Fever 106F

[Thumperina]

And no vet available... What could it be? Trying to get to the vet...

 

[Thumperina]

ok I didn't get a chance to see a vet today. The only rabbit vet that was open refused to see us because they were overbooked. I even went there to see if I could get electrolytes at least, no luck. other places also couldn't see us but it was already Sat afternoon when I got alarmed.
Tomorrow I have an appointment in the afternoon with an emergency vet but not clue how much knowledge about rabbits they have.
What could it be? he doesn't eat much (but ate a little bit this night and in the morning), lying completely spread out, skin feels hot (I put some ices in cloth on his ears), and breathing rapidly.
I am especially scared because I know AB can affect rabbits GI tract very badly and he probably need an AB... so I would appreciate if somebody throw some ideas on what it could be...
I was giving him sub-q fluids earlier this week. I had some strange small bubbles in A line that I tried to remove... I am wondering if the solution could have become contaminated and cause sepsis ... but I doubt it
His stool is just very small since he doesn't eat much and no cecotropes that I see. I am feeding critical care

 

[Thumperina]

in case of pneumonia or respiratory problems, fever wouldn't be so high if any, right?
it's hot in the house, too, and I can't do anything about it. AC is working the way it is

 

[Thumperina]

can a rabbit be tested for tularemia ?

 

[Thumperina]

he has this reduced appetite when he bites veggies and then doesn't much for several days. I aslo felt that his ears were sort of too warm, but again, I thought it was because it's warm in the house. He must be sick for 2-3 days then
I thought that his bad appetite is because he gave up after Thumper died (that he is depressed)

 

[Thumperina]

do they run fever when they go into stasis?

 

[Thumperina]

I m not sure what diagnostics they have at emergency vet (and how expensive it is!)
should I ask for metronidazole?

 

[Thumperina]

my guess is that he is going thru stasis.

 

[Popsicles]

Did you take the temperature rectally?
High temperature will either be because of the high ambient temperature, and so he has heat stroke, or a bacterial infection, most likely. Keep trying to cool him down by putting ice bottles next to him and spritzing the ears with cool water.
Stasis in itself shouldn’t cause fever, but a fever and feeling unwell can cause stasis.
An emergency vet should have all the same resources as any vet, so hopefully they will be able to help you. Really try and get there ASAP (emergency Vets don’t usually dish out appointments, you usually come as soon as you can, hence it being an emergency). Keep him cool in the meantime and and offer him anything yummy to keep him eating (and critical care if you can get it in him).

 

[Thumperina]

Thank you my friend. Its not an "emergency vet", just a vet that is open on sunday at "petsmart"
The question remains... how do we find out what bacterial infection he has and what AB needs prescribed??

 

[Thumperina]

There is only one truly emergency vet in town and they can only put a rabbit down.

 

[Thumperina]

Would clostridium cause fever?

 

[Thumperina]

Yes, I take rectal temp
That stuff on Xray that you didn't like... if we suppose that it was not normal, could it develop in this state with fever?

 

[Popsicles]

Ah I see, well the only way to know is to preferably do a blood test, and maybe urinalysis? And fecal flotation and culture if we suspect some sort of GI cause. Baytril is a good antibiotic to start with as few side effects and quite safe for rabbit gastrointestinal system.
If he has some sort of resp infection it could cause a temperature, but what I saw might be nothing at all so do take what I’m sayig with a pinch of salt! when is your appointment?

 

[Thumperina]

appointment in 3.5 hrs
a blood test would show that he has an infection but wouldn't say which, or am I wrong?
so you think baytril would be a good one? it doesnt cover clostridia (which is hard to detect via testing) not tularemia ...

 

[Thumperina]

I can tell you... I was giving him sub-q fluids till probably tuesday of this past week, I can't remember how long ago I fed critical care -about the same time probably. then I ran out of fluids and didn't feed critical care for a few days. so I guess is that he became probably dehydrated, he was eating some veggies but not much...
but an infection in a bladder (for example) wouldn't cause such a fever, would it?

 

[Thumperina]

let me ask, if he is pooping (poops are not large and funny shaped but still... he produces poop) does it mean he doens't have a blockage?

 

[Thumperina]

let me ask, if he is pooping (poops are not large and funny shaped but still... he produces poop) does it mean there

 

[Thumperina]

Im at the vet. They measured rectally 103.3,,, don't even know what to think! Overheated in the house? It feels cooler here for sure

 

[Popsicles]

How did the appointment go?
It could very well be that dehydration made him worse. What did the vet say?
If he is pooing yeah we would be less likely to suspect a blockage, especially if those poops aren’t diarrhoea. It’s hard to say for sure though. Testing would be really useful.