit of an odd way.
            Usually right after I clean his pen in the AM, the first thing he wants to do is eat. This is not my usual little man. ;_;
            Yeah, I don’t know if having them be together on the bed is the best idea. This is seen by both of them as ‘their’ territory. But I was out of cards to play in getting Fiver mobile. Looks like I drew a bad hand anyway.
            Oh, and when Mimz was on the bed, that was when I got a distinct skunky smell from Mimzy a few times. I would almost say they were at first looking out of the corners of their eyes at each other, like they had no idea who the other was. Do bunnies really forget each other that fast? 0_o


          • MimzMum
            Participant
            8029 posts Send Private Message

              I meant to post also, that he is not making a great deal of pee. But that could just be reduced input.
              Sarita had asked me last night if I thought he was dehydrated. I am not sure. Like I said, he’ll drink a little bit…he’ll pee a little bit. He doesn’t seem particularly comfortable in the litter box and when I changed out his bedding today, he didn’t want to sit in the box while I moved the mattress. Not normal. He’s also had some lettuce in the last 24 hours, that should’ve had a little more influence on his output today, but I don’t really see it in the used box.
              He did NOT want me messing around his vent area last night when I was checking to be sure he wasn’t suffering from poopy butt. However, I can’t blame him for that. >.<


            • jerseygirl
              Moderator
              22356 posts Send Private Message

                A good move anyway, getting him moving.

                If it’s any consolation to you, I’ve had mine be like this before then come right toward the end of the day. After I’ve spent the entire day debating whether they need the vet or not mind you!

                Will he allow you to massage his tummy or does that stress him too much? With Jersey, I know for sure it is abdominal discomfort if she actually allows me to do this.


              • MimzMum
                Participant
                8029 posts Send Private Message

                  Last night he was letting me pet his face, which he is only slowly getting used to. But if I get too near his mouth, he’ll jerk his head around and give me a warning ear flap. If I try to give him hay to eat I get the same reaction. I was able to get him out of his pen pretty easy last night and, after two escape attempts, got him seated so I could examine him and I did give him a belly once over. It wasn’t tight or bloated, felt kind of empty as a matter of fact.

                  The thing is, we have deep cold today, but it’s going to be worse tomorrow. -50 F! If I don’t get him in this evening, sick or not, he won’t be seen for at least another 24 hours, possibly longer, because the hubby just won’t drive in those temps. It’s not safe at all.
                  He’s still taking willow leaves from me and eating them no problem. Should I keep feeding these? Or do I keep pushing the hay stalks?
                  Okay he was semi-flopped near his water dish when I last looked at him. That’s not the position of an ill bunny…but still….
                  Ugh…I’m so confused! >.<


                • MimzMum
                  Participant
                  8029 posts Send Private Message

                    I realize I didn’t answer your question Jerz. He just seems stressed in general lately. No, he doesn’t like being removed from his lodgings by force and expected to endure whatever demeaning exercises I have waiting for him. But right now, I wonder that just the getting him moving again and the massage would be worth the stress it will cause?
                    He WAS breathing in a rather frightened/wary manner last night…I couldn’t tell if it was because of Mimzy or it was me he was afraid of. But usually, no, he doesn’t like being carted about.
                    Would his teeth needing attention cause all this? I notice he is making some rather strange mouth movements again (he’s done this before)…like a kid who’s got caramel toffee stuck hard between his teeth in the back and is trying to get it out with his tongue.


                  • jerseygirl
                    Moderator
                    22356 posts Send Private Message

                      If he’s more interested in the the willow leaves, go with that. It’s fibre too. If trying to get him to eat hay is just stressing him, that would just cause more probs. You know Fiver!


                    • jerseygirl
                      Moderator
                      22356 posts Send Private Message

                        You’ve mentioned the daylight changing there. Do you notice your rabbits change there eating habits with this? So the normal times they are interested in food have changed somewhat?


