Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Update on Riley – tooth spurs and possible GI stasis

Viewing 10 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • Molzy
      Participant
      161 posts Send Private Message

        Well, it has been a week a half since Riley had his tooth spurs removed.

        On friday I took him back for a re-check, and he still wasn’t eating on his own. I got to see the actual exotic vet (she did the surgery last week, but hadn’t actually been on the clock so I hadn’t met her). She was awesome and knew a LOT about bunnies. At that point, she was very concerned because Riley still wasn’t eating, and was/is basically starving to death. At that point, I found out that when I was originally discharged, the critical care dosage they gave me was 1/3 of his needed amount. So, since he never started eating on his own, his body basically shut down. He lost almost 1/2 a pound in a week and a half (which is alot for a rabbit that only weighs 2.5 pounds to start with).

        So, we were sent home this time with additional critical care (and am now feeding 4x the previous amount), more pain meds, and sub-q fluids. His energy has increased with the sub-q fluids, and today I saw him voluntarily drink water for the first time, which was a huge step. But he still won’t eat on his own.

        The vet said it was one of two things -either fatty liver (which can occur when the body is in starvation mode), or GI stasis. So, I am massaging the belly, monitoring poops, and giving sub-q fluids to try to get the gut moving again. He’s been consistently pooping, so that much is good. I also just picked up some simethicone at the grocery store to try, and have been massaging his belly regularly. The only other option is that he could have kidney failure or some other underlying issue, in which case there isn’t much we can do for him.

        So, I am continuing to monitor him. I was in rough shape on Friday when I got the call that he was starving to death, and thinking I would have to put him to sleep. But he is still active and interesting in the critical care (though I am force feeding it with a syringe, he comes back to me after each dosage for more, or so it seems). So, my fingers are crossed that he will recover, though we still don’t know the true underlying cause of his continued lack of interest in food.

        Please keep him in your thoughts! 

        Molly


      • Sarita
        Participant
        18851 posts Send Private Message

          Vibes for Riley.

          Maybe have the vet recheck those teeth…I’ve had this situation with rabbits and sometimes they’ve had to had their teeth refiled. Keep up what you are doing and I hope he gets better and eats on his own very quickly.

          Are you doing any reglan? I usually do this for few days after my rabbits have had their teeth filed – it’s a gut motility drug.


        • Molzy
          Participant
          161 posts Send Private Message

            Thanks Sarita,

            I left that out – she did check his teeth, and said the spurs were all gone, as were the lacerations that had been on his tongue/cheeks. She didn’t give any reglan…but if he doesn’t imrpove shortly I will ask about that. Stuff is definitely moving through (since he is losing his litter habits with this whole illness, I am cleaning it all up by hand a couple of times a day so that I can keep track of it).

            We did the sub-q fluids ourselves for the first time yesterday, and all survived. But man, rabbits are a lot harder than dogs and cats!

            I feel like I can smell stuff when I massage his belly, but that might be my imagination (I have a terrible sense of smell!). But it seems to make him more active after I do it. We’re on hour twelve or so of the simethicone right now, and day 3 of feeding him the increased critical care.

            I’m working from home today so that I can keep an eye on him and feed him.


          • Sarita
            Participant
            18851 posts Send Private Message

              Is he still not eating on his own today? You are still hand feeding him? But he is pooping, just not eating on his own, is that right? Just want to make sure I understand what is happening.


            • RabbitPam
              Moderator
              11002 posts Send Private Message

                Hope he’s doing better today.
                {{{{{{{{{{{{Healing vibes for Riley}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}


              • Molzy
                Participant
                161 posts Send Private Message

                  Sarita,

                  Yep. He still won’t eat on his own, so I am handfeeding critical care 4-5x a day, and offering him his favorite greens and such. We are also doing sub-q fluids every other day to keep him hydrated since I haven’t seen him drinking much either.

                  He is pooping regularly, and active (not his normal level of activity, but he is hopping around the room some while I write this).

                  Thanks for the good vibes Pam!


                • Sarita
                  Participant
                  18851 posts Send Private Message

                    I think I would then ask the vet about some motility drugs and see if they would recommend those. That’s what I used to do to “jump start” my rabbits who had dental procedures.


                  • Molzy
                    Participant
                    161 posts Send Private Message

                      Thanks Sarita,

                      I spent two days trying to get ahold of my vet in Iowa to ask about metacopamine, which is the motility drug my vet in MN recommended. I headed back to MN yesterday, dropped Riley’s papers off at the vet, and they agreed to give me a prescription for it. So, he just got his first dose this morning, and is supposed to get it every 8 hours for the next 7 days. Fingers crossed that this works!


                    • Sarita
                      Participant
                      18851 posts Send Private Message

                        Oh goodness, I really hope it helps. He has gone too long without eating on his own.

                        Metroclopramide which is also known as reglan is what I use as well and always have that on hand.

                        More vibes for Riley.


                      • Molzy
                        Participant
                        161 posts Send Private Message

                          Thanks Sarita. In better news, his activity and grooming have been steadily improving, and he is acting more and more like his old self other than his eating habits (since he normally bowls me over whenever he thinks I”m evening *thinking* about getting him food!). He does seem to like the critical care, and will come back and sniff at me after eating a mouthful, but he still only eats it via syringe. I got him some pineapple juice yesterday which the vet recommended, and I got some different varieties of hay (Orchard Grass and Botanical I think from Oxbow, as well as a fresh bale of timothy) to try and tempt him that way. Today is 48 hours without metacam (pain meds) and he seems to be doing fine without those, which hopefully will also spike his appetite.

                          We have a vet appt for next Tuesday (12/27) which is as soon as the vet opens after the holidays. I figure by then I’ll know whether or not the motility drug has helped or not.


                        • BinkyBunny
                          Moderator
                          8776 posts Send Private Message

                            I am so sorry, how stressful. He is very lucky to have you caring for him and making sure he does okay during what otherwise would have turned even more serious without your love and care. I hope that his appetite continues to improve and he begins eating on his own (without they syringe).

                            Cmon Riley…eat…eat…eat.

                        Viewing 10 reply threads
                        • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                        Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Update on Riley – tooth spurs and possible GI stasis