Healing vibes needed for Griffin!

[KatnipCrzy]

Poor Griffin- we gave him his pellets tonight and he would not eat them- which is odd.  And he has been more flopped out lately but I thought it was due to his “I don’t care about you” games with Schroeder.  He ate his treat this morning- but now won’t eat his pellets or any treats offered.  He willing took Metacam and I gave him some Simethicone.  It seems to be his belly- which is good because at first I was afraid that he would not go the pellets because he could not walk.  But once I picked him up and put him on his feet he glared at me to hop away.

He has tried in the past to escape the x-pen so I was worried tha the had a mishap and hurt his spine or leg.  But it seems to be his belly.  I am going to wait awhile and give more Simethicone and then try some Critical Care with him.

My regular vet that I work for- she was nice enough to take my call at 11:20pm- did not think he needed to go in on emergency since they do not specialize in rabbits and won’t do much more than what I can do overnight other than take an x-ray that they are not completely sure how to interpret and treat gut issues as I learned with Schroeder.  If Griffin is not better in the am he is going to a rabbit/exotic vet 45 minutes away.

I feel so bad- we were gone for 4 days and he was fine then- ate all his greens and veggies, pellets and treats- we get home and 2 days later he does not feel well.  And I know the petsitter took great care of him since it is my vet and her husband (who was a vet assistant) that petsits for us.

And of course I never got around to getting pet insurance for him…both Cotton and Schroeder have it, but not Griffin since I was waiting to drop my dogs at their renewal date and add him instead.  Figures.

I palpated his gut- which he did not appreciate- so I think it is his belly- it feels a bit gassy- and there is nothing that he could have gotten into that could have caused a GI blockage- especially since he was not out of his pen since last week before we went out of town.  My petsitters might pet the bunnies but I prefer not to have them have run time if I am not home since Griff especially gets into everything if possible.

Julie

[MimzMum]

Aw…poor Griffin…of course the strongest healing vibes we can send are on the way! ((((((((((((((((Get better Griffin!)))))))))))))))))))

[jacki fullerton]

Aww, sending healing vibs your way…….

[Monkeybun]

Get better soon Griffin! *snuggles and raisins for fast healing!*

[Sarita]

Vibes to Griffin, please keep us updated!

[Lintini]

Oh nooo!!! {{{Vibes}}} Feel better Griffin!!

[KatnipCrzy]

Griffin is still not eating normally- so I waited for the exotic vet to open at 7:30am this morning and was able to get him an appt for 3 pm this afternoon.  I tried to get an earlier appt but they did not have anything and they prefer not to do a drop off on a sick rabbit (stress reasons) unless absolutely necessary- and Griffin is stable and eating Critical Care when syringed to him.  Plus I live 45-60 minutes away- one way- so that would suck to drop him off and then have to go back to pick him up.

I have not been to this vet before but want to take him there since I was not thrilled with the more “old school” attitude of the older exotic vet he saw last time- I was told NOT to give pain meds and no metoclopramide was prescribed.  So I took a bit of his advice and combined it with my regular vets advice and gave pain meds- and without the pain meds I think Schroeder would have died as he refused to swallow the Critical Care since his belly was so painful.

So I had called this vet right after the incident and asked them some questions like if they ever prescribe gut motility drugs and pain meds- and they do.  My regular vet does not specialize in rabbits and is too cautious to prescribe metoclopramide/reglan because in case there is a true blockage in can cause even worse issues and be fatal.  And I respect that she admits she is not an expert and refers me to an expert in case of illness.

So I will let you guys know what the vet says.  I am hoping that Griffin’s treatment will not be as stressful as Schroeder’s was- Schroeder’s was 5-7 days of worry- constant syrine feeding, pain meds, SQ fluids, etc- and when he was not feeling well he would not swallow the Critical Care.  Griffin at least pretty willingly ate the CC when syringed into his mouth.

And at this point I am only guessing it is tummy troubles- I could be wrong.

[Sarita]

So hard to really know until you get the physical exam – please let us know what the vet says. Poor Griffin!

If it’s a blockage ask about pepcid ac – my vet called an exotic specialist and she suggested this to help lower the ph in the stomach when Pepe was going through his stasis and had a blockage and we doubled up on the sub-q fluids to get his gut going and soak the blockage – boy I felt bad for Pepe, he looked all swollen and miserable. It took us 2 weeks but we got him going again. I did end up doing buprenex too – I don’t think he was actually in pain but I know he was uncomfortable and I knew the metacam would only upset the stomach and frankly would not help with this type of pain. Banamine is also a good pain medication as well.

[Deleted User]

I am sorry to find out Griffin is feeling ill. I hope he will recover completely over the weekend already! It is hard to watch a sicky bunny. Vibes for you and Griffin!

[KatnipCrzy]

Everybody at the vet clinic loved him- I don’t think they had seen a English Lop before.

It is his stomach that is a little distended and he does not like it palpated and his x-rays showed the distention and a gas pattern in his intestines.  He weighed 8.8 lbs- so his amounts of fluids and Critical Care are huge!!!  He is supposed to get almost a whole pouch of CC a day along with 500mls of fluids SQ (half a bag!!).  I am going to divide it up to 4 times a day.  He was pretty willingly eating the CC from the syringe before and after the appt- but wow- it is daunting to mix up 3 T of dry powder- see how much it makes and think that I have to get him to eat all that!

