Sick bunny Food recipes needed?

[ChrisL1976]

Does anyone have a good recipes for making pellets into a paste that can be syringe feed?   One of our Rabbits is got something going on, not sure the vet has it pinned down yet. Blood work was sent out Mponday.  Had slight head tilt  and trouble walking Monday, but the HT seemed  to clear up Tuesday and yesterday.  He was eating Tuesday ok, Wednesday he stopped until he got his second steroid injection and was eating pretty good last night.  Now he is back to being poky again.  Vet is telling us to get Dritical care which we are trying to get ASAP, but she also recommended tryng  to find some tasteful pellet recipes that we can mix up for him if it comes to point he stops eating.  Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Chris

 

 

[Sarita]

http://www.carrotcafe.com/n/syringefeed.html

Here are 6 different pellet slurries from Carrot Cafe – see above link.

I hope you discover what is wrong with your bunny soon.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hi Chris and Welcome!

Sorry your bunny isn’t feeling well-does your vet know what the cause is yet?

For pellet mush, you can grind pellets up by hand (put them in a ziplock bag on a cutting board and use a wooden spoon to mash them) or in a coffee grinder (that’s been thuroughly cleaned).

Then make a slurry with water (I think fifty fify works).

You can also syringe feed baby food (pumpkin is best -make sure it’s NOT pie filling, just baby food; you can feed other baby foods made from things that are ok for buns to eat, like squash, carrot, banana etc).

You can mix the pellet slush with baby food as well.

If your bun isn’t eating or drinking you can syringe feed some pedialyte (grape flavoured is our fav).

{{ Healing Vibes}} for your bun

[ChrisL1976]

Thanks for the recipes….exactly what I was looking for. We’ve been through this before about 5 years ago and the outcome was not positive. Severe head tilt, seizures, etc. Knocking on wood, Wrigley’s symptoms seems to be following that of a inner ear infection, but we’re covering everything medication wise until we get a more definite answer. I know the baytril is a appetite suppressor, so that may be part of the sluggish appetite.

Thanks for the “Healing Vibes”

Chris

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Chris I’m by no means a vet but doing a lot of research on rabbit diseases, and it looks like two things can cause head tilt, or neuro symptoms. So here’s my two cents, not vet advice but hopefully will help you!!!

E. Cuniculi and Pasturella.

Pasturella can cause head tilt (Torticollis or wry neck) when it manifests as an ear infection; a culture sensitivty or a blood test (ELISA) can determine if your rabbit has this.

E. Cuniculi can cause rear weakness and paralysis, incontinence, other neurological symptoms and a host of other symptoms (eye twitch, kidney/liver damage etc). It’s diagnosed with a blood test, but a postive result only indicates the rabbit has been exposed to this in it’s lifetime (as it tests for antibodies) ; A blood test should be done twice at least two weeks apart-two high readings or a reading that gets higher over the period of time indicate a rabbit with an acute infection that should be treated.

They’re both treated differently(usually) so it’s important to find out which (if either) are afflicting the bun.

[ChrisL1976]

Thanks…..I’ve done hours of research on both of those and also ear infects which Wrigley’s get about 1-2 times a year. Which he just got over one about 2 weeks ago.   Reading this article by Susan Brown of the chicago HRS seems to give a pretty good description of signs associated with the majr causes of head tilt.  http://www.rabbit.org/health/tilt.html

He seems to be fitting into the inner ear infection catagory with the exception of the now sluggish eating. (maybe be drug related by now)  He’s still spunky, he wants to be normal. With his balance off, he tries to moves, stumbles around and lays back down.  He’s not showing the signs of dullness or just plain I dont care attitude.   We’re keepng a very close eye on him though….as my lack of sleep in the last 4 days will prove…

He’s scheduled for his last steriod shot tommorow…….which we / vet seem to think helped his eating binge last night.

Thanks

Chris

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

That’s really good news! {{VIBES}}

[Sarita]

Keep us updated. I know it’s hard not knowing what is wrong but it sounds like you and your vet are on top of everything.

[Beka27]

welcome to BinkyBunny! it sounds like they covered everything for you. i really hope you and your vet can figure out what is going on with him. fortunately, it sounds like whatever it is, you caught onto it very early. defintely keep us posted.

feel better Wrigley!!!

