How to help with recovery

[Cyber-Wizard]

Cleo, my 3yr old sweetheart ofa lop took ill recently. Looks like her first bout with G.I. Stasis. She's generally a healthy indoor bun who loves to run around the house and play. Wifey finally agreed to move her one plant outside for the summer several weeks ago so we no longer have to move it up out of reach before opening the cage door for bunny launch.

On Monday and Tuesday I found thick paste like poop on her cage shelves but no other symptoms. She had had carrots 3 meals ina row so I chalked it up to an overdose as she generally only gets carrots/parsnips once or twicea week. On Wednesday everything seemed back to normal. No poop issues, eating fine, etc. Thursday morning she was laying very still beside her litterbox. Litter hadn't been used since the previous evening, but her bowl of greens was almost completely empty. Generally her hay and pellets get changed twicea day and she gets a cup and a half to two cups of greens morning and night. I called the vet and they couldn't see her until Thursday evening so I worked from home on Thursday and kept an eye on her. Around 3:00 she started accepting eyedroppers of water after having done nothing but move slightly all day. Once I got about 1/4 cup of water in her she suddenly came out of her house and started to groom. I managed to get her to the vet and they found her temperature to be 3.5 degrees lower than normal so they incubated her and kept her overnight.

I picked her up after work on Friday evening and brought her back home. She spent most of the evening racing around the house "touching" all of her stuff to make sure we hadn't done anything to her house while she was gone. The vet sent us home with Metacam, Metoclopramide, and Cisapride with instructions to force feed her Critical Care at mealtimes. The vet has nicknamed her "Boxer" for the amount of difficulty that they had in capturing her for fluid injections and forcefeeding. All of the vets staff got savagely paw-slapped throughout her stay. She has never cared for being handled in any manner other than petting and is incredibly difficult to grab a hold of. Where we're at now is that we can't get any food into her. She's disinterested in hay and pellets and we can't hang onto her well enough to give her a syringe. Right now she seems happy running around the house and is pooping just fine in her litterbox. She had one bout of runny poop overnight but all has been fine since then. She's eaten a few pieces of hay on her own throughout the morning but hasn't eaten much at all. Right now Wifey is sitting on the floor in front of her cage carefully selecting softer grasses from her hay and hand feeding them to her. She's more than happy to take very specific pieces of hay as long as they are offered one at a time. She accepted quite a lot of hay in this manner but it takes a looong time.

Sorry this is such a long story, I'm pretty worried...

The vet said we should cut out her greens for a few days to see that she gets better. I had to mash up her meds in a bit of banana as we couldn't hang on to her well enough for a syringe and she all but attacked me to get at that banana. When I offered her a couple of inches of carrot tops to see if she was actually as hungry as she seemed, sheclimbed all over me to get at them. I gave her only a small bit and she spent the next 20 minutes standing up on her hindlegs at the table where I put the remainder. She has been going back into her cage all morning looking for the dish of greens that is usually put there at breakfast time (and is a little put out that it's not there)She's definitely hungry, but doesn't really seem to want what the vet says she should have.

Can anyone offer me tips for getting Critical Care into her? I've tried mixing it with banana or a small amount of carrot greens but she just picks out the greens and runs away. I've tried catching her in my hands and with a towel but now she won't let me near her(very uncommon as she's really very attached to me). I've tried smearing it on her paws or nose but now she's caught on to that as well. I'm not sure how best to care for her since she's so difficult. As long as she's well we've never had to pick her up. She loved being handled right up until she was spayed and from then on it's been petting only. I've read many, many forums but it seems the only answer has been to catch her and forcefeed her. I can't imagine that she's that difficult to deal with but it seems that she's much smarter and more wiley than I am.:blushan:

 

[Flashy]

Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry it's not under better circumstances. I'm also sorry you are struggling through so much, all of you.

Firstly, I don't have any useful advice, but secondly it might help if you could explain more about her diet because that might give someone some ideas. i.e., what foods she has when, what hay she is fed, if she is fed pellets, how much, etc.

Do you know what caused this? Has she been wormed recently?

Any other strange behaviour other than gut issues?

Has she had her teeth checked?

Hopefully someone more knowledgable will come along in a bit, and they might be able to gtive you more guidance.

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

Sorry, I tried to remember all of the items that were requested in the sticky and include them.