He is also on Metacam for pain- and I can add Buprinex in if needed (can get from my vet clinic).  For now we are not doing the Pepcid or Reglan but those are options if he does not improve- and hospitalization with IV cath is also an option.  I am taking him into my vet clinic tomorrow to have bloodwork sent out on him (to an outside lab)- the vet knew I could do it much cheaper thru my own employee discount/lab so she suggested I do that and fax her the results.

She is puzzled as to why Griffin is not feeling well- his diet is right on.  He just was not let out of his pen for exercise when we were gone and right after we got back since we were crazy busy- but she does not think the less activity would cause this.

I am praying he continues to take the CC well- but the key to getting him better is to be aggressive with fluids and CC to keep him hydrated and get his gut moving.

[Sarita]

Continued vibes to Griffin – please keep us updated. It sounds like he is hungry if he is willingly taking the CC. That is a lot of fluids but hopefully the aggressive fluids will help.

[KatnipCrzy]

We just cleaned his cage after getting back from grocery shopping and I made him the “best” mini salad ever with the prime pieces of greens- and he is eating some greens!  So far this looks like it will not be as awful as treating Schroeder was.

But I will keep up with the fluids,meds and give CC if he is not eating enough.

The vet liked the fine grind better- so I had to buy 2 packs of that since he is supposed to eat so much!  She said it is way, way easier to syringe up.  Which makes me wonder why the “regular” is not like that since this is mostly used for force feeding more than animals that want to eat the CC mixed but need mush.

 

[KatnipCrzy]

I gave him multiple small salads last night- which he would eventually eat, he ate his pellets overnight and was eating hay when my husband got up this morning.

When I came downstairs he was begging for treats- just like he usually does- and he has pooped a ton.

I will still give him fluids and pain meds for the next day for so just to make sure he is doing good-  but I am so happy that he is doing well.

Julie

[bunnyluvr]

Hooray for eating salads, pellets and hay but mostly Hooray for lots of bunny poops!!!! So happy to hear the wonderful Mr Griffin is feeling better!

[Sarita]

That’s great news!

[KatnipCrzy]

The vet was really puzzled as there is usually a reason for GI stasis- and she could not pinpoint a reason based on the questions she asked me- the only thing we came up with was decreased time out of pen.  Right before we left I Frontlined the dogs- so I did not let the rabbits out the night before we left- were gone for 4 days- and had 2 days that we were playing catch-up at work and other stuff and did not get home til late and did not let the bunnies out of their pens.  But she did not think that should cause it.

I told her it must be Murphy’s Law- as Griffin is not signed up for pet insurance yet- since I was waiting to drop my dogs before adding him since my monthly premiums deducted from my paycheck are geting up there with 2 dogs and 2 rabbits (Cotton and Schroeder).  But if things progress as well as they have- I only would have gotten reimbursed about what I would have spent in monthly premiums- but if we had to do an ultrasound, buy more meds, or hospitalize than things would NOT have equaled out at all.  And if I could not get bloodwork done so cheap thru work that would have tipped the scale to visit being more expensive than insurance premiums to date.

[BinkyBunny]

I am so glad to hear that he is doing better!! What a scary few days. I know that sometimes  there doesn’t seem to be a reason. My own vet has said  this to me several times…”It’s part of having a rabbit.” (just that unknown baffling reason for digestive problems sometimes). Stress can cause digestive upset and so for sensitive bunnies, even normal changes that are going to be part of life and nothing you can do much about, can cause stress. Does Griffin seem like a sensitive bunny or is he more of a go with the flow type?

My bunny Jack can easily stressed by things, but he rarely has GI problems (he acts out with trying to mount when there is any kind of change— maybe the exercise prevents gi stasis)

Anyway, I am glad to hear is feeling better as gas/bloating can be very scary.  It’s so great that the vet you work for is available to you like she is!

 

[MimzMum]

Kat, just a thought, he hasn’t gotten hold of any of that recalled romaine lettuce int he last few days, has he? E.Coli contamination. Or did he nibble somethign he wasn’t supposed to when he had his exercise time?

(((((((((((((continued healing vibes for Griffin)))))))))))))))))

[KatnipCrzy]

Griffin is a go with the flow kinda bunny- never shows signs of stress.  He has been trying to get Schroeder to groom him thru the x-pen divider and has actually fallen asleep with his nose pushed thru the bars.  His long nose fits thru pretty well.  But Schroeder still just ignores him- flops out and acts as though he does not see Griff asking to be groomed.

The romaine we fed was not part of the E Coli recall- I did check.  And he had not been out of his pen for about a week- since we Frontline the dogs right before we left on vacation, were gone for 4 days, and then played catch up getting back home.  So maybe could have been less exercise- though the vet does not think that is necessarily the cause.

I know he was fine for the petsitters since he ate fine for them and for us Tue and Wed after we got home.  Plus my petsitter is my regular vet and her husband (who worked as a vet assistant)- and they would never hide anything from us and they would have noticed him not mobbing his food as he usually does.

I will probably never know what caused this- but I hope that he never gets it again!  But fortunately he was a very willing patient.

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