Stomach upset and Metacam doasge

[B&A]

Hi,

  I am looking for a little advice. My girl Arlo, she is just over two years old. She wasn’t right after dinner tonight. It seemed like a bit of gas, I can hear her stomach rumbling. She seemed really uncomfortable and won’t sit still, tossing and turning and you just generally know something is up. Usually if one of my buns gets like this I take them to the vet. It’s Saturday night though and the vets are closed on Sunday. I have a store of metacam though, as the vet has told me in the past that giving them a wee dose quickly can nip things in the cud and it has done in the past. 

  She’s a big girl, so the vet has said her dosage is 1.2ml. I gave her this at about ten/eleven pm. She still hasn’t settled. I’m a bit concerned if she got it all or some of it spilt out. She hasn’t settled at all and now it’s quarter to three in the morning on Sunday. I don’t know if it is okay to give her more? or if that is quite dangerous. She hasn’t slept, she is just tossing and turning and seems really unhappy. 

Any advice would be really really appreciated. 

Thank you 

[jerseygirl]

Sending some {{{vibes}}} for Arlo !

What strength metacam do you have? The 1.5mg/ml or 0.5mg/ml ? Do you know her weight?

How do her ears feel? Are they much colder then normal. Oral meds are not always absorbed well from the gut when a rabbit is unwell or heading into shock where the become hypothermic.

Is she repositioning herself a lot? Pressing the belly down? You could give some infant gas meds as these don’t need be absorbed into the bloodstream. If you do, I wouldn’t wait much longer to see if it helps.. There could be something more serious the gas going on. Do you have an out-of-hours vet available?

[B&A]

Thanks for responding. 

The metacam I have for her just says ‘1xMetacam Oral suspension 10ml, give 1.2ml once daily by mouth’ . It doesn’t give the concentration.

I was worried about her ears – she kept lying by this drafty door though – and they felt cool – I had her running about and she’s moved to another spot and they feel warmer. 

Should I get her to take some fibreplex? I worry I’m stressing her out. She goes through phases of re-positioning herself a lot – and then she just lies there for awhile. I can hear her belly though – the gurggling sounds. She is just lying there right now – but I worry when she is moving about – looking uncomfortable – her heart beats faster. 

[jerseygirl]

If the vet calculated the dosage for her, I wouldn’t give more. I *think* it is probably the dog strength metacam. I don’t believe the cat one is available in 10ml bottles.

Gurgling sounds is better then no sounds. I actually went through this with my large rabbit 2 weeks ago. She ended up on motility med, baytril and pain med. Her dose was 0.9ml dog strength meloxicam and she is 4.8kg (about 10 pounds). It was at the lower end of the dosage range.

Is her abdomen feeling soft? Or is stomach (up near ribs) ballooned out at tight?
Is she breathing faster then normal?

I was worried about her ears – she kept lying by this drafty door though – and they felt cool – I had her running about and she’s moved to another spot and they feel warmer.

Checking the ears is only a bit of an indicator, it’s not really accurate, obviously! It’s good they are not super cold. Maybe she was trying cool off if choosing to lie in the draft?

Do you know when she last ate? It could be too soon to try force any food. It’s not recommended if there is a blockage of any kind. 

[B&A]

Well, I got too worried – she looked so uncomfortable – I found an out of hours vet who would see me at four on a Sunday morning. cost a fortune, but she’s been checked over and given a bunch of things to help with the pain and hopefully get her guts moving. Fingers crossed that and a bit of rest will sort her out.

Thanks for the help!

[jerseygirl]

Hopefully that will get her more comfortable and you can rest easy. The injectable meds should help.

I had to go out of hours vet on a Sunday also. Why do they fall ill on holidays or weekends?!! 

 
Keep us posted on how she is doing.

[B&A]

Hi, 

She still seems uncomfortable. I am forcing some critical care into her – but the vet said to give her a dose of vetergesic at noon. I have been reading about it making bunnies lethargic and not want to eat. I have never used anything other than metacam – is it not counter intuitive to give them something that will make them not want to move or eat? 

[B&A]

Also with the critical care – she obviously really doesn’t like it – but she’s started just holding it in her mouth when I feed her. I know she’s not swallowing.  She still doesn’t seem comfortable. 

[Bunny House]

Did you see a rabbit savvy vet or a regular vet? Did they give her fluids and buprenorphine pain med shot? It’s best to have an X-ray done to make sure there is no blockage as force feeding can be deadly. One of my buns was blocked up. Did you give any baby gas drops to try and see if it helps? Stasis is a symptom of something. Did they vet check for molar spurs?

[B&A]

The vet was the emergency out of hours vet – so I don’t think she was a rabbit specialist. She looked at her teeth and said they looked good, she checked her blood glucose too, which is something haven’t seen them do before, but she said it was fine. 

How do you know if it’s a blockage? It’s so hard to know what to do  – if it’s a blockage, if it’s not a blockage. 

What is the baby gas stuff? I don’t have kids, I don’t know what that would be – is it a powder a liquid? Is there a brand name or something I could look for? How much do you give? 

[jerseygirl]

Vetergesic is buprenorphine. It can make them dopey.

Are you in the UK, Arlo?

The gas meds are simethicone. Some Infant brands are; Infacol, Mylicon, Ovol. You can use De-gas liquid capsules for adults, just squirt half capsule into mouth. It would be easier to draw it into a syringe if possible.

It’s more something to give when you first see a rabbit having some tummy trouble. It can turn things around. But it doesn’t hurt to give it at any point.

[jerseygirl]

Checking the glucose is a good way to gauge whether there is a blockage or not. Raised can indicate blockage & bloat where as with stasis, the normal glucose level becomes lower.
If the vet says her glucose is fine, this is a good sign.

[B&A]

Okay, I’ll try to get some for her – it’s Sunday though so a lot of shops are closed. It always happens the day everything is closed. 

She ate a little bit of parsley just now of her own volition, I was about to give her some more critical care and water – but I am letting her rest a bit since she ate the bit of parsley. She still seems quite off though. I worry about how stressed out she gets getting bundled up all the time.

Thank you for all the help! 

[Bunny House]

My bun had all his bloodwork normal including the glucose so not everytest can prove something or not which is the scariest. He had an X-ray done to see if he was blocked, must have been too much gas and we couldn’t see it. He really was blocked so technology can’t always be trusted.
It is kinda counterproductive to give a painshot when it makes them sleepy but it can help ease pain and can get them to move around so they aren’t hunched up which can prevent recovery.

I don’t know where you live but if there is a Walgreens or some pharmacy around you, there should be some in the baby isle or you can go with the adult one as Jerseygirl said.

Have you tried to offer mint or strong smelling herbs?

You just need to make sure she stays hydrated as being dehydrated can be very bad for a ill bun, their organs need to stay hydrated to move things along, and if there is a chance of a blockage or small amount of dry poop causing her issues, syringe feeding water is best. You can mix in a tiny bit of apple sauce in it with a syringe and get it in her that way. You can also mix in a bit of fruit baby food, applesauce or pumpkin into the critical care to see if that’s more appetizing.

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