Typically we give her as much Timothy hay as she can handle and over the last few months she has gone on and off her favourite brand (Benko) so we've been mixing it together with Oxbow (which she normally doesn't care for) and SunSeed SweetGrass. She also gets about a half a cup of Martins Adult pellets each morning but only eats more than half of that about once a week. In the morning her greens dish gets 1 cup and a half to two cups of greens. Over the last 3 years we've found that she's a big fan of carrot greens, cauliflower leaves, broccoli, cilantro, dill, parsnips/carrots, parsley (curly only please) and green/yellow peppers. I make sure that she gets 3 items from that list at breakfast and dinner. Occasionally she'll get some kale or spinach as well and a small slice or two of apple once a week. when we think of it (maybe once a week) she also gets an "Alfalfa Slim" as a treat. Years ago after she was spayed I mixed her morning medicine with a small slice of banana. The addiction to banana hit her hard andshe never quite kicked it soshe continues to get that small slice (1/4 inch thick disc) every morning.

The vet didn't know what caused it. We haven't given her anything different here. I presume that a veggie didn't get washed well enough or she had troubles with a piece of cardboard or towel that she may have eaten. She's never been wormed. We clean the litterbox a minimum of twice a day and her entire condo once a week. As she's strictly indoors the vet didn't figure it was necessary. We do have a budgie who seems to feel that Cleo appreciates a friend to sing at her from the top of her cage so, as careful as we are, it's possible she may have ingested some birdie poop.

No odd behaviour from her other than the runny poops two days before the vet visit. She has appeared completely healty, as they often do until it's too late.We've noticed that she hasn't been digging much over the last 6 months but just figured that she finally realized that she wasn't going to be able to tunnel out. I have a large green, military, open ended duffelbag that she sometimes loves to crawl down inside. That's the only place she digs these days. That poor old bag looks likea swiss cheese even though it only gets about one day a week in the toy rotation.

She does have a malocclusion and has been getting her molars ground down about every 4 months since we got her at 5 weeks. She was just in for that about 2 months agoand they trimmed her nails while she was under.The vet checked her teeth on Thursday and said that they were OK.

 

[ra7751]

Have to ask...how much rabbit work does your vet do? The gut motility drugs are nothing short of scary.The combination that you listed sounds like a list compiled off multiple VIN posts. All of my vets are exotics specialists and they will never use Metaclopramide or Cisapride on a rabbit. There is nothing but risk involved in using these drugs. And Critical Care isn't something I would use until the gut starts moving. That stuff sits heavy and adds pressure (meaning pain especially when combined with the effects of the motility drugs) that isn't a good thing for a rabbit.

The first things to address in a stasis event is hydration and the root cause of the concern as stasis is alway a symption of something else. I think something you mentioned....and I hope you mentioned to the vet....was the runny poop a day or so earlier. That is most likely what started the slow down in the gut since that will quickly dehydrate a gut. I would suggest cutting back on some of the greens and veggies as well as the pellets and get back to a more natural diet of low protein/high fiber. Even our largest Flemish gets only about 1/3 cup pellets per day. We feed a variety of hay types free choice. Greens/veggies are a once in a while treat....but we rarely have GI issues. It's a boring diet but an appropriate one. And I deal with malocclusion quite a bit....."looking" at the molars isn't a proper clinical exam. Especially when the molars suffer an occlusion issue, not only are the crowns of the teeth maloccluded, so are the roots. Those roots can become elongated especially in the upper arcade and cause all sorts of problems....including GI issues. I would, as a matter of routine maybe once a year, do an x-ray of the skull to look at those roots.

My suggestion is hydration...and lots of it. Do you have the ability to adminster sub-q fluids? If not, it would be to your benefit and your rabbit's that you learn. Hydration, not drugs, should always be the primary attack in stasis/ileus issues. I do not use any of the motility drugs...period. Use Metacam with caution since NSAIDs can be stressful to the liver and kidneys with dehydrated animals....and rabbits in stasis are always dehydrated. Force feeding is very stressful and is usually counter-productive. I have had rabbits not eat for over a week and come thru.....again, hydration is the key. Our rule of thumb with our wildlife rescues is hydration before nutrition. If the gut is totally impacted, the use of motility drugs and heavy supplements like Critical Care often leads to an undesirable event. Once the gut does start to move, I will offer Critical Care if the animal will take it without undue stress. Keep him moving....just like a foundered horse. Movement is good...as long as it's not stressful. And a heating pad often helps....heat is a good thing. Hydration and hay are the way to go.

Randy

 

[Pipp]

Hi CW, can you put your location in your profile? I assume you're in Canada? They sell the Martin brand here.

I whole-heartedly agree with Randy. Your rabbit doesn't sound bad at all, no need for all the drugs and treatments beyond fluids and fibre. I'm curious as to what her body temperature was. Do the vets have a good handle on 'normal' for a rabbit?

