concerned

[anthony27]

Ok, would love to hear how it went Hope she is recovering.

Bit of an update about buns, she is on a Prophylactic antibiotic, I have to inject her once daily, hopefully this should help out, the vet also diffused some flouro dye in her eyes , to check her upper respitory tract, it came straight out of her right nostril, but i think her left may be blocked. next weekend she has xrays and more treatment, fingers crossed. The vet indeed confirmed she is mouth breathing, and recommends some nebulizer type treatment, now its hotting up which does not help. but she is a trooper!
and the other vet was right in giving her cerenia, apparently it does work well on rabbits

 

[Azerane]

Bit of an update about buns, she is on a Prophylactic antibiotic, I have to inject her once daily, hopefully this should help out, the vet also diffused some flouro dye in her eyes , to check her upper respitory tract, it came straight out of her right nostril, but i think her left may be blocked. next weekend she has xrays and more treatment, fingers crossed. The vet indeed confirmed she is mouth breathing, and recommends some nebulizer type treatment, now its hotting up which does not help. but she is a trooper!
and the other vet was right in giving her cerenia, apparently it does work well on rabbits

Sounds like she's got a few things going on, but hopefully it all clears up with treatment. Bandit's indoors so the heat doesn't really concern him, though he seems to be loving the air conditioner

 

[anthony27]

Sounds like she's got a few things going on, but hopefully it all clears up with treatment. Bandit's indoors so the heat doesn't really concern him, though he seems to be loving the air conditioner

The vet also mentioned that Buns could do with some humidity treatment, do you think its possible to use a humidifier or something similar? would anyone know where to get one in south oz?

 

[Azerane]

The vet also mentioned that Buns could do with some humidity treatment, do you think its possible to use a humidifier or something similar? would anyone know where to get one in south oz?

Presuming that's what he meant, I'm pretty sure you can buy them at chemists, though you could probably get them cheaper online.

 

[anthony27]

Hi Guys,

So bit of an update, took Apple to the E.R last night, she was really struggling to eat and breath, kept making some horrid gurgling sounds, I just could not bear to see her suffering like that,
they performed some tests and gave her xrays of her torso, they found no problems with her heart or lungs which is great, but her abdomen was severely swollen and full of swallowed air,
they began discussing ‘options’ but my wife and I are willing to exhaust all other avenues before it comes to that, thank you very much! They did say she has G.I stasis, so they were treating her for that,
We need to give her a head xray, but have to wait until she is stable enough, at the moment she is eating but not passing fecal matter, so they advise that we will need to wait.
My wife and I have been saying to vets for over six months now that she requires head xrays, but they all put it off, blaming allergies and diet and what not, I am not impressed, I feel they don’t take rabbits as serious as dogs and cats, until it’s time to pay the bill!
So there could be a few things going on in her skull, abscess, blockage, tumor, teeth, etc. Has anyone gone through anything similar? Love some hopeful stories,
Hopefully they can fix her, she is a big part of our family, on a side note, it can be hard being a male with a pet rabbit and been taken serious!
Thanks again for all your support
Anthony

 

[anthony27]

Another point that was concerning was that the vet said that Holland dwarf lops can only really expect to get to about 5 years of age, but i have read they get much older than that, any thoughts? she is 4 years and 11 months ,

 

[JBun]

Well since I have a 10 year old holland lop, and though old with some health issues, is still ticking along, I would say that statement isn't entirely accurate. It might be what that vet has experienced, due to the various health issues rabbits can have and sometimes from the poor care that they receive, but it doesn't mean that an individual rabbit can't live much longer if well cared for and it remains relatively healthy throughout it's life. In fact some rabbits have been known to live much longer, even to the age of 15-18 years. Many times you will find that people may not think rabbits live very long because they are not often understood very well and as a result don't end up living as long as they possibly could, as well as the fragility of their nature at times can shorten their life span.

Hopefully the head xrays will help the vet determine what exactly is going on. It may be a respiratory infection that has gone untreated due to the misdiagnosis by the vet, or it could possibly be something else as you have mentioned. Dental related is certainly possible as respiratory infections can certainly be connected to a dental infection, or even overgrown tooth roots impacting on the nasal cavity. Tumors and thymoma are also possible causes.

One thing that may be helpful if there is any difficulty determining what is going on with your rabbit and how to treat, is having your vet consult with a rabbit specialist. Some of the best rabbit vets reside in the UK with a wealth of knowledge in treating rabbits, and they can be easily contacted and consulted with from all over the world. Because of this training and experience, it can sometimes make diagnosis and treatment more accurate and cost effective as well, as the more quickly an illness is accurately diagnosed and correctly treated, the less unnecessary testing is done and the less it is dragged out. It's what I would do if I wasn't sure my rabbit was getting the correct diagnosis and treatment.