                      • MimzMum
                        Participant
                        8029 posts Send Private Message

                          Not really, they eat when they want to eat, and when they don’t eat it usually means they’re just not feeling good.
                          He’s still taking the willow leaves and soft blades of timothy, but less of the latter and more of the former. As long as he’s eating then, he’s probably okay?
                          But what about eh strange color I saw in the cecotrophes? The only time I saw a change in there color was while feeding those flopper’s garden treats to Fiver and Pip, and their cecals blew up like balloons and looked purplish red, REALLY like a grape cluster. It was weird. But those held together. No squishy.
                          He hasn’t had any of those treats since then. They did not appear to affect Mimzy in the same way, so I assumed the other two were just sensitive to them.
                          It’s coming up on 1 PM here. Before long I’ll have to decide to keep the appointment or cancel it. My greatest fear is he has some kind of blockage in there somewhere, although I don’t feel anything like that. At the very least he could do with some motility drugs, I would think.


                        • MimzMum
                          Participant
                          8029 posts Send Private Message

                            Okay, just put another leaf of green leaf lettuce in his pen and he’s nibbling that down. Although I worry that it will give him gas, like the romaine used to. But I have to get him to eat something.


                          • jerseygirl
                            Moderator
                            22356 posts Send Private Message

                              Hi MM, how is he doing? Did you end up going to the vet?


                            • MimzMum
                              Participant
                              8029 posts Send Private Message

                                Hey Jerz,
                                Well I almost called it off because he was nibbling his hay a bit, but he still wasn’t really himself, so we went anyway. Luckily the temp rose to about -11 F.
                                He sure didn’t like the doc, he spent every moment she was handling him thrashing and kicking trying to get away. But she took the cecal sample I gave her (even though it was on a Kleenex) and tested it. Turns out he’s got clostridium.
                                0_o
                                I feel terrible. Knowing how long he’s had this cecal dysbiosis, he’s been miserable a long time if he’s had the bacteria in his system the whole while.
                                Seems to me though he’d been examined for this before and no one put him on any meds. But he’ll be taking metronidazole for the next 10 days, perhaps longer if he relapses.
                                He’s lost 300 grams since he was last there. (I don’t remember when that was…) So she wants me to put at least a pound back on him. I got some alfalfa hay to help him gain.
                                He had a little bit of that when we got back, but now he’s back to staring at the wall, like he’s been doing for the last few days. He’d seemed better at the vets, even though he didn’t want to be there.
                                I’m beginning to think my whole house is toxic…even the bunny room. How long will it take him to start feeling better?
                                She told me to give him Critical Care if he won’t eat, and if he still hasn’t pooped by tomorrow she wants to hear from me. But I kind of think she’s not the most bunny savvy vet, so…..I really hope I see some improvement soon. He’s also been limited to just hay in his diet. No lettuce, no pumpkin…how the heck and I going to give him his benebac without his pumpkin??
                                I asked her and she said no, but I’ll ask here too: is this contagious? Do I have to worry about Mimz & Pip? (neither have come into physical contact with him) Can it spread to the other animals?
                                Could he have had this the whole almost year or so? Or is this something that has to have just come up recently? I thought this bacteria could kill a bunny if it went on more than a few days.
                                Oh…and yes, that was blood I saw in his cecals this morning. x_x That is the most frightening symptom I’ve seen in the buns since Mimzy couldn’t breathe after his tooth filing years ago.


                              • jerseygirl
                                Moderator
                                22356 posts Send Private Message

                                  Fiver is one of those with a sensitive gut for sure.
                                  From what I understand, that bacteria can start to build in just a gut slowdown. I believe it is always present in the gut but beneficial bacteria keeps it under control. So Mimzy and Pip would already have this in their systems and their bodies are effectively keeping the balance. Clostridium is anaerobic so I don’t think it would be transferable from cross contamination. Only a guess though.

                                  Does Fiver get the benebac every day? Does the vet think this would be beneficial in helping him get the balance right?

                                  Did she say as to why there could be blood in the cecals or where she thinks it’s from?

                                  More and more I hear of metronidazole. It was a med my vet suggest to start Jersey on if she continued to have gut episodes. Also, Kafrns Stu-bob is on this med. She reports Stu loves it so I hope you have no trouble getting it into Fiver.


