Hi all, how are you all doing? We have had a few emergencies over the past 3 weeks with our bunnies, and finally everything is starting to get better again now… I have ummmmmed and arred about posting this on here, it is a little graphic, but I think it is important to share this, because even if this info helps just one bunny owner, it will be well worth it.
A few weeks ago I posted on here about the problem I was having with StuBob. She had a swollen cheek and her breathing was a bit snotty. As soon as I realised this I called the vet. My local vet doesnt do rabbits anymore so they reccommended another vet close to my house. I took her there straight away.
As soon as I got there he weighed Stu. She weighs 1kg. (2.2 pounds) He had a look at her nose, at her cheek, and the puss happening there, and prescribed 1ml of Baytril a day. I also had to bathe the wound with Betadine. He said the wound was caused by a cut on her cheek. He checked her teeth also and said they were perfect, nothing wrong there.
I took her home, and started with the 1ml of Baytril a day.
A few days later Stus hair was falling out. I thought that she was pulling it out and Monkeybun suggested some bitter spray. I went straight to the vet and bought some and started using it. A few days later the rest of Stus hair fell out. The only hair left was on one side of her face, her ears and feet. The rest was completely bald. She also started losing weight, even though she was still eating like a horse.
At this point I was getting really worried. I rang the vet that had prescribed the baytril and he said it sounded like the infection was causing problems and if I came in he would suggest putting her down. I got really worried and decided to seek a second opinion. I asked Jerseygirl who her vet was and raced Stu out there as fast as I could. A few people in the waiting room commented on Stu. they said “Oh wow, what has she done to that rabbit, its bald, thats so gross!” I munched on my bottom lip trying not to cry. It felt horrible to be judged like that. I was trying to do my absolute best for Stu Bob. These people made me feel like such a bad person.
JerseyGirls vet is so nice. She is awesome. She was really shocked that the vet had prescribed such a high dose of Baytril for such a tiny rabbit. Stu was almost dead by this point, she was walking like she was drunk, and shivering with the cold. Dr Tess prescribed .2ml of Baytril, and .5ml of Flagyl, and sent her home with me. The next day Stu was really improved. She was back to her old self (minus the hair), and doing really well.
A week later, she was still just as thin. She was still binkying and digging and chinning everything, but she would have been half the size she was 2 weeks ago, and not looking good. She was developing sores on her body where she was sitting because she was so thin. She also had sores on around her ribs because of the bones rubbing. She was still eating like a horse and really happy temperament though.
I raced her back to Jerseys vet. When I got there she was on holidays so we saw the other rabbit vet there who is also really good.
In the waiting room there was a lady with another rabbit and we started talking. She is the head of the SA rabbit association, and also the SA rabbit rescus. She has rescued over 2000 rabbits this year that found new loving homes. We chatted for awhile.
The vet looked at Stu bobs lack of hair and weight and put her on the critical care diet. The medication was to remain the same. She also looked at her sores. All were just scabs except for one sore near Stus back leg which was now a hole about the size of a 10 cent piece. She said not to worry about it because Stu was on antibiotics. I went back out to the waiting room and while I was waiting Sally (the lady from the rescue) was telling me about the wonders of Yakult, and critical care etc. She gave me her card and said if I ever had any questions I could call her. (this turned out to be an amazing coincidence that she was there that day!!!!!)
Over the next 2 days Stu continued to dig at me, be happy etc, but was still not gaining any. Finally on Friday night I went to check her wound, and it was really bad. It was now twice the size, and I wont go into details, but it was really bad. I was up all night with Stu, cleaning the wound, cuddling her, trying to make her comfortable… I was devastated that my rabbit was going through all this. It was a REALLY bad wound.
The next morning at 8am I called the vet. She told me that there were NO vets available that day to see rabbits and that I should go to ANOTHER vet around the corner from them (about an hour from my house) to see a rabbit “expert”
So I rang them in tears and made an immediate appointment. I took Stu there straight away. This is where things went from bad to worse.
He took one look at Stu and said he wanted to put her to sleep. I said “well, she hasnt given up yet, shes still Binkying around, and digging etc…” Stu was nuzzling into my neck and I was heartbroken. As far as Im concerned, the critical care and lowered baytril and flagyl was helping Stu and this wound was just an obstacle that needed to be fixed in the meantime. The vet said “well in her condition I DOUBT she would be doing anything of the sort. And he asked me again if I would put her down. I asked what my options were. He said he would have a look at her and he took her off to another room.