If you haven't already, you may want to consider getting the nebulizer as this can help ease the breathing difficulties. Certain antibiotics can also be administered this way so that they will directly get to the infection in the airway, if that is indeed the cause of your rabbits respiratory problems.

I hope you will soon be able to get to the bottom of this and that your rabbit will get the appropriate treatment and recover well.

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Bacterial/RhinitisRabbits.htm
http://www.sawneeanimalclinic.com/downloads/rhinitis_and_sinusitis_in_rabbits.pdf
http://www.vetsonline.com/publicati.../n-38-12/respiratory-diseases-in-rabbits.html

 

[anthony27]

Well since I have a 10 year old holland lop, and though old with some health issues, is still ticking along, I would say that statement isn't entirely accurate. It might be what that vet has experienced, due to the various health issues rabbits can have and sometimes from the poor care that they receive, but it doesn't mean that an individual rabbit can't live much longer if well cared for and it remains relatively healthy throughout it's life. In fact some rabbits have been known to live much longer, even to the age of 15-18 years. Many times you will find that people may not think rabbits live very long because they are not often understood very well and as a result don't end up living as long as they possibly could, as well as the fragility of their nature at times can shorten their life span.

Hopefully the head xrays will help the vet determine what exactly is going on. It may be a respiratory infection that has gone untreated due to the misdiagnosis by the vet, or it could possibly be something else as you have mentioned. Dental related is certainly possible as respiratory infections can certainly be connected to a dental infection, or even overgrown tooth roots impacting on the nasal cavity. Tumors and thymoma are also possible causes.

One thing that may be helpful if there is any difficulty determining what is going on with your rabbit and how to treat, is having your vet consult with a rabbit specialist. Some of the best rabbit vets reside in the UK with a wealth of knowledge in treating rabbits, and they can be easily contacted and consulted with from all over the world. Because of this training and experience, it can sometimes make diagnosis and treatment more accurate and cost effective as well, as the more quickly an illness is accurately diagnosed and correctly treated, the less unnecessary testing is done and the less it is dragged out. It's what I would do if I wasn't sure my rabbit was getting the correct diagnosis and treatment.

If you haven't already, you may want to consider getting the nebulizer as this can help ease the breathing difficulties. Certain antibiotics can also be administered this way so that they will directly get to the infection in the airway, if that is indeed the cause of your rabbits respiratory problems.

I hope you will soon be able to get to the bottom of this and that your rabbit will get the appropriate treatment and recover well.

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Bacterial/RhinitisRabbits.htm
http://www.sawneeanimalclinic.com/downloads/rhinitis_and_sinusitis_in_rabbits.pdf
http://www.vetsonline.com/publicati.../n-38-12/respiratory-diseases-in-rabbits.html

Hi JBun, thank you for your comments, It seems like everyone here in South Oz doesn't quite understand rabbits, but we will see, An interesting point is that we stopped giving her hay for a long while last year on advice of the vet that it was giving her allergies, that may have been a bad idea! after I read some of your links
I hope her stomach can recover, the Xrays looked just plain horrible,
also if you could give me some email addresses of specialists in the UK that would be great
Cheers
Anthony

 

[JBun]

Frances Harcourt Brown is probably one of the best rabbit experts out there, but she is semi retired. She is apparently still doing some consulting so you may luck out and be able to get her help. She wrote the first edition of the 'Textbook of Rabbit Medicine'.
http://www.crablanevets.co.uk/our-practice/veterinary-surgeons/

Molly Varga is also very good and revised FHB's 'Textbook of Rabbit Medicine'. Marie Kubiak is at the same Edgbaston clinic, and is also a good rabbit vet.
http://www.manorvets.co.uk/meet-our-team/?location=Edgbaston&job=

Mark Rowland at Trinity Vets
http://www.trinityvetcentre.com/Trinity_Vet_Centre/Our_Vets.html
Richard Saunders
http://www.highcroftvetreferrals.co.uk/exotic-species-team
Iain Cope
http://www.cambridgevetgroup.co.uk/vets/
John Chitty
http://antonvets.co.uk/exotics/189-2/
William Lewis
http://www.orchidvets.co.uk/veterinary-staff/
Aidan Raftery
http://ashleigh-veterinary-centre.com/staff-by-departments/veterinary-surgeons/
Ian Sayers
http://www.silvertonvets.co.uk/about-us/staff.shtml

All of these vets are considered specialists in the UK and have also been recommended by other experienced rabbit owners. There may be rabbit specialists in your country, but I am only familiar with the ones in the UK. If I had to choose, my first pick would be FHB. They do charge a consult fee and I believe that your vet has to be the one to talk to which ever specialist you choose.
http://www.bvzs.org/images/uploads/BVZS_Specialist_list_2015.pdf

