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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 HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Update on BunBun’s Sludge

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    • Dee
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        Hi Everyone,

        Last week I was suspicious that Bun’s sludge was back- he kept acting better, than worse, until I took him to the vet on Wednesday. The vet expressed some urine, which had some sludge, and tested it for UTI- negative. So she gave him 50ml of sub q fluid and he peed out a whole bunch more sludge. Since then he’s been acting much happier, and his posturing has stopped. I just notice that he is pushing a bit when he pees, and sometimes very little comes out. So it’s time for the dreaded “Home Administered Sub Q’s”. He is supposed to get 50ml twice a week, which is pretty much nothing compared to what he used to get- 100ml a day all at once! Now that I’ve learned a bit more, I’m pretty shocked that a 5 lb bunny would get 100ml all at one time, but that’s what his vet said to do. 

        Now it’s Sunday and today is the day he must get them. For some reason, I just can’t get enough skin to form a tent. I was trying yesterday, just practicing, and when I kind of pulled the skin, BunBun’s litle shoulder trembled. I felt awful- I must have hurt him. Now I’m afraid to tent his skin. I’m such a baby about hurting or upsetting BunBun- the reason I’m doing fluids at home is that the vet ride scares him too much! And of course my husband does everything he can to get out of helping me since it freaks him out too. I had my son home yesterday but chickened out on giving sub q’s- shoulda done it then.

          Anyway, I remember hearing that it can be difficult to give small or thin bunnies fluids. I can’t seem to find a good place to grab some skin, although I must have last year. I do remember going right through Bun’s skin and stabbing my own finger. I didn’t care about my finger, but poor BunBun.. Dies anyone have any special advice for little bunnies with very inflexible skin?


      • Sarita
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          I find it hard to administer sub-q’s on thin and small rabbits too. Are you trying to tent the upper back/shoulder area? That’s where I usually get the most skin.

          What size needle are you using?


        • Dee
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            Hi Sarita- I was pretty sure that you were who I heard that from! I have never done sub q’s on anybun but my BunBun, but it seems that a bigger bunny would have more skin to grab onto. The bunny, Pixel, that’s in the sub q demonstation video, looks pretty goodsized and it looks so easy.
            Well I finally got my husband to help me with BunBun. He wouldn’t stay still in the bottom of his carrier, so Rick had to hold him which is very stressful for Bun. I had no problem sticking the needle in (even though Rick holds Bun so that I’m forced to inject with my left hand- even though i’m very righthanded!). But when I turned the flow control on, the IV was barely dripping into the chamber. I tried adjusting the needle, but it didn’t help. Then I was feeling around to make sure the needle was placed properly, and it felt like a hard lump was forming. That scared me a bit, so I pulled the needle out and told my husband I needed to change needles and try again. He got all freaked out and let BunBun go, and that was the end of that . Now Rick (hubby) won’t try again until tomorrow. This really becomes an ordeal, between my inexperience and Rick refusing to help half the time. I’m determined to do this at home though- the needle stick doesn’t seem to bother Bun at all, it’s just getting it in so the fluids flow correctly. I read something that really worried me, that if you manage to inject between layers of skin rather than under, the bunny can get painful abcesses. Hopefully thatasn;t what I was doing before- the lump is gone now though.
            Is the lump formed by the sub q fluid supposed to feel pretty soft? and what could it mean when the fluid just won’t drip even when I adjust the needle? This never happened before. Bun seems quiet now too, not eating his hay like he normally does. Maybe he’s just upset. My son is coming home tonight so he could help me try the sub q’s again, but I’m thinking of waiting until tomorrow. Bun is peeing ok, just taking longer and going in smaller amounts than I like. Maybe he’s better off having a break from being mauled.
            Oh yeah- that brings me to another question! Bun hates being picked up, but will sit quietly while being patted or brushed. Has anyone just been able to give their bun sub q’s by simply going up to them and sticking the needle in, without any restraint?