You also seem to have a great handle on everything.

Are the Martins the Less Active timothy pellets? I they're not, they should be. I think you can cut back on them regardless.

Her metabolism may be changing as she ages, so things she tolerated when she was younger she may not be tolerating now. You can try experimenting with her veggies and treats.

Keep us updated!!


sas :bunnydance:

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

We really only have one "exotic" vet in the area. They have a pretty extensive list of small animals as clients (judging only by the thank-you notes and photos on the wall) but when pickings are slim that's bound to happen. I went to the local Rabbit Rescue website and other places looking for a vet for the spay when I got Cleo and this was the only vet on any list. Strange for a town with so many vets.We live a very short driveacross town (15mins) from the Ontario Veterinary College, but it made me a little uncomfortable for Cleo to visit a rotating group of students and not to have a regular vet so I didn't take her there. I did mention the runny poop to the vet but she didn't seem to take notice. It's strange that there has been only one runny poop event per day. It looks to my untrained eye that it's might be the cecal pellets that are runny as she continues to use the litter box and all of the pellets in the box are formed just fine. Never once has the runny stuff been found in the litter box, it's always on one of the shelves in her cage. I mentioned this theory to the vet as well but she didn't seem to notice.

I haven't witnessed Cleo drinking water since she was very young. I make sure that she always hasa full clean dish, and a bottle as well. Up until yesterday I've never seen it used. That's one of the reasons I make sure her daily greens are extremely wet after rinsing. I've seen her visit the water dish no less than 6 times since yesterday and this morning she spent a fair amount of time at the water bottle as well. The vet gave her several sub-q injections once she came out of the incubator but with her being as skittish as she is it's not something I'm comfortable trying.:nerves1 We can't even catch and hold her long enough to get a syringe in her mouth.

I confess that I don't know what the vet meant by "looking" at her molars. She's the same one who has been working with Cleo since I got her and did the spay as well as the molar work. Although she never seems to remember any of it. She asked on Thursdaywhere she was spayed so I guess the files must not be something that get opened much. Even if she doesn't remember my Bun, a 6'3" 240lb man doting over a bunny isn't the sort of thing most folks forget. She seems to know the animals but the clinic as a whole has pretty crappy people skills. I had decided yesterday that I wasn't comfortable there when I asked if I should purchase some of the Papaya supplement that they had in stock. She rolled her eyes and said that there was no scientific proof that it would do anything so no I definitely should not buy it...apparently they're happy to sell it though.That creeped me out a little bit. Not only because they're selling something that they don't believe in but I've read on many forums that it can be effective. I've been known to use such supplements on myself with success. Granted I'm no bunny but I don't need a scientific study to tell me what works.

The wife got her to accept an astonishing amount of hay piece by piece over about a half hour period. She finally turned her nose up and laid down for a snooze. The tooth grinding hasreduced somewhatand she's getting up every now and again to groom (got her ears dipped in her water dish while looking for breakfast, she wasn't amused) She's in her cage now. I closed the door to let her relax and wind down from our last failed attempt to catch her for forcefeeding. She's getting to the point where she won't let me pet her anymore without running away. She's regaining some motility as I can occasionally hear her gut from 4 feet away. It sounds like I should let her out to roam as much as possible to keep things moving.

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

Pipp wrote:

Hi CW, can you put your location in your profile? I assume you're in Canada? They sell the Martin brand here.

I whole-heartedly agree with Randy. Your rabbit doesn't sound bad at all, no need for all the drugs and treatments beyond fluids and fibre. I'm curious as to what her body temperature was. Do the vets have a good handle on 'normal' for a rabbit?

You also seem to have a great handle on everything.

Are the Martins the Less Active timothy pellets? I they're not, they should be. I think you can cut back on them regardless.

Her metabolism may be changing as she ages, so things she tolerated when she was younger she may not be tolerating now. You can try experimenting with her veggies and treats.

Keep us updated!!


sas :bunnydance:

Sorry, I've been a security specialist for almost 20 years both in the computer industry as well as physical and electronics forbuilding systems. Leaving my profile blank has become something of a habit. I'll update it. I've already revealed enough in my posts that everyone knows where I am now.

The vet claimed that at 34.5 she was 3.5 degrees too low for a rabbit. It sounded logical to me but I was quickly reduced to tears to see her little face and paws pushed up against the glass of that incubator.

I've been buying the Martin's Adult pellets but not the Less Active ones. I see no reason not to switch. She runs around the house a lot but I wouldn't say she's as active as she could be.

I had wondered if maybe she was changing. I'm as much a creature of routine as she is so I make sure she gets the same things as much as possible. She really does eat a lot of greens. probably too many now.