When he came back he told me that he had given Stu an injection of Penicillin and he had looked at the wound and there was nothing wrong with it. Good clean wound he said. He also told me he had washed it out and he gave me a huge container of this tea coloured stuff to wash the wound with twice a day. He also gave me an envelope full of needles and told me to come back at 9:15 on monday to learn how to inject her as I would have to do it every 2 days. He also said to drop the baytril because it wasnt helping.
I went home and made sure stu was comfortable. She was a bit woozy from the needle but otherwise happy.
I went to work, and emailed the lady (Sally) who had given me her card at the vet. I asked about the wound and if I should cover it, but she said it would probably heal better open. I was planning a big sleep that night because I was tired from the night before, and Im sure Stubob was too.
When I got home that night I was exhausted, but sooooo looking forward to seeing Stu Bob. I went to see her, and picked her up and cuddled her. I gave her the Flagyl, but not the baytril. I turned her over to look at her wound, and my god it was bad. Again, wont go into details, but I dont know how the vet could have said that there was nothing wrong here! I absolutely broke down. I dindt know what to do, there was no WAY that Stu was going to live through the night with a wound like that, I flushed it out immediately with the solution that the vet had given me, and just completely broke down, I felt like it was completely out of my league. I had no idea what to do.
I grabbed the business card and rang Sally. It was the only thing I could think of to do at that time. I knew if I called a 24 hour vet (there are only 2 in adelaide and none of them do rabbits) they would just put her down, and Stu was lethargically digging at me, and chinning me. Sally answered the phone and I burst into tears, I couldnt talk. Finally I explained what was going on. She just kept saying “ohhhh nooo!” and I said “IDONTKNOWWHATTODOOOOOOOO!!!” She said come over! I was like, What, now?! She said yep, throw Stu in the car and get here now, Ill text you the address!.
I was in my PJs by that stage, but I was out of the house so quick. I stayed calm for Stu so she wasnt worried. I was desperate on the inside, I dont know how I kept it together for the drive to Sallys house!!! She lives about 45 minutes from my house
when I got there, fluke of luck, she was having a party that night and all her vet friends were there, and they deal with rabbits too. All people from her association. I took Stu inside and they cooed her out of the cage and put her straight on the kitchen table (Set up like an operating theatre) and gave her some anasthetic, and cleaned out her wound, and I sobbed in the background telling them all of this that was going on. Dr Sal said that she couldnt believe that she had survived the 1ml of baytril, this is what had made her lose all the wieght and gain the wounds etc in the first place. If that wound wasnt cleaned then she wouldnt have made it to morning. Whats more, the bottle of flush the vet had givem me was PEROXIDE BASED and vets can not use it more than once on an animal because it eats live flesh. The vet had also told me that he had washed out the wound and found nothing in it, but that was not the case, Sal reckons he dindt flush it because she was pulling all the badness out and putting it in a container to see what was going on.
The wound was packed with debrisol and Stu came to and started chinning everyone and digging at everything. I was so proud of her, she is such a fighter. She had a little jacket put on her to keep her warm because of the baldness, and happily munched on some hay and a tiny piece of banana. She was so happy.
Sally told me that none of this was my fault, it was because of the reaction to baytril, and the other various things that the vet had given me. She looked in stus mouth and the initial wound was an abscess in her tooth, the vet didnt pick up on in the first place.
also, apparently the injections were really bad for rabbits.
Sally has a rabbit “Hospital” at her house, and Stu is staying there for a few days until she is better. I am seeing her tomorrow, but have had multiple updates in the 2 days that she has been there.
Sally actually kept the 9:15 appt with the vet this morning. She went marching in there with the bottle of muck from stus wound and asked him how he could possibly have overlooked this. Also, she asked how he could have given me peroxide to take home. He told her it was a mistake on his behalf, and then got really mad at her. He also admitted that he shouldnt have prescribed the injections, but Sal reckons he figured Stu was just going to die anyway.
Shes had a lot of side effects today from that penicillan injection. But tonight she is doing really well, and is keeping Dr Sal company in her kitchen. The vet has been reported to the vetinary association that Sal is a part of so there may be a review. Sal has had problems with these 2 vets before, and they are listed online as being rabbit experts. Simple mistakes can cause a lot of problems.
I shoudl mention that after 2 days the wound is healing perfectly. Sally packed it with a surgical honey this afternoon and Stu Bob is putting on weight now. Im going to visit her in the morning. I shoudl also mention that after spending over $500 on vets this week, the best cure onl cost a donation. Sallys rescue is a free service, relying on donations from the public, but she saved my bunnys life, and for that our cafe will be donating generously from now on. Shes a miracle worker, she really is.
This story had a happy ending, and if it helps other rabbits out there then I am happy to have helped by sharing it.
Thanks for reading xxx
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