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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Need good vibes for Laura

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    • LauraPalmer
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        We are at the emergency vet right now, Laura quit eating and drinking this afternoon, and wouldn’t come out of her wood hut. Please send some good vibes, if you can, it was a 35 minute drive to the vet, and she did not look good when we walked in the door. ???


      • Mikey
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          (((((VIBES))))) Hoping all goes well and they get her gut moving healthily again!


        • LauraPalmer
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            Thank you. Good news/bad news: they can’t find anything wrong with her. They are giving her an IV with fluids and antibiotics, and sending her home with meds and critical care. The vet said we caught it early enough that she doesn’t need to stay overnight. Thank goodness!


          • jerseygirl
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              {{{Laura}}} I hope she comes good. It’s such a stressful thing, having a poorly bun.


            • Mikey
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                Perhaps it was just a hiccup in her digestive tract. Hopefully will be back on track in no time


              • meridiian
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                  (((Laura))) Please keep us posted.


                • Sr. Melangell
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                    Get well soon Laura x

                    Laura this is Olly Rabbit, this happened to me, just take your medicine and you’ll be OK, just be strong, its scary at the vets, injections and stuff, but they will make you better again, hang in there x


                  • Bam
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                      (((((Laura)))))


                    • sarahthegemini
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                        Buttercup says “hey I’ve been there, but if you take your critical care and medicine like I did cos I’m such a good bunny, you will recover just fine”

                        Buttercup’s Mum (me, lol) says it’s great you caught it early, keep up with the treatment even if she starts to gets a bit feisty. Just remember that it can take a while for her tummy to become stable (a few weeks) so avoid introducing anything new even if she recovers in a day or two.


                      • ThorBunny
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                          (((Laura)))) Feel better soon!


                        • LauraPalmer
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                            Thanks, everyone, for the good vibes. Laura looked so much better after her IV, she was really excited to jump out, and give kisses! When we got home, she happily devoured 2 huge, romaine leaves. I am struggling with the meds, but luckily, she will eat the critical care right out of the bowl.

                            I am a little disappointed, though, as the Dr could not find the root cause, and is just throwing a broad-spectrum antibiotic and pain meds as a shot in the dark. Do rabbits need added probiotics when they are taking baytril?


                          • LauraPalmer
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                              Giving the meds is proving to be very stressful. I have to corner her to get her to be still, and it is not going well…?


                            • sarahthegemini
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                                Have you tried the bunny burrito technique?


                              • LauraPalmer
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                                  I can’t even get her onto a blanket to do it…she’s all over the place on a good day. ? I can’t get close enough to her to to try to do a burrito.


                                • LauraPalmer
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                                    I don’t even know what to do right now. At this point, I am trying to get her into a corner, and get a blanket over her to clam her, but I know that is super stressful for her.


                                  • LauraPalmer
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                                      I don’t even know what to do right now. At this point, I am trying to get her into a corner, and get a blanket over her to clam her, but I know that is super stressful for her.


                                    • LauraPalmer
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                                        I guess this explains why she doesn’t like laundry.


                                      • Bam
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                                          The bunny burrito is not just a way of restraining the bunny, it also has a calming effect, like a thundershirt for a dog.

                                          If you have someone who can help you hold the bunny in their lap while you manage the syringe, it helps a lot. It’s normal to get quite a bit of CC on yourself and the bun, but as long as she gets some of it in her that’s ok. It gets easier with practice though, at first it can almost seem like a mission impossible.

                                          Some people like to give a probiotic with Baytril or after a course of Baytril. This is probably most helpful with very young bunnies and the elderly, because both those groups tend to have less sturdy and diverse GI microbiota.


                                        • sarahthegemini
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                                            Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/12/2017 7:47 AM

                                            I can’t even get her onto a blanket to do it…she’s all over the place on a good day. ? I can’t get close enough to her to to try to do a burrito.

                                            Hmm, how is she with getting into her carrier? I’ll tell you my method and hopefully it’ll help (it’s a two person job for us tho!)

                                            -Once Buttercup is in the carrier  (she goes in usually with no problems if there’s food – if she’s not interested in food, we sort of block her escape and guide her in)

                                            -Place carrier on breakfast bar, I, e. Somewhere high up

                                            -Place towel on breakfast bar, and blanket on top

                                            -Take top of carrier off

                                            -Boyfriend places 1 blanket over her and tucks her in, just enough that he can scoop her up and place her on top of the 2nd blanket 

                                            -Quickly wrap her up with 2nd blanket 

                                            -Keep her on towel so blanket has a bit of traction and won’t slip

                                            -Boyfriend presses her up against his side and puts one hand/arm over her and keeps a grip on the doubled blanket

                                            -I lift her lip up and place syringe in the gap between front teeth and back teeth

                                            -Push syringe slowly. She likes the taste of her recent medicine so she would start licking the syringe with her tongue  so I would just squirter it slowly on her tongue

                                            Put her back on floor, she kicks her back legs in disgust at us lol but then comes back within seconds for a treat.


