New Mom looking for sick bunny ideas

[Deleted User]

Hey everyone,

I have a almost 2 year old spayed lion head female bunny. She is my joy! I feed Oxbow pellets and all the correct Oxbow hay for adult rabbits. I have been even giving her Oxbow Digestive tablets. I noticed the other day she wasn’t acting herself. Not eating like her usually self and her urine output is very little. I have a crock and a water bottle but I notice she doesn’t drink a lot.

I took her to the vet asap. They did an abdominal x-ray and found no sludge but said her tummy was full of food. She did all the necessary things, checked temp, palpated belly said everything seems okay but was unsure if maybe some kind of obstruction in her belly or after. The vet gave her fluids and told me to clean her cage out then in the am take a picture of her cage and then send it to her so she can see if maybe she has some type of blockage. I did she did poop but not a lot. She did eat some hay in the night also.

The vet prescribed 4ml of FRESH pinapple juice that I make, and Cisapride 5mg/ml 2-3x a day until she poops more.

I am a new bunny owner and I get very concerned I am also a nursing student. I love my bunny and hate to see something bad happy. Is there anything else I can do for her? Has anyone else used this type of medication and has it worked?

[Paige]

Welcome!
Giving her a gentle tummy massage twice a day could help if her problem includes gas bubbles stuck in her system
I have not used cisapride but it’s a gut motility drug from what I’ve heard.
Do you feed veggies? Giving some of her favorite veggies with lots of water on them can help her system move
Good luck

[Bam]

It’s good that she ate hay and made some poops.
Cicapride is a gut motility drug. It’s sometimes used in combo with metoclopramide, another gut motility drug that acts further down in the GI tract. Fresh pineapple use is old school, but probably won’t hurt. She might perk up a bit from the sugars. There are enzymes in fresh pineapple that have a proteolytic effect, but it’s not considered a very effective treatment for GI stasis nowadays. Hydration is key for an obstruction though. Sub Q fluids are very good. Since you are a nursing student, maybe you could ask your vet if you could distribute sub Q fluids at home?

Many rabbit experts say painkillers should be given, because the pain caused by the GI trouble might be what stops the bun eating. Not all vets would agree though. Metacam (meloxicam) is well tolerated by buns, and is often preferred over buprenorphin, because opiods (as you know) slow the gut. Both are on Medirabbit’s safe-analgesics-list though. http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

Medirabbit is a great source of info on bunny health/treatments btw.

As Paige says, freshly rinsed, dripping vet favorite vegs can sometimes entice a bun to eat and at the same time get extra water in her. Fragrant herbs like cilantro or mint seem to be particularly enticing.

It’s important that she eats. Did your vet say anything about feeding her Critical Care? It’s a powder that Oxbow makes. You mix it with water or f ex baby fruit- or veg puree.

[Author]

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