HELP! Orbox Antibiotic, Eye Enucleation and Giant Soft Stool

[The Last Lagomorph]

Hello Everybunny,

I’m new as an account owner but have been coming to this website for years. I feel a little bit at a loss with some recent events. My rabbit, Bubba, (not the one in my profile pic) has been battling E.Cuniculi for all his life. We got him from an eviction situation back in 2017 and since adopting him, found that he had glaucoma in his right eye since age 3! he is now 8 and a half. Both eyes have had cataracts and glaucoma for quite some time. I’ve been told eye removal surgery is very risky and to make a long story short after multiple vet visits and varying opinions we were told he had a tumor in his eye. I live in New York City (which you’d think I’d have endless options for exotics vets.) Geographically everything is way too far away and the places that are considered to be good have been a huge let down compared to my vet back in PA. an hour drive becomes a $70 dollar lyft fare one way. With that said, we’ve been trying the best we can to manage Bubba’s disease as it progresses.

Fast forward to the Sunday before thanksgiving, Bubba’s eye is removed. He’s had a hard time regaining the strength in his back legs but he grows stronger a little bit each day. He has a healthy appetite and has for the most part had really healthy poops all his life. There’s been the occasional squished cecotrope but nothing too concerning or often enough to worry.

Using caution we ended up taking Bubba to a different vet far away from us to get his legs checked out cause the vet who did the surgery left the country and his staff couldn’t answer my questions. This establishment checks exotics only but i can’t help but feel gaslit. Turns out they were unhappy of the way the surgery was done. The method used apparently was 20 plus years old and the vet was irate about it. Not knowing bubba’s history he automatically assumed we were doing a bad job of taking care of our sweet boy. One blood test and an eye pressure test later, Bubba was deemed a healthy boy. YAY a win for the boy!!

He was originally put on Enrofloxacin by the vet who did the surgery and the new vet said, “I haven’t perscribed this in 20 years, Orbox is the best medication for rabbits instead” a day after starting use of the new medication bubba is having increasingly softs poops till one day, we let him sleep for a good 4 hours and upon picking him up to check his butt we found the motherload of poops. Something the size of a dog’s stool. Another doctor at the same facility said that was normal but i don’t think bubba having increasingly large and smushier poops counts as normal. I understand they want bubba to finish the medication but i feel as if i’m not being heard. I don’t want this to develop into something worse. he still needs a full week of this medication and im afraid to see it get worse. They kept repeating that side effect was not common but i don’t think they are taking into account his E. Cuniculi and age. Has anybody else had a problem with this antibiotic?? He was also on Metacam which he has now stopped. I think the hodgepodge of medication is throwing off his gut flora and want to know if you all have experienced this. I just don’t understand. He was fine till they switched him to those medications and want to know this won’t ruin his gut permanently. Sorry for the wall of text. Any kind words of assurance is appreciated. thank you!!

[Wick & Fable]

I’m very sorry to hear about what you and your rabbit have been going through!

Of note, I’m not sure in what context the statement was said in, but Enrofloxacin (aka Baytril) is a very, very common antibiotic prescribed for rabbits in my experience, while Orbax (I assume; aka Orbifloxacin) is one I actually don’t commonly hear prescribed at all. Enrofloxacin is approved for use in rabbits. Orbax is still considered safe, but I don’t think there’s as much with its use in rabbits.

It can be possible that the Orbax is upsetting his GI system, causing the bad poo, and yes, changes in diet/medications on their own can also cause discomfort. My thoughts are, if the GI discomfort continues with the med, I would discuss the necessity of being on an antibiotic (for what reason are antibiotics being continued exactly?), and if antibiotics are still needed, can Enrofloxacin be continued, since it is an antibiotic, just like Orbax, and is serving the same purpose.

To your question regarding “permanent” gut change — I do not think any medication that is generally rabbit-safe would permanently impact GI health. In the context of a stable and healthy diet, hay and other needed nutrients/minerals should do their work in regulating your rabbit’s gut flora.