                                          • LauraPalmer
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                                              Any advice on catching her? Physical contact is generally on her terms, and she is never still for more than a minute, unless she has worn herself out to the point where she is ready to be groomed. Luckily, she is eating the critical care out of a bowl.


                                            • LauraPalmer
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                                                The only reason I was able to get her into the carrier yesterday, was that she was too feeble to fight me. I picked her up, and put her in. When we brought her home from the foster home, we were able to pick her up, and put her in. Maybe I can set some food on the blanket, and try it that way. All of the videos I have seen show mellow bunnies, that may not enjoy the process, but at least they can sit still for longer than .2 seconds. ?


                                              • sarahthegemini
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                                                  Our little Peanut rarely goes into the carrier without…encouragement. We have to block him into a corner with pen panels, place the carrier inside and then gradually make the pen smaller. He hates being confined, he panics


                                                • LauraPalmer
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                                                    Yeah, Laura is like that, too. I’m trying not to dress her out too much, so I don’t make the problem worse, but I am at loss, at this point.


                                                  • sarahthegemini
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                                                      Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/12/2017 8:13 AM

                                                      Yeah, Laura is like that, too. I’m trying not to dress her out too much, so I don’t make the problem worse, but I am at loss, at this point.

                                                      If you’re really struggling (which I would be, I can’t bunny burrito and medicate without help!) would the vets allow her to stay for a few days so they can administer the medicine? I know being at vets can be stressful and they usually reccomend medicating at home if possible for that reason, but she could be feeding off of the stress that you’re feeling. 


                                                    • LauraPalmer
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                                                        The vet last night said that she would preferred to send her home, as staying at the vet might be even more stressful for her. I called the vet this morning, and he said that I could put the medicine in her critical care, so that’s good… hopefully, the taste and smell does not repel her from eating it.

                                                        Edit: she is eating the critical care with the appetite/bowel stimulant in it…thank goodness!!! I hope it works for the baytril and pain meds! ?


                                                      • LauraPalmer
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                                                          Woohoo! She’s back to binkying, and trying to take over the world this morning! ? I hope this course fixes her, and it’s not just putting a bandaid on something the vet couldn’t see. ? It doesn’t give me warm fuzzies that she didn’t have a distinct cause for me.


                                                        • meridiian
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                                                            Binkying! A good sign! You and Laura have been going thru an ordeal. Really hope the latest news is a sign things are going to be ok. (((Laura))) And you have been doing a great (and difficult) job looking after her thru this. xx

                                                            Ps. Add a pic of her sometime. Would love to see what Laura looks like. 🙂


                                                          • LauraPalmer
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                                                              Thank you. I can’t figure out how to make a picture small enough to fit on here. I have an iPhone 7, and the photo size is many times what is allowable on here. All of our other computers are apple, also, and flash (which this site uses) don’t play together.


                                                            • Bam
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                                                                So glad to hear Laura is binkying again!!!

                                                                The easiest way would be to upload a pic to Flickr or imgur or Google Drive or other online picture album, then paste the link to the pic here.


                                                              • LauraPalmer
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                                                                  Here is a link for some Laura pics…hope it works! I am NOT what one might call tech savvy

                                                                  https://imgur.com/gallery/B0ia8


                                                                • Luna
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                                                                    I’m glad Laura is feeling better. She’s beautiful! The Hungry Caterpillar game?! I didn’t know they still made it! All those games in your pics are taking me back to my childhood lol.


                                                                  • sarahthegemini
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                                                                      A binky bunny is a happy bunny so that’s a great sign! Yay Laura!


                                                                    • LauraPalmer
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                                                                        LOL! My kids are 13, and 15, so those games are fairly old. I keep them because we always have kids around, and you never know what they will want to play! ? I’m sure they still sell them in stores, though.


                                                                      • LauraPalmer
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                                                                          She definitely seems to be in MUCH better spirits! I’m a little concerned, though, because she’s not eating much hay. I’m guessing it’s because of the critical care? She is getting quite a bit of it-4.5 tbsp per day. Does this temporarily supplant the need for hay?


                                                                        • sarahthegemini
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                                                                            Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/12/2017 2:16 PM

                                                                            She definitely seems to be in MUCH better spirits! I’m a little concerned, though, because she’s not eating much hay. I’m guessing it’s because of the critical care? She is getting quite a bit of it-4.5 tbsp per day. Does this temporarily supplant the need for hay?

