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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE Mimzy and Pip’s vet visit today

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    • MimzMum
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        They were both scheduled for 9 this morning to see Dr. H. I thought briefly about putting them in one large carrier since we’ve been bonding, but realized they weren’t comfy enough with one another and I’d have to split them up, Mimzy didn’t get his roomy carrier this time, but Fiver’s more compact one. Considernig how much Pip was sliding around in the big one, I think I goofed.

        Anyway, we got Mimz looked at first. She listened to his lungs, heart, palpated his tummy (remember he was going in for disinterest in eating) and looked at his teeth as best she could, He was uncharacteristically uncooperative this time, but we didn’t find anything untoward in his mouth. So stumped, she decided to revisit his xrays to be certain there was no blockage, and to check the status of his hips.

        The stomach turned out to be very full. The only way we woudl be able to tell if a wool block was there would be to fast him for 8-12 hours and retake the films, but in her opnion there wasn’t anything really wrong with his digestive system. His lungs wer clear, his heart is absolutely huge considering the size of his little chest, but perfectly normal. Spine and ribs all looked good.

        Sadly, when we got to his left hip joint, there is now a large spur jutting from the top of the socket there. This was not there in his last xrays, just a few months ago. We have to assume his arthritis is progressing and quite rapidly. Even Dr. H. was set back by this.

        So possibly it is his pain that is causing him to pause when eating or not eat very much at all. He also does these odd ‘tips’ and ‘stumbles’ from either a sitting or grooming position. Sometimes he’ll just startle from a nod as he’s sitting up, and when rising from a lying position he definitely has to struggle to get up all the way. I’m very sad to see him having such difficulty. I asked again if he should be titered for EC, but she said he had very small veins in his ears where she’d have to draw from, so he’d have to be sedated for it…she was concerned about the falling over he’s doing, but his symptoms could be explained by the pain in the hip. I could run him through a course of Panacur, but it would be a difficult suspension to mix since none of our pharmacies make it. (She did take samples of the little dried pieces on his ears to have tested to see what kind of fungus it might be.) We will continue to see how he progresses and if something else presents itself that points to EC, we’ll begin treating him. Otherwise, we really don’t want to put him through anything he may not really need.

        We got him some more metacam and she told me that , if I could, to kind of warm him up before letting him exhert himself. So probably some massage and gentle movements of his limbs would really help him out before bonding. (We did try a little while with both of them after our trip in today, but I think they were too agitated already from the vets, so it didn’t last long before there was chasing and fur pulling on both their parts.)

        So next was PIp, and the first thing we found (and this must have been recent because I haven’t seen this before today while handling her) was that she had a small amount of blood in ther urine that was staining her bottom.

        I was in complete shock and very angry with myself. Pip then went in the back for a clean urine draw (direct from bladder) and an xray to be sure she didn’t have stones. She didn’t, although her urine was very cloudy and silty. Dr. H. couldn’t see them very well through the muck, but found some rod shaped bacteria, so put her on Baytril for 2 weeks. We’ll see if this clears up the improper urinating she’s been doing, or if it really is just a behavioural thing. All I could do was hold the poor thing and apologise for not getting her in sooner.

        All nails trimmed and one other thing with Pip, she had a lot of waxy buildup in her ears that was getting scratched out onto her mane, so we checked them and sure enough, she’s got a yeast infection in the ears, so I have to put those TrizUltra drops in there twice a day for two weeks as well. *sigh* Pip is nowhere near as cooperative with medicines as Mimzy is. This is not going to be fun. But I am glad we got them both seen and at least we have an idea of what has been troubling both of them.

        Sooo…do I continue to bond them even though they’re both sickies? I kind of think it would be a shame not to try, but not sure if I should wait till they’re both feeling better or not? Opinions, please? Thankies!

         

         


      • LizzieKnittyBun
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          Oh man… health problems!!

          I’m not really sure about the bonding. It’s possible that being in pain will encourage them to seek each other out more… or it’s possible that they will come to associate each other with pain and therefore dislike each other. I have *no* idea.

          I wish I were more helpful!


        • MimzMum
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            Hey, I was just glad to get Pip’s bummy problems cleared up. (She could still use a gland cleaning…phew!) And Mimzy actually gained another ounce! ^_^ Considering how little he’s eaten lately (counting how little hay disappears) he’s doing pretty well.
            He was without his metacam from 2 PM yesterday though, so he’s making those little grunts and squeaks of discomfort. Tears me up. Just gave him his dose and now he’s kind of zoning….aauuummmmm!
            In fact, I’m off to have a bite to eat and a little kip myself. I am beat! Been a looong day!

