Help, my bunny/use ate tulips

[Roxanne]

Hi!
Last night, around 9PM, I noticed that the three tulips on my desk were gone. The flowers were gone, but the stems and leaves were there.
I’m not sure if both bunnies ate them, but I’m pretty sure that my Netherland Dwarf is the only one who can climb high. The tulips were probably ingested sometime between 4PM-7PM.

Anyway, we only have three exotic vets here. None of them were available last night, and both bunnies were acting normally, but we still decided to rush our bunnies to the Animal Hospital, which is two cities away. We arrived at the ER around 10PM. The attending vet there was not a pro (she said so herself), and she had no experience handling bunnies. She asked for advise from the exotic vets over the phone. They suggested activated charcoal, so they gave them a dose each. The exotic vet then suggested that they attach an IV, or administer fluids under the skin, but the attending vet refused to do so because of her non-experience with rabbits. My husband and I also felt hesitant to have her inject them, too. They then prescribed another dose of activated charcoal and Vitamin B, and after midnight, we were able to go home. Both bunnies are still behaving normally.

I seeked advise in a Facebook group, and one very helpful member there was able to contact a friend of hers who is a rabbit nurse. She suggested that the shot of fluids is essential, and that the charcoal might be harmful, especially if the bunnies aren’t showing symptoms of toxicity. At that point, I really wasn’t able to do more to have the ER personnel administer fluids. They just told me to go for a follow-up consultation when the exotic vet is available.

Now, I am confused. I still haven’t given the buns their next dose of activated charcoal. They are acting normally: eating, drinking, hopping on the bed, begging for treats. I’ve yet to give them the Vitamin B (which the vet says will protect the liver), but I’m hesitant to give them the charcoal. I called the exotic vet, and he says that he can’t squeeze us in his schedule for the week, and I could just have other non-exotic vets inject the fluids. I’m now looking for a regular vet who can inject them, but I’m still not sure because I don’t even know how much fluids they should be injected with.

Can anyone who’s had an experience with this sort please advise me on what to do? Both bunnies are currently sleeping, they’ve just eaten their greens (bok Choy), had some hay, and were playing and running around the room as of 7AM this morning. I am very confused. Should I give them the next dose of activated charcoal? Should I find a vet to inject them with fluids? I’m pregnant right now, and my belly is getting bigger by the day, so carrying them in their carrier is starting to take the toll on my back and hips. My husband is asking if it’s ok to wait until tomorrow afternoon to have them injected with the fluids…

Hoping to hear from you guys as soon as possible!

Bunny kisses,
Roxanne

[Roberta]

Charcoal is fine, definitely give them the next dose, it is a standard for ingestion of anything toxic for humans and animals, incl bunnies.
Water help to keep the toxin from settling in the liver and kidneys by flushing it through the sytem. Immediate Sub Q fluids would be best but in the interim you can syringe feed some extra or give them lots and lots of moist green herbs and grass as well as plenty of hay.

[Roxanne]

Thank you for the quick reply, Roberta! The vet said to give the charcoal around 6AM this morning. Since I hesitated, I wasn’t able to give it to them. It’s now noon here. Is it still ok to administer the charcoal?

[Roberta]

It is quite safe for them, unfortunately it may not be as effective with the delay. It would normally help neutralize, absorb and filter the toxin and carry it through the gut. By now the toxin has been able to get into the organs and tissues. Give it anyway and hopefully it may carry through anything still in the gut.

[Roberta]

OK… Been hunting about and it looks like the petals may not be classified as toxic only the bulb itself. Keep going with lots of hay and fresh veg and monitor their behaviour. Watch for any change in behaviour, abnormal poops or strange pee (excessive or very dark)

[Karl Scoble]

I did a little research into the tulip family to see what I could find.

I found that the toxic part of the tulip group are the glycosides which can be harmful to animals, including buns of course.

The glycosides are a bond of sugar molecule to another such molecule, such as poisonous substances for transport out of the plant and for storage.

In my opinion, as flowers are primarily for reproduction and little respiration and storage etc that would see such toxins being present in that part of the plant the flowers would probably contain the least of the toxins that could harm your bunnies.

Secondly, after research on glycosides, I found this:

“Most symptoms from oleander poisoning are cardiac and gastrointestinal in nature and appear four hours after the ingestion” (retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3089829/). This is in regards to consumption of plants similar to the Tulip (e.g. Foxglove, Oleander) and based upon human consumption.

The fact that you have not yet recieved any of the symptoms I came across, one such being loss of appetite in humans and therefore probably in rabbits as well, I would say you are in the clear with them

tl;dr basically I think they ate a less dangerous part of the plant which has lower concentrations of the toxin, and the fact that they have not yet displayed abnormal behaviour says they are not going to be affected by the tulip flower consumption

I could be wrong o course, but if I was you I would give them the last charcoal treatment if indeed it cannot harm them at all and rest easy

[LittlePuffyTail]

Any update on your bun?

[Roxanne]

Hi everyone! Sorry for the late update, and thank you so much for all the replies..

Both bunnies are still acting normally – eating, drinking, chasing each other. There’s just one thing I’m concerned about with my Netherland Dwarf. He seems to be in good spirits, but I noticed that his right eye is almost always half-closed when he is eating and resting. The left eye is as wide as always. I’m not sure if it’s a reaction, or an injury.. These boys are playing more roughly than usual since last week. My lionhead finally reached puberty (ND’s testicles have descended a month ago), and they been running around a lot. Well, it’s the ND who does the chasing most of the time. He keeps on wanting to hump my Lionhead. Sometimes, my Lionhead just lies down and lets him hump him, sometimes they chase each other, and sometimes the Lionhead circles and sprays the ND. I’ve been bugging the vet for the neuter, but he says that it can’t be done yet. Maybe after November. It’s incredibly frustrating for me since I’ve read that they can be neutered as long as their testicles have descended.

Anyway, that’s the only thing that has been disturbing me. The right smaller/half-closed eye. I’m scared that there might have been some nerve damage. The next vet schedule that’s available is still on Saturday, so I really can’t do anything much except pray.

[Bam]

I don’t find anything about nerve damage with tulip poisoning. As previous posters have said, the poison is very concentrated to the bulbs. I remember my grandfather going nuts over the wild rabbits that ate my grandmother’s tulips (not the bulb but the leaves and flowers), so they’d probably have to ingest a good deal of those parts to become really ill.
http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/tulip/

Could they’ve been in a fight? Is there discharge or tear-fluid from the half-closed eye, any redness etc?
Your bunnies seem rather sexually mature. Has the vet given a reason for not wanting to neuter them young? Male dogs that are neutered very young may not get as muscular as they otherwise should’ve been since testosteron influences muscle-growth. But I don’t know if that’d be a concern with rabbits.

[Karl Scoble]

Agree with above, tulips don’t cause nerve damage.

If they did they would be a lot less widely grown containing neurotoxins.

I’d guess physical damage, maybe a scratch or simply lazy?

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