 

[Pipp]

PS: I should add that pain from a bout of gas or whatever (gas is present with most digestive issues), will cause the temperature to drop. My gassy guys respond well to warmth, very long tummy messages and simethicone gas meds. (I use Ovol adult, I find that the stronger doses work the best, the stuff can't hurt them). Something to keep an eye on.

I also have a rabbit who refuses to eat hay or grass, she's on an almost all veggie diet -- she gets a tiny handful of pellets a day. She's very healthy. I've found the veggie diet will also control her molar spurs. I make sure she has a huge variety including a lot of stem veggies and hard veggies like kale. She used to get surgery every two months, now it's annual.

I'm more of a fan than most of almost all-veggie (and hay) diets. I've also forged a relationship with my local organic market and get a huge variety of their pristine pre-compost selection, and with less 10 rabbits here, it's not too hard of a chore.


sas :bunnydance:

 

[Pipp]

Cyber-Wizard wrote:
I've been buying the Martin's Adult pellets but not the Less Active ones. I see no reason not to switch. She runs around the house a lot but I wouldn't say she's as active as she could be.

I had wondered if maybe she was changing. I'm as much a creature of routine as she is so I make sure she gets the same things as much as possible. She really does eat a lot of greens. probably too many now.
[/quote]

Ah. The 'less active' moniker is misleading. They should rename the alfalfa brand 'for growing rabbits' and have 'less active' given the 'adult' name. Amazing how little knowledge there is in the rabbit food industry. Although Martins did come up with Timothy pellets.

Most often, runny cecals are caused by too much protein or carbs. She really is too old for alfalfa pellets, which are much higher protein. Some rabbits get fat, some get runny cecals. Did the vet say anything about her weight, btw? Is she pretty 'fluffy' or does she have a 'skinny' metabolism?

Either way, I really would highly highly recommend doing a slow switch to the timothy pellet.

sas :bunnydance:

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

Pipp wrote:

PS: I should add that pain from a bout of gas or whatever (gas is present with most digestive issues), will cause the temperature to drop
sas :bunnydance:

We weren't aware of the temperature drop. We've stopped using our air conditioning here for environmental reasons (and my wife doesn't seem to have a drop of blood in her body to keep her warm:biggrin2. The temperature in the house hit 28 for about 24 hours. When we saw Cleo was uncomfortable we turned the air on and set it to 24. We may have chilled her with the drop in temp.

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

Pipp wrote:

Ah. The 'less active' moniker is misleading. They should rename the alfalfa brand 'for growing rabbits' and have 'less active' given the 'adult' name. Amazing how little knowledge there is in the rabbit food industry. Although Martins did come up with Timothy pellets.

Most often, runny cecals are caused by too much protein or carbs. She really is too old for alfalfa pellets, which are much higher protein. Some rabbits get fat, some get runny cecals. Did the vet say anything about her weight, btw? Is she pretty 'fluffy' or does she have a 'skinny' metabolism?

Either way, I really would highly highly recommend doing a slow switch to the timothy pellet.

sas :bunnydance:

I confess to having just assumed that I was getting the right stuff when I stopped buying the pellets for young bunnies some time ago. I knew I would have to switch to less active sooner or later but wasn't sure which. Wifey (Cleo refers to her as "The Noisy One") is going shoe shopping so she's going to pick up some less active pellets while she's out. The vet seems to take her weight only on every 3rd or 4th visit. The vet tech is supposed to do that before the vet comes in but Cleo puts up such an incrediblefight that they usually give up. This time thevetmade a bunny burrito (successful on the 3rd try), weighed her and then subtracted the weight of the towel afterwards. She weighed in this time at ~5.6 - 5.7lbs. They've never said what's good or bad, only that she seemed quite healthy. She is typically a fluffy sort although she looks slightly thinner today (could just be me being over analytical too). Right now she's laying in her cage with her chin comfortably resting on her dewlap. That's pretty typical for this time of day. She's still refusing to get her own hay and isn't accepting any handouts at the moment either...but it is her usual siesta time.
[/quote]

 

[Pipp]

Cyber-Wizard wrote:

I haven't witnessed Cleo drinking water since she was very young. I make sure that she always has a full clean dish, and a bottle as well. Up until yesterday I've never seen it used. That's one of the reasons I make sure her daily greens are extremely wet after rinsing. I've seen her visit the water dish no less than 6 times since yesterday and this morning she spent a fair amount of time at the water bottle as well. The vet gave her several sub-q injections once she came out of the incubator but with her being as skittish as she is it's not something I'm comfortable trying.:nerves1 We can't even catch and hold her long enough to get a syringe in her mouth...