          • Sarita
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              It’s been awhile since I have done sub-q’s so I don’t remember about the lump. Sometimes if I don’t see the fluid dripping, I will turn the needle a bit while it is in the rabbit to see if that makes it flow better and that sometimes works.

              I don’t think you would be able to just go up and stick a needle in them.

              What I do when I give sub-q fluids is I do it in the bathroom – I have a small bathroom in the rabbits bedroom so there isn’t room to run. I sit down on the floor with my legs spread out and put the rabbit in between my legs and that always works for me.


            • RabbitPam
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                You could also try (or have husband try) a partial bunny burrito, where you wrap him in a towel with his head and shoulder peeking through the top, but basically his legs all tucked in nice and snug, then pull up the skin between the shoulders to administer the needle. Unlike with nail trims, where you pull paws out of the burrito, it isn’t necessary to unwrap his feet, so he might not be able to go anywhere.

                I don’t know if it is wrong to have a bunny eat while sub-q is being administered, but would it be possible to have hubby also feed him a treat, like a piece of banana or apple? Just something soft that he likes that is ok to eat with this problem so that it is more pleasant for him. If he can associate treat with hubby/burrito/needle, it might make it less of a struggle for both of them, and easier for you.


              • jerseygirl
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                  What about getting him to hop into a carrier or box then tranferring him to a counter top? Up high like the vet exam table.

                  Jersey had sub-Q’s about a month ago and I remember the vet saying they get a bit of a camel hump that slowly goes down & sometimes the fluids pools around the leg area.

                  She said  it could be given in the rump area (I think!!!). Maybe a call to your vet to ask about alternate places to admin the fluids?

                  {{{BunBun}}} {{{sub-Q success vibes too!}}}


                • Sarita
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                    I’ve never done the rump area. I’ve only seen them do it up towards the shoulder blades and that’s how I’ve always done it. Skin is easier to tent there.


                  • jerseygirl
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                      Yeah, I’m trying to remember from that appt. Because she had 2 needles and subQ but I’m sure it was the subQ we were talking about. The vet seem to prefer the shoulder blade area also.

                      ETA: I just read the scruff area doesn’t have as many nerve ending so they’re less likely to feel it there. The further back you go on the body the more they probably will feel the needle.  


                    • Dee
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                        Sorry I couldn’t reply yesterday- it’s been quite a week.
                        Jerseygirl, I am so glad to hear that about bunnies having less nerve endings in the scruff . The worst part of all this is thinking that I’m hurting Bun, even if I know it’s for his own good. I do think that RabbitPam’s idea of giving him a treat during the process would help ease any pain Bun might be feeling though- he does like his food .
                        All three of you have great ideas as far as technique- I should just try them all until I find one that works for me. I really think that if I could just give the sub q’s by myself, it would be way less nervewracking. A lot of the stress for me is trying to get Rick to help me, convincing him that yes, Bun really needs the sub q’s and no, I’m not going to mortally wound him with the needle (I hope!). I keep telling him and myself that if it was really that easy to seriously hurt a bunny by giving sub q’s, the vets simply wouldn’t send us home with them! Or at least they would require a training course or something… which I would kinda like, actually.
                        The good news is that BunBun is doing awesome despite not having gotten any more sub q’s. He is really peeing normally now, and acting fine. I’m wondering if he really did just have a little sludge in there that irritated him, and it got flushed out with the small amount of sub q’s he did get, plus the vet expressing some of it. She did say that his bladder felt small and not at all “sandbag like”. So I guess for now I’ll just push the greens with lots of water and hay, and see how it goes. I still think I should try to get some sub q’s in him at least weekly for a while, but the fact that he’s doing so well is encouraging. Thank you all for your good vibes and advice!


                      • RabbitPam
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                          I’d forgotten about the lack of nerve endings in the scruff, but it’s true for them and many other prey animals. It seems to be nature’s way of making it less painful when a mother has to grab a baby (you see cats do this to kittens a lot) and when a bird grabs a small prey too. Strange, but it seems to make the natural order of things less painful for them.

                          Unlike humans – the bigger the butt, the bigger the insulation.

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                      Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Update on BunBun’s Sludge