Hopes Medical Thread

[ellissian]

I thought I would make this thread as Ive since found little problems with her.

Nothing too serious but she is suffering from gas and soft poops this morning. I mixed some pellets with the crap food she had previously been fed. She is also on different hay as the hay I was given smelt foul and I wouldnt feed her it. I have given her simethicone to help her. I am going to have to cut away some fur or give her a butt bath.

She also has small bald patches on her head, neck and back legs.

I feel like history is repeating its self! Why cant I own a normal healthy rabbit!

Im hoping she will settle down soon and is just adjusting to her new life.

 

[ellissian]

Also I have checked for symptoms of fly strike since she lived in such squalid conditions. I cant find any lumps and her genital area looks clean and clear.

Is there anything else I should be checking?

 

[Aliena]

Any sign of mites? If she has bald patches it could be mites (or even fleas but then you would see flea dirt). Have you checked in her ears? Also might pay to have a look at her teeth if you haven't already done so to see if her teeth are aligned and things.

 

[Flashy]

It could be the switch of hay has given her soft poo (and changing the hay was the right thing to do, I'm not doubting that), also the stress of moving and having new food can do it too. The new food needs to be introduced really slowly so as not to upset her already fragile stomach.

I agree with Aliena, about the mites/fleas. It might be worth treating as a preventative measure. It might also be worth getting her fully checked over at the vets when she is a bit more settled too.

 

[ellissian]

Her teeth and ears are fine. Ive checked through her fur and I cant see any evidence of fleas or mites. Her weight worries me she seems so fragile. Im going to get her checked out at the vets asap. I dare not treat her myself with her being so small.

 

[rabb1tmad]

I hope everything goes well at the vets. How lucky that hope now has you in her life to help her. Poor thing. Keep up the good work, I'm sure she will be a healthy girl for you in no time. :brownbunny

 

[ellissian]

Its obvious she was fed very little food in her last place. Yesterday her droppings were tiny, today they are twice the size. She is very gassy today probably as her body isnt used to so much food. With a bit of luck she should start putting on weight. I dont think she groomed herself much either, maybe relied on her mother to do it. She grooms a little now but now enough to keep her coat tidy.

 

[ellissian]

I'm wondering if the rabbit excel for dwarfs and juniors is too rich for some buns tums. Although I've mixed her old food in with the pellets she is only eating the rabbit excel and hay.

She is very gassy with soft poops. And since Milly used to suffer the same I'm wondering if its the pellets or just a coincidence.

 

[Flashy]

Is it possible that you are not introducing them slow enough? You might need to introduce them very slowly because she is not 100% anyway and not used to decent food, so it could be a shock to the system.

I tend to be over cautious and swap slower than most people advise, generally over about 4 weeks or so, starting with a tea spoon full for a few days then increasing up.

 

[ellissian]

It is my fault I've been giving her too much.

 

[Flashy]

I didn't mean it was your fault. Many bunnies cn be ok if you start them on a fair bit of the new food, and just increase it, but some bunnies tummies are more sensitive. that doesn't make it your fault, it just means your bun has a sensitive tummy. Just introduce a tiny bit of the food tomorrow and see how she goes. Getting any new bunny is a huge learning curve, so don't feel bad about it or anything, it happens to everyone.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, shame we don't have that knowledge at the start.

 

[ellissian]

I've come downstairs this morning and Hopes tummy is swollen, the gas is making loud noises and moving around.

I don't know whats caused this, I've cut her pellets right down. So what could be causing the gas? Her poops are soft, I've gave her 1ml simeticone.

Is it something I'm doing wrong? She was'nt gassey when I brought her home so It must be me. Milly suffered from gas bouts from the day I brought him home too.

I am starting to feel I have the kiss of death were animals are concerned.

 

[ellissian]

Most of the poops in her cage are normal, it looks like the soft poops started a short while ago, I don't understand this!

 

[Pipp]

Any diet changes can disrupt systems, but you can't feed young bunnies too much, its just different compositions that can upset the balance -- usually aninflux of carbohydrates.

The usual cure is restricting them to hay and water.A little pumpkin and pedialyte is good, too.

And the gas meds.

If Hopewas being given mouldy hay at her former residence, Mycotoxins might be a concern.For that matter, per chance areyou feeding her from the the same bag of hay or pellets you fed Milly? It's rare, but Mycotoxins in feed can cause all sorts of symptoms that mimic other things.

Sorry I haven't been around much. The loss of Milly wasdevastating.

I hope that Hope is okay, it's the small little 'bag of bones' underdogs that tug at our heart strings, but they can alsobreak them. I was always concerned about Milly. Bunnies are often picked on by their littermates when they have something wrong with them to begin with, and from your descriptions, he seemed abnormally quiet for a bunny. Hope's problems, like Milly's before her, almost certainly have nothing to do with your care.

Fingers, paws and ears crossed for a healthy Hope... :clover:



sas

 

[ellissian]

Thanks sas, Milly was my special bun.

The pellets are the same as Millys but the hay is new. She was fed awful mouldy hay at her old home, I binned it as soon as I came home.

Hope seems as quiet as Milly was, and that scares me.

 

[ellissian]

Is there anything else I can give her other than pumpkin? I don't think its as readily awailable in the UK.

 

[Pipp]

Just to be safe, I'd toss the pellets. I've heard too many stories about multiple problems with multiple bunnies pinned on Mycotoxins, even major commercial brands.

I keep forgetting about the lack of canned pumpkin in the UK. No fresh, either? You justboil and puree itI do believe. How about pumpkin baby food? No great urgency for that, it's just a nice source of wet fibre.

Hay and water, and maybe a littlegrass would work. What was she being fed at her old place again? Any grass or veggies?



sas

 

[ellissian]

I can't find any fresh pumpkin, it's normally only seen at halloween time.

How long should she be on hay only?

Should I try and introduce just pellets instead of the crap mixed food I was given for her, when she is better.

Can I over do the gas meds?

She has just passed some huge stools, I don't know how the poor baby managed to pass them!

Her tummy has gone a little softer and smaller but is still bigger than normal. But she must be passing gas as she smells awful!

Could it be possible that her body is'nt used to large amounts of food and this is causing the gas. Her stomach was even thin when I first brought her home.

Sorry for all the questions but I could'nt bare losing another bun after Milly.

 

[ellissian]

I think the rabbits were fed veg at her old place. I doubt she managed to get any as she was getting stood on and pushed into a corner when I first seen her. But I can't imagine it being on a regular basis judging by the disgusting filth she was living in.

I'm watching her like a hawk as she keeps trying to eat everything she passes. It can't be good letting her eat them so I'm snatching them away!

 

[Pipp]

Hopefully Randy or Pam will weigh in on this soon, but it sounds like it could be a bacterial imbalance or a parasite, cocciddia. Normal protocol is a fecal test I think, butcheck out this current thread in the Rabbitry:

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=26166&forum_id=8

You'll have tokeep her on hay and water until her digestive track is back to normal. She really needs to have almost nothing but fiber. Several different types of hay would be good.

Simethicone is a very safe drug in my experience, but while you can give them large doses without fear of an overdose, you can't give it to them for too long -- they recommend no more than three doses in three or four hours (I forget why, though), and then take at least an eight hour (maybe 12?) break. So it's best to give her up to 1.5 CC's at once (depending on her weight)every hour for three hours, but not a number of smaller doses.

Make sure she has water in a bowl and a bottle, just to get her drinking more.

sas :clover: