Pee and Poop problems

[reds2212]

I have been following the forums but have never posted but I need any advice I can get. I have been having a problem with my mini rex, Roo, who is 11 months old. I purchased her from a breeder when she was 2 months old. She was spayed in Nov. Jan. 2nd, she started making strange noises. Her body would tighten up and she would breathe out loudly through her nose. At this time, she started to loose control of her bladder and her butt was always wet. Went to the vet and I was told she had sludge. Started on SQ fluids and diet was changed to all timothy. A few days later she stopped pooping and was told she was in stasis. She was started on Reglan 3 times a day and she sarted pooping a little. A few days later she wasn’t eating or moving and she had this skunky odor all of a sudden, was told she had an obstruction and started on Enulose and Bactrim. Since then, the problems resolve and then everything starts again for about 24 hours and then stops and she’ s back to her normal activities. She has now been to 3 different vets. Is currently taking Baytril 2 times a day and continues the Regaln 3 times a day. She has had multiple x-rays that show no bladder stones. Her white blood cell count is normal. I have no idea of what to do next. It kills me to watch her suffer like this for 1 or 2 days a week and she is still a baby so I don’t want to give up on her. Any advice or thoughts from anyone would be appreciated!!!

[Lo]

Reds- so sorry to hear about Roo’s troubles. Unfortunatly I don’t have enough knowledge to give you any thoughts/advice but I hope someone else on here can!!

good luck,

Lo

[Beka27]

my goodness.  i’m sorry you’re both having to go thru all of that.  i also do not have enough knowledge of rabbit health things to help.  someone should be along soon to answer your questions.

[babybunsmum]

oh dear… i’m sorry to hear you & roo are having these troubles.  i don’t have advice for your situation except to suggest that you post roo’s diet & eating habits.  from reading other threads relating to stasis it seems this information could possibly be helpful to some one who does have advice to offer.  good luck!  (((((((((roo)))))))))

[kimberleyanddarren]

i am sorry you are having trouble but unfortunately it doesnt seem like a problem that anyone here can solve, it just seems like a keep trying type of thing try different vets and eventually you will get to the bottom of it. Dont give up you are doing brilliantly

[reds2212]

I follow the HRS guidelines. She gets 1/8c. of timothy pellets and all of the timothy hay she;ll eat. She also gets 2-4 cups of fresh vegetables a day. She drinks plenty so I don’t know what the problem is. It all started again yesterday and resolved again by this morning. There is a vet scholl about 1 1/2 hours away so we are conseidering taking her there. Unfortunatley we did not get pet insurance right away so now she has these 2 common diagnoses in her history for pre-existing conditions so it is all out of pocket. Thanks for your help!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi Reds, how very sad for a little one to be going through this.  I am wondering if any of the vets did a bacterial culture on her to see if there may be an imbalance in her system?  Did any of them prescribe probiotics at all? I am wondering why she was given Baytril, perhaps they felt she had a bacterial infection?

Another thought that comes to mind is that she was weaned way to young and this is a result of it.  Unfortunately this is a common problem.  What kind of vegetables are you giving her?  Some are hard on young bunnies like broccoli, kale and cabbage and cause gas, bloating and even diarrhea. Does she get any treats?  If so, what are they? Have the molars been checked in your rabbit as well, also is she a lop? I found something here: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/2008/2/Three-Legged-Lethargic-Lop.htm

Here are a few things to check out;

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171319.htm

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html#stasis

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=18&cat=1803&articleid=2581

I think the trip to the vet school would help, especially since you say you’ve been to three vets already.  I am very to to hear about the troubles you are having and want to thank you for working very hard to pull her out of this. Something else to consider is you can go to allexperts.com and ask Dana Krempels, a very rabbit savvy person (she is not a vet) about it as well: http://www.allexperts.com/browse.cgi?catLvl=3&catID=703 However, she will return on March 18th.

[reds2212]

She is not a lop. I really did not start giving her veggies until after the problems started. She gets an organic spring mix (nothing in it that goes against the HRS recs), carrot tops, dill, basil, mint etc.. I try to keep the veggies low in calcium because of the concerns with bladder sludge. She was started on Baytril because the current vet thought that maybe the stump that is left after the spay could be infected. He said it is rare but can happen. Nobody did a bacterial culture on her and nobody has checked her teeth. From what I can see, her teeth seem fine. She eats with no problems so I never really concentrated on that. I was concerned also with the bacteria and so was the current vet and he recommended Bene Bac which is a lactobacillus med and I have been giving it to her for the past week or so. She has not had any of the veggies you questioned about and I have given her Little Tummys as suggested on this site but it doesn’t make a difference in her. No diarrhea. I do give her an oxbox papaya tablet at night as a treat but nothing else. I really am strict with her diet. Thanks for all of your concern and info. I’ll try Dana when she gets back. I have also contacted the local rescue again and they gave me the name of a vet that volunteers there but it is kind of far. I left a message for her to make an appt. I’ll keep you posted!!!

[Gravehearted]

Bunnies sure can be fragile! I had a somewhat similar experience recently with my bunny Hareiette, so can certainly sympathize with what you’re going through – since it required multiple appointments and seeing several vets (and funds) to get her feeling better.

I am surprised with stasis that no one has checked her teeth or done a culture to see if there’s something bacterial going on. Have they given you metacam for the pain? Most bunnies who do not want to eat because they are uncomfortable or in pain.

Since there’s a concern about sludge, it might be better to omit the carrot tops for the time being. I would also take away the papaya tablets too, if she’s continuing to have stasis issues. It sounds like a bit out of the ordinary problem, since the episodes keep occurring.

It might be worth a phone call to the vet HRS recommended – he or she might be able to consult with your current vet.

sending lots of healing wishes, please let us know how she is doing…

[Author]

Messages