Metacam is a pain relief medication, that I assume was given for suspected arthritis/pain in the back legs? It is important to understand if the vets are thinking your rabbit needs pain management vs. antibiotic tx vs. both, so I’d get clarification on that if it’s not entirely clear to you. I know it’s frustrating (at the least) to work with vets that you feel uncomfortable speaking to, and ultimately, if you’re not getting clear answers or feeling comfortable with their treatment, I would recommend calling around to see what other options may be available. In case there are any you haven’t heard of, here are some resources to find rabbit vets: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Choosing_a_rabbit_veterinarian#Rabbit_veterinarian_listings , https://rabbitors.info/global-rabbit-veterinary-bill-database/ (filter the spreadsheet for New York!)

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.

[DanaNM]

Sorry you are going through this!  I’m not very familiar with Orbox (this is Orbifloxacin, correct?).

That amount of cecals doesn’t seem that unusual when a bun isn’t eating them (you’d be surprised how stealthy they are about eating them normally) and sometimes when a bun is on certain antibiotics they don’t eat their cecals. Pain can also cause a bun to leave their cecals behind, so if he is showing other signs of pain I would ask about restarting his pain meds. My senior bun likely had EC and has bad arthritis, and often gets big masses of cecals smashed onto him. Are his normal poops OK looking, or are they all softer? How much longer is he supposed to be on this med?

You can support his gut with probiotics and supplemental feeding of a recovery food. If he’s not eating his cecals he may need an extra boost.

It’s very hard not trusting your vet, I was recently dealing with this myself.

. . . 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.  

[The Last Lagomorph]

Also, Thank you Dana!! I just saw your post. It is Orbifloxacin! I’ve been helping to feed him his cecotropes but then he’ll have these huge soft poops out of no where. He’s luckily having normal poops between giant ones and cecotropes. I thought that maybe they could be a bunch of cecotropes compacted but i’ve been a little suspicious of it cause i’ve been checking his behind often and found a regular sized cocopuff that was a bit smushed. Could be a combination, but hopefully as he is weened off the antibiotic he’ll have better poops again. He was off the antibiotic for one day and it actually seemed better.

He’s got one more week to go with it and with every day he gets just a little more strength back. I agree though that maybe a probiotic would help. That’s something i’ve been wanting to bring up to the vet but the staff keeps on making it hard to actually get in contact with him. So sorry about your Bun with E.Cuniculi. It can be very challenging to deal with and its hard to see our little ones go through it. Hope we all have better access to exotic healthcare and good vets in the near future! Thank you!!

[The Last Lagomorph]

Thank you so much for answering and reading through my book sized post!!

He’s on the antibiotic to prevent infection since getting his eye removed and from what the vet said its pretty crucial he stay on it. We called again today and finally got them to agree to have the doctor email us back. (Fingers Crossed) luckily he doesn’t need to be on Metacam anymore and the Metacam was mainly for the discomfort and pain from the eye surgery. They also gave him gabapentin for pain and to help with his arthritis. (apparently its more gentle than Metacam and overall safe for rabbits)

I’m glad to know the Enrofloxacin is widely still used and considered safe for rabbits. You would have thought by the way the vet reacted that I was feeding him poison!!

Gives me a little peace of mind to hear that its not common for side effects to continue long after the medication is used. Its been about a little over a week post op now and Bubba has a zest for life and doesn’t know the meaning of giving up. Thank you again!!

[LBJ10]

Orbifloxacin is known for causing GI upset in dogs. I don’t know how or if that would present itself in a rabbit. I suppose it could cause problems with cecal development. But… any antibiotic can potentially cause GI problems in rabbits simply by killing off good bacteria and upsetting the balance of gut flora.

I agree with the others. Baytril is very common. I would say it is the “go to” for most vets when looking for a broad spectrum antibiotic to use in a rabbit. They will often try it first.

[The Last Lagomorph]

So reassuring!! thank you

Update: Bubba had more bad poops and continuous soft stool, he finally had some regular ones this morning but these mud pies on his butt are getting out of hand. Still being gaslit by the receptionists by saying “it’s not the antibiotic” then…. why did this all start immediately after starting the antibiotic? sigh….

We sent an email in hopes we can finally get the doctor to assess the situation so fingers crossed! We asked if maybe they could recommend a probiotic in the mean time since they aren’t budging about the medication.

[Author]

Messages