            BTW…does anyone’s bunny make a kind of wheezy snoring noise? I’m beginning to think that’s what Mimzy is doing lately, since his lungs and nose are clear…he sometimes just makes this weird, almost wheezing noise that kind of reminds me of snoring when he’s (I think) sleeping…it’s hard to tell, his eyes are always open. :-/


          • LizzieKnittyBun
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              Remy totally snores. It sounds like a moaning sigh. He can sleep through me playing World of Warcraft at full volume.

              The other day he fell asleep and snored to me singing along with the Cranberries.


            • LittlePuffyTail
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                That was a very eventful vet visit. I’m sad to hear that about Mimzy’s hip. The poor little guy…to have arthritis at such a young age.

                Don’t be angry with yourself. You got Pip in to the vet and her problems are going to clear up and she will happy and healthy again.

                Both your bunnies are lucky to have such a caring Momma. None of our bunnies would have survived this long if they were hutch bunnies that’s for sure! They ended up with the right owners at least.

                That’s kind of a situation about the bonding. I think, if it was myself, I would at least wait until Pip’s urinary problem is better because any extra stress is not good for a bunny with an infection. But you’re the one who sees how stressed out they actually are when you do bonding sessions so that’s how I would judge it.


              • Sarita
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                  Mango snores as well.

                  I’m glad you took Pip in – I think often people think that their rabbit is just being bad, but when you think about how cranky babies are when they don’t feel good, that’s the only way they know how to express it – they aren’t being cranky because they are cranky little people, they don’t feel good and that’s how they express it. That’s why you cannot put your people feeling on your rabbits, like they are being naughty :~)

                  As for Mimzy, why are you wanting to do an EC test? Mango had arthritis at a young age as well, I think he was the same age as Mimzy is now and he’s now 9 years old now, and it certainly affects his behavior – he has dirty bum issues and and urinary issues because he cannot posture correctly – I’ve found that to be the case in all my arthritic rabbits. The acupuncture really helped him – unfortunately that vet is moving to Colorado – boohoo. I give him metacam most every day too – I can’t tell if it helps or not to tell you the truth though but I don’t want to do an opiate like buprenex at this point since he’s still has quite a bit of mobility.

                  I also felt that the laser therapy worked well for Maxine but at the end it wasn’t effective – I felt though that while it didn’t cure her it did help a bit with her quality of life even for a short time.


                • MimzMum
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                    Sarita, I wasn’t thinking Pip was misbehaving, I was afraid I was frightening her all of a sudden and causing her to posture and pee defensively. I tried everything; being sure my hands were washed, that I hadn’t touched the dog first, that I hadn’t cleaned the boys’ pens first, that her bedding wasn’t retaining any soap from laundering…nothing worked. I had also started giving her dandelion leaves, which I thought maybe had just been irritating her and that if I kept fluid going through her she’d clear it. But she’d stop peeing for a few days, then start up again. I was afraid it might be something like this, but just wasn’t certain since it wasn’t constant. I should’ve known better. But today she is getting back to her old self, much friendlier and seems more comfy, if having a little bit of ‘botty marks’ from where the antibiotic is causing some mushy cecals. In fact I have to go give her some Benebac right now.

                    So Mango did well with the metacam? That’s a good thing to know. I am not fond of medicating a rabbit for it’s entire life, especially with painkillers. But I don’t want Mimz to hurt.
                    I don’t think we have the option of laser therapy here. Alaska is still too ‘backwoods’ for much, we only recently got a heart treatment center in town for the humans!
                    I was concerned about his rear end weakness, the fact that he had constant respiratory issues until this last two weeks worth of Baytril and that now he seems to be ‘tipping over’ for no apparent reason and that’s why I’ve been wanting him titered for EC. But for now we’re attributing it to his hips. I’m guessing if he feels poorly in himself, he’s going to probably fall over quite a bit and have trouble getting up from a sleeping position. Unless his nasal problems come back or he shows other symptoms that would be indicative of EC, I won’t be taking him in for any further treatment except for the metacam he’s already on.
                    BTW, we have been trying the ‘old bones mix’ sold here by BB.com. He loves it, but it does kind of mess with his digestion a bit, and gives him some mushy cecals too, but he’s keeping himself really clean despite that.

                    I think I’ll keep trying to put them together from time to time, but if either is stressed by it we’ll keep sessions short or hold off until they’re feeling better.

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                Forum DIET & CARE Mimzy and Pip’s vet visit today