Bunny won’t leave his cage :(

[Louisa]

Hi all

My house bunny won’t leave his cage this evening and won’t eat – he’s sitting in the corner, sometime lying down, ears both forward and back. He’s a Netherlands dwarf, one year old. I picked him up and put him outside, and he hopped straight back in. I have tried wet veggies, water, treats, hay etc – but nothing. He ate this morning before I went to work and has been active today. He’s never done this before as usually he’s straight out and jumping around and I’m worried – what could it be?

Thanks in advance

[Bam]

A bunny not eating and refusing to move around must always be taken seriously. The first thing I try is baby gas drops (simethicone). Bunnies can get gas and it can be very painful for them. Gas drops are sold in Walmart and such places. You give about a ml every hour for 3 hours -surprisingly often this med makes a big difference after about 30 minutes. It’s ok to give on suspicion of gas according to Medirabbit.

If gas drops don’t help, or you can’t get any, you shouldn’t wait too long before you take your bun to a vet. I’d not wait more than 6-8 hours if he hasn’t eaten anything at all. The sooner he gets treatment, the better his chances.

Here is an article about GI stasis in rabbits, it’s written by a bunny-expert biologist (Dana Krempels) and it really has useful tips and good info:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

If you can make your bun move around a little, that can help gas escape. But if the bun is in a bad way it will just sink to the floor and not move, so it’s not always possible.

[Louisa]

Hi bam

Thank you for your kind reply. Just after my original post, my wee bunny’s tummy started making v loud gurgling noises. I was aware he hadn’t eaten for a couple of hours (very unlike him), so that combined with the lethargy and gurgling made me take him straight to the emergency vet hospital (I was aware of GI Stasis from here).

There, he was examined, had a drip, given painkillers, an injection to aid his digestion and a couple of others injections too, before being sent home with me. The vet said I’d done the right thing taking him in as his tummy was bloated, although his blood test showed no sign of blockage in his intestine. Since we’ve been home, he’s perked up a bit, eaten some hay and has come out his cage.

So the upshot is that I am so glad I trusted my instinct and posted here as my bunny is much better now. Thank you for your advice, it was absolutely spot on.

[jerseygirl]

Oh this is good to hear. Thank you for the update. 

Do you have any idea what might have caused it?  

although his blood test showed no sign of blockage in his intestine.

Just curious, was it the blood glucose test they did?

[Bam]

Thank you for the update! Glad to hear he’s doing better! You’ll of course have to keep an eye on him these next couple of days, make sure he eats. It’s helpful to empty out the litter-box and put in all new litter so you can keep track of output. Size, shape, color and amount of poop tells you a good deal about your bun’s tummy health.

Gas can reoccur, and if it does, you should look into his diet. It’s good to have baby gas drops at home, but if a bun gets gas often, there’s an underlying problem that needs to be addressed. It’s most often about making adjustments to the diet.

[Louisa]

Thanks jerseygirl and bam! I have no idea what caused it, his diet hasn’t changed and in the morning he was his usual inquisitive rambunctious self, bounding up and down the stairs, eating his kale and hay. 5 hours later he wasn’t well and I knew immediately when he didn’t leap out his cage as soon as I opened it that something was wrong. I am so glad I trusted my instinct on that.

I have to take him back to the vet this afternoon as he wasn’t eating this morning. I am trying not to stress about it  I have cleaned out his litter tray so I can check his poo (there are two bunnies, but I can tell their poos apart ) and left plenty of hay, water, kale etc. Fingers crossed that he’ll be ok – do you know how long it usually takes bunnies to get better?

I don’t know what the blood test was that the vet did last night, but I will ask and let you know. If there are any other questions you’d like me to ask the vet, please just let me know!

thanks again

Louisa.

[Bam]

The time it takes varies a lot, but if he persistently won’t eat, you should have his (inner) teeth checked. Buns can get molar spurs that hurt their tongue or cheeks when they eat, then GI problems result from that. A vet needs to check his teeth because an otoscope is needed. Sometimes the bun needs to be anesthetized in order for the vet to see properly. Even really small spurs can hurt.

Poop can stay abnormal for a week or even longer after a bout of gas/stasis. The tummy needs some time to restore its healthy microbial flora. You can give a probiotic to help with that.

I hope he’ll soon start to eat again. Try and give him his favorite greens, f ex fragrant herbs like dill, cilantro or mint can sometimes spark an appetite in a bun. A little bit of rolled oats is often appreciated.

[Louisa]

Thanks bam the vet tonight looked v carefully and for a long time at his teeth and said they weren’t bad but none the less they’ve kept him (and his sister for company) in overnight for observation as he hasn’t been eating today and I don’t think pooed. They’re hoping that 24/36 hours is all that’s needed. I am keeping everything crossed he will be OK

[Bam]

I’ll keep everything crossed too for him. You seem to have a good vet. It’s great that he gets to have his sister with him, that helps the will to fight.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Sending along some (((Get Well Soon)))) Vibes for your bun!

[Louisa]

Posted By LittlePuffyTail on 10/27/2016 1:23 PM
Sending along some (((Get Well Soon)))) Vibes for your bun!

