Help Please!!! Need some answers!!

[Runestonez]

A friend of mine had her bunn (Bunny Foo Foo) in to the vet today for an issue with his eye. It was weeping and running. The vet said it was just conjunctivious (didn't check his teeth or anything) and prescribed a gel for the eyes and Baytril. She was told to crush the Baytril, mix it with yogurt and feed it by syringe. She was told this would help with the imbalance the anti-biotics would cause with the flora.

"They want me to crush his pills into yogurt and syringe it into his mouth. Well I thought that Yogurt was not good for them, but the vet tech said that it will help with the flora issue they may get when they are on antibiotics."

Could someone with more knowledge help me out here please she is a first time bunny momand is worried she may be harming her bunn and is unsure about the reliability of the vet! Is the yogurt an issue?? I thought I read something before regarding Benebac and intestinal flora? This is the vet that will most likely be doing her bunns neuter...judging from the advice already given should she avoid this guy or what??

Thanx in advance guys!

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

It's probably better if the medicine is crushed up and dissolved in water than yogurt I'd think. It may be too thick of a mizture for a syringe anyways. We did have the conversation a few days ago in another post and came to the conclusion that adult rabbits should not get any dairy products because they may not be able to digest it and it can cause problems. I'm pretty sure Benebac was the product suggested as a replacement for yogurt.

Not an expert here, but I've based my answer on what information I've gathered on the forum.

 

[Runestonez]

MBB-do you remember what the post was about??? Was it about yogurt specifically? Or do you know what link it is under??

Thanx

 

[Pipp]

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=14679&forum_id=1



Bassetluv wrote:

From a site called "Medirabbit.com":


Can rabbits eat yogurt or dairy products ?


Yogurt or dairy products should never be fed to rabbits, for the following reasons:

· Lactobacillus/Acidobacillus are not a natural host of the adult rabbit intestinal and, if surviving the passage through the acid stomach, it will not survive the anaerobic conditions of the cecum. The lack of adhesive capability may further prevent Lactobacilli from colonizing in the intestinal tract.

· Adult rabbits naturally do not have the right bacteria to digest milk derivates in the cecum and intestine.

· In the absence of those Lactobacteria, milk derivates accelerate the onset of stasis in adult rabbits.

Studies have furthermore shown that rabbits that were given cow’s milk on a daily basis during several months evidenced the development of rheumatoid like lesions. These rabbits showed increased numbers of nucleated cells and raised percentages of T lymphocytes in their synovial fluids, compared to control rabbits, and their elevation corresponded with the severity of the histological lesions. No glomerulonephritis was observed.



Pam Nock wrote:

Yogurt used to be routinely advised for rabbits on antibiotics. As Bassetluv posted, yogurt is no longer recommended for rabbits as they may develop lactose intolerance as they age. So, any dairy products may do more harm than good if the rabbit is already suffering from GI problems.

Pam


JimD wrote:

Our vet prescribes Benebac instead of recommending the use of yogurt.
She doesn't recommend yogurt for treats either and says that it could actually have a adverse effect on the bun.

I used to give yogurt treats to the buns.....tossed them out years ago.

 

[Runestonez]

Thank you so much Pipp!!! I couldn't find the darned thing!! You are a life saver!! She is so worried about making a mistake with her little boy!!!

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Thanks Pipp, that's the post I meant. I tried to find it but it's hard when my search doesn't work and I can't remember what the whole post was about.

 

[Maureen Las]

Hi..tell your friend to give it in water tonight (a small amt) and then go to Petco tomorrow and get some Benebac in the small animal area...it comes in about 6 little tiny tubes that you can squirt in you bunnies mouth. The baytril tab will dissolve itself if you place it in a small amount of water and let it sit a little while. As far as the vet I guess that yogurt was an old remedy but I would have some trust issues at this point.

 

[Runestonez]

Thank you guys for quick answers...I forwarded your advice to her! Her vet clinic is actually one of the ones that is listed on RO as rabbit savvy for her area! She is going to leave the yogurt and mush/hide the Baytril inapplesauce or mashed bananafor now!

Thanks Guys!:bunnydance:

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

She actually named her rabbit Bunny Foo Foo?

 

[Runestonez]

Yup!! He is a little Lionhead boy!! With loads of attitude like my girls!!

 

[Pipp]

Popping in for a sec just to hopefully try andset the record straight.These things are not black and white.

A bit ofyogurt isn't exactly dangerous in a situation like this. It's something that's been widely used as aprobiotic,but that is no longer recommended because in some circumstances,it can do more harm than good.In particular, it's not recommended for GI Stasis bunnies. Other probiotics like Benebac and Acidophilus (?)are the modern school of thought.