 

[anthony27]

Hi All,
thankyou for your tremendous support it has really helped in this difficult time,
my wife and I just got back from the emergency room, she is mobile and out and about, but has GI, iilias? they are going to keep her for another night, the problem is the cost, it is $500 AUD every 24 hrs! they did a scan of her head and it looks asthough she has some sort of bloackge in her left sinus, they are not sure what it is though, they have a specialist coming in on Sunday , this surgery will cost around $1500, and then there is the post op care cost, so we are in a big pickle and dont want to have to make the dreaded decision, but I dont think we can afford the care, my other option is to bring her home and try and get her over the GI until sunday when she has the Operation, do you think this is feasible, I am scare we wont be able to look after her as good as the vets could, I have attached a photo of her from earlier tonight,,,

 

[anthony27]

we just went and saw her for a couple of hours, I am really scared that she aint going to see the night through, she was listlesss towards the end of our visit, I hope she can pick up and turns this around, its not the nasal problem giving her grief it is the GI, this SUCKS!

 

[anthony27]

The vet has also hinted at euthanasia as a possibility in the next day or so, I feel this may be jumping the gun a bit, how do I know that there is still the possibility she may pull out of it, how long can she stay as she is? And make a good recovery, need help with this big time

 

[JBun]

As long as she doesn't have bloat and it is just GI stasis, recovery is much more possible. If your rabbit isn't critical and doesn't need to be on oxygen or IV, you should be able to home treat as long as you keep up on the meds, fluids, and feedings as needed. Home care for a rabbit in stasis is quite common as it can sometimes take several weeks to really get the GI back to functioning normally.

You want to make sure you get take home pain meds, gut motility meds, antibiotics, and recovery syringe feeding mix. Make sure to get the pain meds as good pain control is essential in recovery and getting a rabbit eating again. Also make sure it is at the recommended dosage for rabbits as too little won't be very effective and rabbits often need a higher dose than a cat or dog would. Other medications may also be needed, and the vet showing you how to give sub q fluids may also be helpful as good hydration is very important for recovery. As long as your rabbit isn't in severe distress, displaying altered consciousness, and will still swallow her feeding mix, there is a good chance she will recover. Usually when they will no longer swallow and/or are extremely lethargic, these are not good signs of recovering and is often past the point of being able to turn things around

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/GastricStasis_Rabbits.htm

 

[anthony27]

Hi all,
I am a bit lost, just went to the vet and they seem all to keen to have her snuffed out by tonight, I really do not want to do it, what are options can I do? she means the world to us
how do i determine if there is a chance, any chance at all

 

[anthony27]

also apparantely she had 5 little stools in her hutch, which is a good sign isnt it??

 

[JBun]

If she is passing poop and will still swallow syringe feeds, and seems alert enough, I would be inclined to keep going. You know your rabbit better than anyone and you will be in the best position to know if you should keep fighting or if it is time. Sometimes vets can't see what we can and may want to give up too early. However if she won't swallow and/or seems in severe distress, pts might be the best thing for her. Again, only you can decide.

 

[anthony27]

So went to the E.R tonight ready to let her go
And she is hopping and eating, flopping , coudnt do it needless to say
Will reassess tommorow
Fingers crossed

 

[anthony27]

Hi All,
I think it is timethat I became a vet for the weekend and open to suggestions of help, advice,
I am leaving apple in the ER until tommorow night after work, I cannot get out f work, I was thinking of picking her up tommorow night and taking her home to care for, I cannot afford the fees as we may need to operate on her,
so what do i need to take care of her at home, She has two main problems, GI Stasis as a result of sinus infection (they are not 100% what it is but her left nostril is blocked in the xray), she is having difficulty breathing, So I need to clear the GI Stasis then hopefully they can perform on her and fix the sinus issues, they have a rabbit specialist coming in three days and I wanted to take her to him then, not sure how to get her stable enough, feels like a viscous circle and I am not sure how to get her out of it, but there must be a way. So what instruments and meds/food will need, should I get a nebulizer? they had her on oxygen today and she was so much better. any advice welcome, next week will be hard because I will be back at work 9-5, so not sure how I will look after her then?
also after the operation how long wold she need to stay at the surgery?
Warmest Regards
Anthony

 

[majorv]

It would help if they could identify the sinus blockage before surgery, maybe do a ct scan or some other soft tissue scan. Have they suggested it might be a tumor?

 

[anthony27]

It would help if they could identify the sinus blockage before surgery, maybe do a ct scan or some other soft tissue scan. Have they suggested it might be a tumor?

Yep a ct scan is the next step
They don't suspect a tumor