                                • MimzMum
                                  Participant
                                  8029 posts Send Private Message

                                    The med is also known as Flagyl I think. Just got my net back after being down for several hours, so just now researching.
                                    The doc gave him his first dose, and although she claimed it was the beef flavored one, he took it okay. I thought it smelled like fruit, so I think she may have been incorrect. We’ll see how his next dose goes tomorrow A.M. 0_o It’s a twice per day med, and I have to keep it refrigerated.
                                    I also removed the alfalfa for now. Too much carbohydrate…it’ll only cause more trouble. We’ll worry about gaining him some weight back when his gut is healed.
                                    According to the doc, the blood (minuscule) was due to the clostridium…I am assuming because he’s had intermittent soft cecals for so long:
                                    http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=189&A=3012&S=5
                                    I asked her about the benebac and she seemed to think it was still okay to give him, especially while he’s taking the antibiotic…I just don’t know how I’m going to administer it. I usually put it in a teaspoon of canned pumpkin. Looks like he’s going to get one extra syringe per day now. It did cross my mind that perhaps the benebac overgrew his bad bacteria in the first place, but… *headdesk*
                                    She added I should irrigate him orally also, if I feel he’s not drinking enough water.
                                    Besides the clostridium possibly being due to too many sugars or carbs in the diet, apparently stress is a big factor as well…which leaves me with more unhappy conclusions.
                                    No bonding for now…I want all healthy bunnies for this feat. I did bring Fiver close to Pip’s pen last night though, and she actually stuck her lips out through the bars of her pen and acted as if she would groom him. I haven’t seen her even attempt this since she and Mimzy were together in the beginning. So we all have something to look forward to. (I think he has a huge crush on her.)

                                    I really need a bigger room for them. Even though they have an xpen, they are terribly cramped and have to be let out one at a time. So more decluttering is at hand. Oi.

                                    Jenna is going to have to start spending a bit less time with me…I just haven’t been able to have as long an exercise session with any of them since she arrived. I do wonder if maybe this is part of Fiver’s illness. I think he had the mushy cecals before she got here though, if not as often as now.

                                    I’m going to probably have to toss out all but one of my current hays. The articles I’ve read say that mycotoxins can be responsible for clostridium. Some of the hays I have here have been sitting for awhile. I’ll have to just keep the stuff I’ve bought in the last month. I suppose that means anything these hays have touched (like hay baskets for example) should be tossed too? Can they be contaminated? (Although I suppose too that some of the pumpkin I’ve given him recently might have gone off and I didn’t notice.)

                                    Meh….lots to think about. Mostly just want to see him better.


                                  • jerseygirl
                                    Moderator
                                    22356 posts Send Private Message

                                      The doc gave him his first dose, and although she claimed it was the beef flavored one, he took it okay.

                                      : ( Honestly, can’t they do better for our bunbuns? Beef flavoured – ick! I hope it is fruity like you suspect.
                                      I have to agree about alfalfa. It causes messy poop when mine have it. There might be something better to help him put on weight.

                                      I was just reading some on chronic messy poop and Dental connections. That could be something well worth checking with Fiver, especially if he’s lost weight also. From what I was reading, molar spurs growing toward the cheek are too commonly missed by vets. Bit of a pain. Anyway, dental probs could account for much of his chronic problems. i.e this scenario: Spurs > Pain > less eating of coarse fibre > less fibre in diet means stomach content not emptying as quickly as should > this would lead to some clostridium over growth and cecal dysbiosis > overgrowth could cause gas build up and further discomfort > resulting in less eating which compounds things and may cause some weightloss.   So it turns into a bit of a cycle. So I think a good investigation of his teeth would be well worth it if it means you could remedy the underlying problem of all the other symptoms.

                                      I wouldn’t go tossing any hay MM. Fiver has seemed to struggle with this for a while, I don’t think it would be due to any of the current hays.

                                       


                                    • jerseygirl
                                      Moderator
                                      22356 posts Send Private Message

                                        I meant to clarify, the vet found higher levels than norm of clostridium? So an overgrowth? Because I think it is normal for some to be present. Hopefully the flagyl helps with it and takes care of any intestinal parasite that might be responsible for all this while it’s at it! That’s what my vet was thinking to use it for, to treat any possible protozoal GI bug.