But a bit of aanother probiotic should still be given with the antibiotic for something like an eye infection if that's what the vet recommended. If you don't have one, a little yogurt in this case casestandslittle chance of doing harm, and agreater chance of doing good.

A vet shouldn't be ostrasized and taken off our vet list because they recommended yougurt in a case like this, although a notation like 'old school' or 'not cutting edge' can be added.Maybe thisvethad been trying to save theclient a littlemoney and thought a 'little bit' of yougurt would be tolerable.

Again, it's been prescribedfor years and years, anddidn't result in mass illness or mass death, it's just the medical community found that it's not good in some situaitons, and they've found something better.I'm a bit uncomfortable having this thread interpretedas it being better to use nothing at all.

sas

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I agree with Pipp on that. You will probably never find a vet that knows every single thing about rabbits but a good general knowledge is what most of us look for. The vet I went to last time may not know everything about rabbits but I had a good feeling about her and she seemed to have a very good knowledge in general which is why I put her on the list.

Yogurt is 'old school' and if it's an older vet, it's possible they just aren't willing to give that up or perhaps that is not one thing they were updated on in their ongoing schooling. Things like that happen, some teachers will teach both the old and new way of doing things as well. So don't just think a vet is no good for giving you one piece of iffy advice.

I just didn't think yogurt would be good because of the amount of yogurt that would be necessary to dissolve a pill in. But a little bit isn't going to kill them.

 

[Runestonez]

A vet shouldn't be ostrasized and taken off our vet list because they recommended yougurt in a case like this, although a notation like 'old school' or 'not cutting edge' can be added.Maybe thisvethad been trying to save theclient a littlemoney and thought a 'little bit' of yougurt would be tolerable.

Not to say that her vet is 'bad' or should be avoided. I only pointed out that is one of the vet clinics on the RO list that is supposed to be savvy, and that the info she had received was in conflict with what we had read. I think 'old school' is a good description. I have been forwarding your responses to her and have told her about Benebac as well.:?

One question:

If yogurt doesn't help to maintain the bacterial flora in the bunns system...then what reason would there be to administer it? If the bunns bacterial flora may be affected by the Baytril then why provide a dairy product that stands a chance of causing further GI upset? Not to say yogurt is going to kill the bunn...but if the bacteria can't survive the cecum and cannot adhere to the intestinal walls to grow...then what value does it provide?? I would think Bunny Foo Foo would be better off with just the Baytril.(or if she chose to provide a different probiotic) In an otherwise healthy bunn the bacteria in the cecum shouldn't be overly affected by a low dosage of Baytril.:?(myvets words not mine!)

 

[Bunnydancer]

Oh yeah...i have had vets reccomend Yogurt...don't use it myself.

I have also had vets reccomend Bene bac tohelp keep the intestinal growth healthy after or during antibiotic treatment,which runs counter to my guess that the bacteria would be broken down by acids in the stomach..BUT i have noticed it does seem to help with SlIGHTly soft stool..

The other option is somewhat distateful for gut repopulation...which is getting Cecatropes from a healthy doe and mixing them with soft syringe food and force fedding...yghckahhhhh!

At any rate whn i got Baytril tablets i went to the chinese grocerystore and bought a mortar and pestel to grind them up well, and used baby food applesauce to mix for syringing..(most bunnies have a sweet palate and the baby food has no extra sugar)

 

[naturestee]

Although we hope that all the vets on the rabbit-savvy listings are up-to-date and perfectly rabbit savvy, not all are. Actually some vets are on there not because they're brilliant with rabbits but because they've been helpful, were willing to consult with other vets about a rabbit problem, or simply had a nice bedside manner. Last fall there was a problem where a vet from the HRS list turned out to be horrible and actually caused problems for a rabbit. This is an example of why you really need to judge all vets for yourself, even if they were recommended by a list:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=10441&forum_id=16

Although I agree with Pipp, that this isn't bad enough to stop using the vet. If your friend is concerned she should have a talk with the vet about his common practices and also ask some of the other questions that the HRS suggests such as how often he sees rabbits, what anesthetic does he use, what his spay/neuter success rate is, etc.

And by the way, I've found canned pumpkin is a great way of hiding meds. My rabbits get it as a treat so it's not hard to hide something in it, although they do know that it tastes funny. And it's less sugary than a lot of other stuff.

 

[JimD]

Bunnydancer wrote:

At any rate whn i got Baytril tablets i went to the chinese grocerystore and bought a mortar and pestel to grind them up well, and used baby food applesauce to mix for syringing..(most bunnies have a sweet palate and the baby food has no extra sugar)

Hi Bunnydancer!

I asked the vet to provide liquid Baytril when Binkie (aka; Chainsaw)had her surgery to remove an abscess from her dewlap.
She gave us unflavored and I mixed it with banana baby food. It was a great success.

~Jim