Thank you it’s so stressful. Not having the bunnies here with me is with horrible. Will update when I hear from the vet

[Louisa]

hello – update from me.

Vet called and there’s been no improvement overnight so the bunnies (Jon Bun Jovi and Janis Hoplin) are staying in for another night. Jon still isn’t eating and they’re not sure if he’s pooing as he’s sharing with Janis, so they’re going to separate the two for a time to see.

he had an x-ray, it shows his tummy is full, but there’s no blockage which is a relief. apparently he is bright and quite a handful to examine, which i will take as a good thing. the vet said that she’s looked at his teeth, but it’s difficult to get a good look as he keeps chewing on the thing she uses to examine them, and she said that at this stage, sedating him to look at them wouldn’t be a good idea.

it’s so worrying. i know Jon’s in the right place, so all i can do is hope that by tomorrow there is improvement.

[Bam]

Oh, I’m sorry to hear he’s not back with you yet. It’s always a good (albeit inconvenient) thing when your bunny is being a handful when you try to syringe feed it or examine it, of course. Fighting spirit is important!

It is often difficult to see the back teeth without sedation and it’s of course not a good time to put him under until he’s doing better again.

Thank you for the update. Your bunnies’ names are great

Eating-vibes for (((((Jon)))))

[Louisa]

 Thanks bam. Another update from me, they’re both still in bunny hospital, that’s four days now, and it’s unlikely to be before tomorrow before they can come home. Have attached a photo of the poorly patient (and his over-protective sister), taken yesterday – he has an IV attached to his ear. Have also attached another photo of them when not ill!

 Jon still isn’t eating, although he did have a treat i took for them, and the nurse was delighted! his gut sounds are still reduced and as of yesterday, he hadn’t pooed but the vet said she’s cautiously optimistic that he’s on the mend and he’s bouncing around and a handful to examine. he did look very sorry for himself yesterday, but he let me stroke him so i am hoping that today will bring better news.

[Bam]

They are so cute! Yay for Jon taking a treat from you!

[Louisa]

hello – another update from me.

The vet called this morning and said that the bunnies can come home today Jon apparently ate some parsley this morning (only when he’s fed by hand though, not if it’s left on the floor – what a high maintenance bunny!) and he’s finally pooing (thank god) so the vet thinks that as they’ve been in the hospital 5 nights, they can come home and Jon should be able to recover more quickly in his home environment. I cannot tell you how relieved I am, I was having nightmares last night that he wasn’t going to make it, and my boyfriend has had to deal with lots of tears!

I looked at the pellets I had for him and realised that they weren’t particularly high in fibre, so have ordered new ones (Oxbow Essentials), which I will gradually change over. I have also ordered Oxbow Timothy Hay, which gets very good reviews. I have bought some daily probiotics, which I can add to water/sprinkle on their food to aid their digestion. I have Critical Care and the vet will be giving me more so I can feed him if necessary. I can’t wait to have my bunnies back home with me, this has been the longest week and I can’t believe how quickly the stasis came on.

thanks to you all for your advice, the bunnies will be very carefully watched over the next few days so you can expect more updates/questions from me! If there is anything else that I should be doing, please let me know!

thanks all for your good wishes so far.

[Louisa]

 

[Bam]

That’s so good to hear =)

We’ll love more updates of course =) You must be so excited to get them back!

Oxbow pellets and hay are great products. The pellets have 25% fiber, and that’s excellent. I have Oxbow oat hay and Orchard for my bun, I try to avoid timothy because I’m allergic myself to it. I also believe in probiotics – buns have so sensitive tummies.

I don’t think there’s anything else you should be doing except follow the vet’s orders, keep a close eye and love them. Baby gas drops is good to have at home and ranitidin can sometimes be of help, you can ask your vet about that, it’s OTC and most often sold under the name Zantac. It acts as a motility drug in rabbits. You might never need it, I like to keep some at home just in case. 

[Louisa]

Hi All!

Another update from me. Bunnies came back last night after 5 days in hospital, they were very lively and have been racing all over the house. Jon’s eaten hay and some greens, and there’s A LOT of poo – yippeeee!! he’s still on medication (check out his notes below) but he seems to be back to his old self, or near enough. he’s raced up and down the stairs three times already this morning – and is currently chilling out under my bed (his sister is too small to climb the stairs, so she’s chilling behind the sofa).

Couple of photos of the patient attached. His poor little ears have been shaved due to the IV so hopefully that’ll grow back soon. Will be keeping a very close eye on both of them as this has been a very worrying (and expensive – £800 ) week.

Thanks for all your advice here, so gratefully appreciated.

  

[Bam]

It sounds great!The meds are good -cisapride and Zantac are gut motility drugs, Metacam is an antiinflammatory painkiller.
Let’s hope he keeps up this vigorous pooping and running up and down the stairs!

[Vienna Blue in France]

That’s great news (not for the bank acc ) !!! I love that the whole name is used throughout the report – Jon Bun Jovi !!

[Author]

Messages