                                      • MimzMum
                                        Participant
                                        8029 posts Send Private Message

                                          Yeah, this vet only looked at his incisors and claimed they were fine, but really I think they’re growing wrong and I already know he’s got a terrible overbite. But this was a last minute appointment today, so I had to take who I got.
                                          I haven’t seen him eat anything but the little bit of alfalfa and of course any willow leaves still present in his pen. He’ll take those straight down. He did make some pinhead sized poos, plus some tarry looking cecal bits…nothing like normal. I don’t doubt the pattern is repeating like you indicated, Jerz, but until I can get a vet who’s serious about my bunnies (beef flavor indeed!) I will be struggling with this condition or others like it.
                                          I have to take my two cats in by next Saturday…if he’s not feeling significantly better by then I’ll certainly piggyback him on their dates…and if he’s not put a dent in the hay I’ve piled in his habitat by tomorrow, or made any significant #2…I’ll get hot on the phone with someone, for sure.
                                          He does seem a little more…the only word I can come up with is, coherent, this evening. He seemed so out of it yesternight and early this morning. There’s a little sparkle back behind his eyes now.


                                        • Lintini
                                          Participant
                                          3329 posts Send Private Message

                                            BEEF?

                                            Sigh. I am so sorry Mimz. I wish Fiver a very very VERY speedy recovery!! Maybe him and Velv need to cheer eachother up, she is a mess tonight as well. Poor dears.

                                            Please do tell him those smak treats are from me!! I am sure that will help!  <3 <3


                                          • kralspace
                                            Participant
                                            2663 posts Send Private Message

                                              I’ve been following your thread Mimz and JG, and holding my breath that Fiver’s doing better. sending all the ((((healing vibes))))I can to Fiver.

                                              and some (((calming vibes))) to you Mimz. (still trying to wrap my head around “the temperatures have risen to -11”)

                                              Kathy


                                            • MimzMum
                                              Participant
                                              8029 posts Send Private Message

                                                I’m in shock that I’m still logged in this morning. 0_o My browser is supposed to clear all my cookies on shutdown.
                                                Well, kind of a sleepless night, worrying, waking every few hours to check on him. I have to admit to being afraid to sometimes, thinking he was lying so still he’d passed away. But he’s up this morning..about 7 he was finally nibbling at the variety of hay I’d left in his basket, (he’d eaten almost nothing but willow leaves yesterday), and a few teensy poos in his box. Some of them may have been cecals, but I can’t be sure. I don’t know if they’ve gotten to a consistency where he can eat them yet.
                                                There were more and slightly bigger poos when I got up at ten, I’ve been watching him to see how he’s acting, he noticed me and came to the pen door and began washing one of the bunny plushies I have next to it, and asked for head rubs, so I’m taking that as a good sign.
                                                I need to give him his next dose, but every time I get one ready, he goes back to his hay basket and starts eating, so I try not to disturb him while he’s doing that. Got to get his hab cleaned up though.
                                                He’s not really drinking from his water bottle much, but he seems to like a little bit of water out of the crock I put in there yesterday…so yeah…probably teeth issue again at the base of it. But I’ve got to get his bowels back to normal first.
                                                I realized I’ve probably been making him stressed having my lights on so late (sometime to 4 AM) which was okay when the daylight was low outside, but now that the sun is up earlier, the extra light must be irritating him, so I turned it off earlier, even though I couldn’t sleep.
                                                I’m a wreck. I don’t seem to be able to relax and I wake up all edgy. My own stomach hurts for him. What a miserable little bundle he’s been and I’ve jut been thinking I could get it under control (the cecal mess)…I should’ve just gone with my better sense and taken him in long ago. But nothing to be done about that now, except to get him back to some semblance of normal.
                                                Has anyone experienced this particular illness in rabbits and if so, how did yours fare? Is this something he can get completely cleared up? Or is it something he’ll have to live with?


                                              • RabbitPam
                                                Moderator
                                                11002 posts Send Private Message

                                                  Hi, MM,
                                                  Just catching up on this thread now, but my gut reaction is that I am really glad you got him to the vet, he is being treated and accepting his meds and is already showing signs of improvement. I think you may even be keeping him awake by checking on him so much!
                                                  I would absolutely forget racking your brains over the past, and just be glad he is responding to a diagnosed condition. Time will tell if it is something that clears up or reoccurs. In the meantime, I might consider removing the hay that’s older than, say, 2 months, but not the containers or baskets and certainly not anything else. You can ask the doc on Sat. if the other two are at risk for contagion, but Jersey made an interesting point so it’s unlikely. I am reminded of when we are told to eat yogurt when we are on anti-biotics. It’s possible one med led to the need for the other. Either way, he’s on the road to recovery.