                                                                            Chances are she’s a little full from the CC. If she’s improved somewhat, you could try cutting back a little on the CC to see if she would eat hay. I had to syringe feed Buttercup every 4 hours until 2:30pm on Monday, and by 4pm she started eating on her own so I only gave her one more syringe feed during the middle of the night. It’s amazing how quick their appetite can come back!


                                                                          • Sr. Melangell
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                                                                              LauraPalmer, just to let you know, if it was GI the next couple of bathroom trips for bunny maybe a bit smelly, there might be quite a lot for you to clean up, not to worry, its better than having a blocked tummy, better out than in.


                                                                            • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                She wasn’t technically in stasis, yet. She was moving it all through up until shortly before I brought her in, so I didn’t have to worry about that. She ate her breakfast, no problem, and hay up until about lunch time.The main concern was that she wouldn’t eat lettuce, pellets, or even a banana for dinner. She kept pushing her belly against the floor, and was very aloof. She looked very rigid, and in pain. My best guess is UTI…she had wet herself yesterday afternoon, and seemed to be going where she normally would not with increasing frequency.


                                                                              • vanessa
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                                                                                  When I have to syringe feed/medicate difficult-to-catch bunnies – I keep them in a smaller area, to make it easier to catch them. I’d suggest keeping her in a crate/x-pen, or something small enough to make catching her less stressful. It isn’t nice to be in a smaller area, but I think the overall benefit of an easier “catch” makes it worth it. There are some good youtube videos on how to burrito. Syringe feeding is messy – I syringe feed my geriatric bunny. The worse yoru bunny feels, the easier it is. The better your bunny feels, the harder it is to syringe feed. With the burrito technique – I hold my bunnies a little bit on their back, only as far back as I need to to calm them. I dont’ want them tranced – because they need to be fully alert and swallow properly. So I just tip them back till they calm down, then start feeding. You want to be sure they are swallowing properly and not choking. I read articles saying not to syringe feed on a rabbit’s back, but I can’t get my those feisty rabbits to take the syringe otherwise. On all fours – they just fight oo much. SO I am really careful about making sure they are alert enough to swallow. Typically, all it takes is 5 or 10 degrees back, and they’re calm enough to stop struggling. With the syringe feeding – they do spit up. So go slowly, give them enough to swallow. It takes some time. I use a paper towel as a bib to catch the spit back, and add it back to the bowel. Personally – I like mixing 1 Tbsp critical care with 3 Tbsp water. Packaging says 1 Tbsp powder to 2 Tbsp water, but an extra tbsp makes it easier to suck up in a syringe. I use the 30ml puppy feeding syinges. When you are done, clean the syringe and store it with the plunger OUT of the tube. The rubber seal fails quicker if the plunger is stored in the tube. I find that after a few weeks (hopefully your bunny won’t need it that long), I need a new syringe. If the plunger is dificult to pull out, hold the syringe under a tap so water can run in at the plunger side. It will lubricate the rubber seal and make it easier to pull out.
                                                                                  If she is eating critical care out of a bowel, awesome. Measure ho much she is eating, and syringe feed her the rest. Keep an eye on her fluid intake. Be sure that between the bowel and the syringe, she is getting enough fluid. I flavor Lancelot
                                                                                  s water with V-8 veggie juice to convince him to drink more.
                                                                                  I like X-pens for this sort of catching. Morgana was my trouble bun for catching and medicating. I kept her in an x-pen, so all I needed to do was brong some of the panels in till she was in a triangle – 3 panels cornering her. When backed into that small area, they typically freeze up. Then I scooped her up in a towel (she would have clawed the living stuffings out of me). I woudl bundle her up especially covering her face. If they can’ see – they are way more subdued. So I’d keep her face covered while putting her in a burrito.

                                                                                  It is not always easy to pinpoint the cause of a digestive problem. So many things could cause it. I coudl even have been something as simple as gas. Lancelot stops eating when he gets gas. But it is difficult for me to identify the symptoms of gas in him because the typical posture is – belly pressed to the ground. He is old and athritic so he can’t hold any posture well. So he does’t show that posture. If you’re not used to seeing it, you may miss it. So gas, stress, pain from some other cause, something she ate that her bely disagreed with – you name i. Not easy to tell. I have no idea what gives Lancelot gas. I just know to try simethicone first – when he stops eating.


                                                                                • meridiian
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                                                                                    Thank you for the pics of laura. She really is beautiful 🙂

                                                                                    You say still eating, but not her usual dinner. How is she at present? Pooping and urinating? Are things moving thru? What do her poops look like?