[ChrisL1976]

Ok….He’s still so/so. Head tilt it showing a little bit again. He’s eating a little hay here and there, ate about 6-7 pieces of romaine in the last 12 hours.I figure the romaine will help keep his gut going and provide a little bit if water since he’s hot drinking much of anything. I just went and picked up a bottle of grape pedialyte and tried that in a bowl and he didn’t want that either….SO…..looks like it might be time to start syringe feeding liquids and maybe some food.

My other concern is he’s not moving too much and wondering if we shouldn’t take him out of his cage and let / encourage him to hop around some. He kind of staggers around and eventually lays down, but I think he needs to move his muscle. Any thoughts? Good idea? Bad Idea?

Thanks
Chris

[Sarita]

I would keep him where he feels secure until he can get his bearings. Some rabbits with headtilt once they feel better eventually start exploring. I think until you know what his diagnosis is and continue with his medication at this point just let him rest. Once he feels better he will probably explore on his own.

He probably has some equilibrium problems right now due to his headtilt. Some people try dramamine or meclizine but there is no proof that really works so I wouldn’t even try it on him.

[Beka27]

i agree, i wouldn’t allow him to run around, he might fall and hurt himself. but if he’ll sit still, you can try to hold him on your lap, pet him and talk softly to him. another member here was able to nurse her young bunny back to health when she had head tilt. she would do neck massage. as i understand that can help relieve some muscle tension caused by the tilt. i’ll email her and see if she’ll come and share her experiences.

[ChrisL1976]

Ok, we’ll leave him in his cage.  Caroline from Bunny Boutique also mentioned the Children Dramamine as helping with the equilibrium. We may mention it do our vet and see what she thinks, but I’m not sure if it works against dehydration…I know it always make me thirsty when I take it.  I seriously doubt we’ll use it, especially with the other stuff he is on.

[ChrisL1976]

Beka27

 

Thank you, I’d appreciate that.

 

Although, part of my thoughts is that this is due to a inner ear infection, when I rub behind his left ear, he starts grinding his teeth.  Anyone tried using like a warm heat pack? 

 

[Deleted User]

Sometimes teeth grinding is a good thing–shows pleasure, so I’m guessing he likes the neck rubs.

My bunny Boston was very sick with head tilt when she was a baby. She wouldn’t eat or drink so we force fed baby food (spinach and carrot flavors) until we got some critical care from oxbow. We also syringed in plain non flavored pedialyte. Keep in mind our bun could do nothing but lay because her head tilt was so bad.

If Wrigley likes to be head I do suggest the neck rubs. If he doesn’t like to be held you can always rub while he’s sitting or laying. I think not only did help Boston’s muscles to feel better, but it really bonded the two of us. I wasn’t just the big meanie forcing food an meds down her throat!!!

VIBES for Wrigley and for you and your stress right now! I hope everything turns out ok and maybe its only an ear infection. Is Wrigley on baytril right now? We had Boston on baytril in case it was an ear infection and then she was also on oxybendrazole until she got better.

Good luck, Boston and I are thinking about you!

[Deleted User]

Oh yeah, the dramamine, our vet told us it was ok to use. You’ll have to ask yours for the dosage. We grinded it up and put in a syringe with water to dissolve it. I honestly don’t remember if it made a difference or not….?

[Deleted User]

any updates on wrigley?

[rabbitsmba]

When my Fluffy had head tilt we used Bonamine which is the Canadian equivalent of Dramamine and it really helped him. It kept his dizziness in check and he felt well enough to keep eating like a monster so that was good.

Another thing Fluffy really enjoyed was neck massages. I would hold him in my arms and using my index and thumb, I would rub the sides of his neck. It helps relax the muscles that are stretched because the head tilts to one side and the other side of the neck where the muscles are squished. And it promotes blood flow and feels really nice – he would chatter and lick me the entire time…..

[BinkyBunny]

I hope your bunny is feeling better. Regarding the Children’s Dramamine be sure to talk to your vet first, especially since your bunny is already on medication.

Keep us updated.

Did they test for e.cuniculi.   Though head tilt is caused by many things, e.cuniculi, depending on where the parasite is active can cause head-tilt too.

[Author]

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