                                                • kralspace
                                                  Participant
                                                  2663 posts Send Private Message

                                                    I hadn’t been through this with any of mine and I so hope little Fiver dude gets better. I know how stressful it is on you. I drive mine nuts making sure they’re breathing when they finally get to sleep (when they are under the weather)


                                                  • MimzMum
                                                    Participant
                                                    8029 posts Send Private Message

                                                      Okay, so two month old or older hay should go? I thought if you kept it dry it would remain viable. Ah well, that is one of the boxes of hay that I’m concerned about…so out it goes.
                                                      I didn’t WANT to be waking up and checking so much, really! I was so tired because I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before knowing he wasn’t completely himself, so with only about 4-6 hours under my belt to have to take him in and spend another night waking up every time I heard a noise, well…. I mean, this is even with using my sleeping meds, so I was really easily stirred. That’s just me. And it sucks.

                                                      Sadly, although the med smells like fruit to me, Fiver DETESTS it. Now he’s sitting in his pen kind of hunched and giving me a death glare and if I offer a piece of something to eat, he bites it in half and tosses it away…even his willow treats! He took his dose over 2 hours ago! 0_o;; I think I’m going to be in the dog house for the next ten days. >_< He is feeling well enough to be cross.

                                                      But yeah, going to get him better any way I have to. Forward march!

                                                      Now, do I need to do anything about the flavoring in this metronidazole stuff? It won’t hurt him, will it? Or should I bug the doc to get me some banana or apple type? I’m concerned that something he has to take twice a day that tastes foul will put him off his food again and I can’t give him anything sweet to freshen his palate afterwards.


                                                    • RabbitPam
                                                      Moderator
                                                      11002 posts Send Private Message

                                                        I just said 2 months because you said you were going to toss after only 1 month, so I thought it would be OK to keep slightly older batches and not lose so much. I actually don’t think it’s any kind of a problem at all as long as it’s not the stuff you mentioned a while ago where you thought you saw mold. (That was you, wasn’t it MM?) If it’s clean, dry, and not moldy, keep it. Not a problem.

                                                        Call the vet and ask if she can switch out the beef flavored stuff. Also, if the pumpkin is a no-no, could you mix what you have with some pineapple or apple juice instead? Did this beef stuff cost much? You have a week to go before you get to see her, so maybe it can be masked by you. I doubt any of it will taste good enough to him that he’ll be easy to give it to, but those beef flavored meds are becoming more prevalent this year and I think it’s a problem for us slaves of vegetarians. It’s just such a hassle for you to get out and about for simple changes like swapping out meds.

                                                        I used to have to give Spockie a liquid vitamin, and I would slice an apple about 1/2″ thick, cut a triangle piece out of it, remove it like a hat, inject the liquid into the hole like a soup bowl, then put the hat back on it to hold it in. Then feed it to him. Chowed it down.


                                                      • MimzMum
                                                        Participant
                                                        8029 posts Send Private Message

                                                          No the stuff I mentioned months ago went out the door that week. What I have is some bluegrass from the same company, but it was mailed in a different box and wasn’t in the same condition when it got here as the 3rd cut timothy. It does appear to be getting dustier the longer it sits though, (bought it back in November 2010) and even though it’s a soft hay and he likes it, I’m not sure I should give him any more of it. I think Petzy said if it gives off dust more than once, it’s a no-go.
                                                          Right now I have some of that lovely Valley Organic Tim that BB sells, (plus the blue bunny blend as well), and he was really into that until he started having the ear problem two weeks ago, so I stopped the Organic Timothy thinking he was allergic to it or that a seed head had fallen into his ear, and instead supplemented with the blue bunny. There is some of that Organic Timothy in his basket now, along with a few other selections to tempt him, but he’s really just not interested. This is kind of his snoozy time though, so I’ll just have to keep watch and see if the level decreases at all in his basket.
                                                          Funny, he’ll chomp the seed heads. I’d think those were the hardest part of the plant to chew. Perhaps not.
                                                          I do see him wanting stuff that’s soft, like the willow leaves, so I’m bringing back the Kaytee orchard grass that I thought had first caused his cecal problems. It’s the only soft hay I have at the moment.