                                                                                    Understand your concern, not knowing what caused this. No one likes mysteries, especially when it involves a bunny’s health.

                                                                                    Please keep us updated and best wishes. (((Laura)))


                                                                                  • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                      Unfortunately, cornering her didn’t work as she jumped, and fought me. It seemed to be traumatic to the point where it would perpetuate the issue I was trying to treat. The vet recommended a powder to sprinkle over her food that takes the edge off of the stress hormone, but that takes a few days to kick in. The vet had me make her CC into a mashed potato paste, and said that I could smuggle her meds to her that way. Since it is in an easy to eat form, I don’t have to worry about the syringe-she gets everything except a bit of the crust that gets stuck to the sides. She was VERY greedy at 4am when I can in to giver her her early am feeding! I had read about simethicone a lot of places, and was planning on giving it to her a couple of days prior, when I thought she might have gas. I asked the vet, and she told me that she had never heard of it, and not to use it. I know that many people say they have, but I have first time mom syndrome…bunny style. My sister reminded me that we actually had nine bunnies growing up. Our first bunny, we got from a shelter, and her first response was to bite. My mom wound up bringing her back to the shelter, because we couldn’t take care of her, it was so bad. Then, we got a pet store bunny, and apparently that one died suddenly shortly after we brought it home. My guess is the stress of the transition probably caused stasis. The next two, we bought from a breeder. One was a boy, when was a girl, and they became five. Finally, I went to a pet store after Easter, and saw a sad looking, white male rabbit that was very large, and would probably not be taken home. I brought him home, and may or may not have lied about where I got him, so I wouldn’t have to bring him back. ? He was the one wound up with cancer. The only other complication that they had, was when our deal was pregnant for the first time, and we didn’t realize it. We only found out once we found the babies that didn’t make it in her cage. Somehow, love found away, and they got through the barrier that was separating them. The second time, we had friends watching them, and then let them out together. ? At any rate, the point of that story is that with all of that rabbit experience, I don’t remember it being quite the stressful ? Then again, I wasn’t armed with the wealth of information that I am today. I may or may not be a bit neurotic. ?


                                                                                    • sarahthegemini
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                                                                                        Rabbit care is definitely stressful! Peanut ate a piece of rubber from his grooming glove the other day and I had to watch him like a hawk for 24 hours to make sure he was okay. Then he only did a few poops whikst eating whereas he usually drops a dozen. After worrying me, he then dropped a giant pile of poop and was right as rain lol. When they’re okay they bring so much joy but my goodness when something is wrong I think the stress might kill me lol.


                                                                                      • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                          I told my husband yesterday that I must have been a rabbit in a past life, as I’m pretty sure the stress of this is going to kill me! ? I’m glad peanut is ok.


                                                                                        • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                            Thank you! We think she’s pretty darn cute! She has started eating Timothy hay again today. She never really stopped pooping, or urinating, and it all looked about the same as usual. Basically, the cause for alarm was the fact that she did not eat dinner that evening, and she wouldn’t let anyone near her. She is usually super inquisitive, and quite hungry!She was curled up in a really uncomfortable position, and kept squishing her stomach against the ground. The last time she urinated before we brought her in, it was a little thicker than usual, and she actually went on herself. Everything seems back to normal today, so I’m hoping it was just a bladder infection, that will be relieved by the antibiotics.


                                                                                          • vanessa
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                                                                                              If vet hasnt heard of simethicone for gas … id look for another vet…


                                                                                            • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                                LOL! Surprisingly, there are few choices around here, even though we have the largest county fair in the state. Not a lot of rabbit turnout…more cows and horses than anything.


                                                                                              • vanessa
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                                                                                                  Uncomfy + stomach squished to the ground = gas. Baby unflavored liquid simethicone from the grocery store 1cc should have her fixed within an hour. Its a good idea to keep some on hand. The peeing on herself would have me concerned.


                                                                                                • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                                    Yes. It concerned me as well. Hence, the emergency vet visit. I have the drops, but did not use them, as the vet asked me not to. The course of medication is working, and I do not want to deviate from a trained professional’s instructions.


                                                                                                  • vanessa
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                                                                                                      I’v come to discover every vet is different. I have taken lancelot to 3 different vets – each one treats him differently. Just food for thought.


                                                                                                    • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                                        Yeah…I spoke with all 3 vets in my 50 mile radius. I spoke with at least 6 different people, and they all had different answers to the same questions. ??. With the emergency vet, I had no choice. There was only one that was open after 7. If she starts to go south again after her 10 days of medicine, or even before then, I will talk to the one I only called twice…they’re still under the delusion that I’m not a crazy person! ???

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                                                                                                    Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Need good vibes for Laura