Hello everyone! Longtime listener, first time caller.
#opalbunny for pictures
Everyone, meet Opal, a 4 year old Netherland Dwarf lilac silver marten, as best I can tell. He’s a foster for the local humane society who was supposed to be with me for only 5 days for a round of antibiotics. Here we are on day 31. Not to toot my own horn, but I swear this kid would have died about five times over without a foster home.
I’m writing because I just can’t figure him out. Been doing rabbit rescue since 2009 and I thought I’d seen it all, knew it all, could prevent/treat it all. He’s killing me. Here’s the shape he was in when I got him:
- Overgrown nails
- Sore hocks/open wounds on feet
- Weepy eye
- Not eating hay or veggies, only junk food pellets
- Underweight
Aaaaand here’s what we found when he stopped eating ANYTHING after his neuter:
- Maloccluded teeth, one root almost up to the weepy eye
- Lower tooth roots nearly puncturing jaw
- Overgrown front teeth
- Overgrown back teeth with no points that met and no grinding surfaces
- One molar fractured below the gum line
- Hemivertebrae
- “Minimal gas” and no obvious sign of GI upset
And here’s where we are now, after two weeks of Emerald Critical Care “bunny soup” and transitioning to pellets:
- LOVES pellets — when he wants to eat
- LOVES apple — usually will eat small bites, then zoom around because that’s a lot of sugar for a 2 lb rabbit
- Just last week started eating some hay, but is usually uninterested in it, leading to me putting small piles of fresh hay in front of him many times a day
- Still not interested in any veggies, including smelly herby things, and especially not cilantro
- Ate 4 dandelion heads (from my untreated yard) a few days ago, ate 2 more yesterday
So, that’s what’s going into him. Here’s what’s coming out of him:
- Pee, thankfully, looks good but is small in quantity and volume
- Poops are tiny, dark, hard, teardrop shaped; telltale signs of something going wrong inside
- Poops are infrequent and only like 6 at a time
He will eat a couple pellets if I put them down in front of him. He will eat a bit of apple if I put it down in front of him. He will drink a couple laps if I put his water bowl in front of him (he has a bottle too that he does not prefer). He has two litter boxes, 2 places to find pellets, and there’s hay literally everywhere in his room (oh yeah, he has a whole room to himself).
I worry about his hemivertebra causing pain — can’t do anything about that. I worry about his broken tooth causing pain — can’t do metacam for too long without liver damage. I worry about these tiny dark poops and lack of interest in food, especially when it’s been about a week of this. I’ve sat with him for long periods giving him food, squishing his tummy, syringing pineapple juice, syringing water, more pellets one or two at a time, more bites of hay… It’s just never enough to fix it.
He’s already had x-rays and check-ups and the doc says he’s fine. He bruxes and then flops, but the flop lasts about 3 seconds before he’s back in a hunched posture and I can’t tell if the tooth grinding is bruxing or pain. He chins my finger and loves getting his head rubs in, but then “kicks dirt” whenever he moves through the room as though he hates me.
Sick bunnies I can do. Healthy bunnies I can do. This kid… I have no idea what to think. I’d LOVE some input, advice, “have you tried this?” suggestions, anything is good because I’m about at wit’s end with this tiny guy. Thank you so much! You’re all such a great community!
-Lindsay