                                                          Yeah, it’s going to be difficult to switch the med since we’re still experiencing some severe subzero temps. Hubby was angry enough at having to venture forth yesterday, although he was kind enough not to show it in front of Fiver, but the even bigger problem is getting doc to actually rewrite the script. She seemed to think he’d do just fine with it the way it was, since he swallowed the first dose for her. It’s only .4 ml at a time, and I can get it down him, he just gives me major stinkeye afterwards…which come to think of it he does with ANY med I administer. He’s not as forgiving as Mimzy is.
                                                          I’m still not sure it isn’t a fruit flavor, it just may be really tangy and that’s why he doesn’t like it. I’ve smelled beef flavor vet products before (Jenna’s toothpaste for one) and it doesn’t smell like this stuff. Think Sour Patch Kids. Don’t ask me to taste it, I’ll swill vinegar and eat papaya tablets, but antibiotics is too much…lol.
                                                          The doc has restricted him to hay only. I am feeling bad enough by sticking the willow leaves in there to entice him. No greens. No fruit. No pumpkin. (if that leaves his diet permanently I will be sad because I never got his bunny butt twitch on film when he ate it)
                                                          We’ll see how he does with tonight’s dose. If he gives me any serious starch, I’ll get hold of one of the more exotic-minded vets in the A.M. Hopefully the weather will have improved by then also. Whatever the flavor, the medicine seems to be working. (Keeping fingers, ears and eyes crossed.)

                                                          I did find more poopies in the pan…and on the beddy a bit still. I could be imagining it but they seem bigger? Oh! And I just caught him munching a bit of hay, so YAY!


                                                        • jerseygirl
                                                          Moderator
                                                          22356 posts Send Private Message

                                                            MM, for some reason I completely missed your much earlier post when you mentioned Fivers teeth. And here I was ‘rabbiting on’ about them… lol

                                                            How has he been going on the meds? I’d been thinking lately about that “Miracle Berry” you know the one you chew and it alters your tastebuds? Everything tastes sweet. I was thinking how handy that would be for pets.


                                                          • MimzMum
                                                            Participant
                                                            8029 posts Send Private Message

                                                              Well I was certain the stuff was fruit flavored, but now that I’m getting to the middle of the bottle it’s definitely not smelling so fruity anymore. I don’t know, maybe they didn’t add any real flavoring to it? It’s just nasty medicine.
                                                              We’ve had a bit of a setback today, what I can only call separated ‘inflamed’-as in enlarged- cecal pellets. He’s still leaving little drippings where he sits from time to time. Yesterday he was making smaller poos again, so I gave him an itty-bitty squirt of Benebac like the doc said to do. Wondering if that’s caused the relapse?
                                                              I didn’t get to spend as much time with him yesterday as I wanted to either, so many things to do around the house that I can’t have him near me for, cleaning and such.
                                                              But yeah, called in to the doc and took a sample of what he left this morning that I’ll drive in if I have to. Just don’t want to drag him all the way there again, because otherwise he seems healthy, and the trip stresses both of us. Gave me quite a few good kicks and struggles today. He just HATES this med, and at this point I am hating it too.
                                                              Does anyone know what would come next after this? Would there be a different med we could try along these lines if this particular one doesn’t work?


                                                            • jerseygirl
                                                              Moderator
                                                              22356 posts Send Private Message

                                                                Could it be the meds now causing some messy poop?

                                                                I think his hay only diet will help but it might take several months on this diet.


                                                              • MimzMum
                                                                Participant
                                                                8029 posts Send Private Message

                                                                  Well the metronidazole was doing fine till I gave him that little bit of benebac. I am hoping that’s all this is.
                                                                  Doc said he’s on this for 10 days (we’re on day four) and that if he relapses when he finishes this round, we’ll have to put him on it for longer.
                                                                  Hopefully with a decent flavor next time. >.<

                                                              Viewing 29 reply threads
                                                              • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                                                              FORUM HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Fiver not eating, smaller poos, please help