... I had decided yesterday that I wasn't comfortable there when I asked if I should purchase some of the Papaya supplement that they had in stock. She rolled her eyes and said that there was no scientific proof that it would do anything so no I definitely should not buy it...apparently they're happy to sell it though. That creeped me out a little bit. Not only because they're selling something that they don't believe in but I've read on many forums that it can be effective. I've been known to use such supplements on myself with success. Granted I'm no bunny but I don't need a scientific study to tell me what works.

The wife got her to accept an astonishing amount of hay piece by piece over about a half hour period. She finally turned her nose up and laid down for a snooze. The tooth grinding has reduced somewhat...

... She's regaining some motility as I can occasionally hear her gut from 4 feet away. It sounds like I should let her out to roam as much as possible to keep things moving.

I missed the part about tooth-grinding, when was she doing that? That can be part and parcel of a gas attack, but it needs to be analysed more as to when and why.

It also could be a concern that she's drinking so much, although if that started when you cut out the wet veggies, that could account for it. (I don't know that I've every seen my viggie-diet dwarf drink, either. I give her a little well-diluted juice when she's molting, dehydrated or on pain meds).

If the drinking thing started before you cut out the veggies, I'd get a blood panel, urine test and abdominal x-rays to be safe.

But a digestive upset, be it a diet issue, a virus or whatever, can take time to get worked through. If she's that hungry for veggies, that's a good sign. I'd at least give her carrot tops. I'd also see if she'll eat grass if she won't eat hay. (And for the record, I've had bunnies get runny cecals and/or gas from eating wet spring grass in the first place, but it's the best hay substitute -- seeing as it really is just wet hay).

If you can catch her, she should like long tummy massages, although it might take her a few minutes to realize it. I wouldn't do much else at this stage.

I'm not a big papaya fan either, btw, too much sugar and not enough evidence of benefits to counteract that. I imagine they have to sell it if there's a demand from people who don't agree. Commendable that she's being honest about the recommendation in the first place.

Would have been nice had they done x-rays, though.


sas :bunnydance:

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

Pipp wrote:

I missed the part about tooth-grinding, when was she doing that?

It also could be a concern that she's drinking so much, although if that started when you cut out the wet veggies, that could account for it.

I'd at least give her carrot tops.

I'd also see if she'll eat grass if she won't eat hay.

If you can catch her, she should like long tummy massages, although it might take her a few minutes to realize it. I wouldn't do much else at this stage.
sas :bunnydance:

The tooth-grinding started sometime during the day on Thursday when she was right in the thick of her tummy pain. The vet saw her Thursday evening and didn't have much to say about the tooth grinding once she saw what her tummy was like.

She sat very still all day Thursday, I was able to get her to take water finally around 3PM after several failed attempts throughout the day. The vet gave her fluid injections Thursday night and perhaps Friday and I brought her home Friday evening. At that point she hadn't had any veggies since Wednesday evening. She wasn't back in the house 10 minutes before she went into the cage for a longdrink and then did it a few more times throughout the evening. She did the same this morning both from her dish and her bottle. Friday evening was the first time I saw her take a drink since she was just a wee thing.

She seems to be willing to be hand fed the softer, leafier strands of hay when she's hungry. She's a little sleepy at the moment so she won't take any but that's sort of normal for this time of day anyway. I'm glad you think it's OK to give her a few carrot tops. I know she loves her bowl of greens and it was driving her crazy this morning looking for them. When I gave her a little piece and put the rest up on a table that really bothered her. I've been torn between giving them to her because she's not eating much else, and following the vet's instructions not to give her any greens. Thursday she wouldn't eat anything and I understand that, but now she's actually hungry but not too excited about hay or pellets. It seems a shame not to feed her when she's very hungry and willing to eat as long as it's not really a treat food.

She does like long massages. I've only ventured near the tummy ona few occasions but she's happy to have me rub her neck and shoulders forever (as long as I break every now and again to let her lick my hands or forehead). I shouldn't have too much trouble trying that once she's out again and laying down.

 

[Pipp]

It's the tummy massages that are truly therapeutic. Most upsets mean gas, and the massage breaks up the gas bubbles and really relieves the pressure and the pain. The gas does reform, though.

My first action with a bunny that flunks the treat test is a big dose of gas meds (I use a full cc or more on my little 2lbs guys of the Ovol baby meds, which I think are 40 mg suspension) every hour for three to four hours along with long massages. Like 30 to 60 minutes. If the bunny feels better, that tells me it's gas. If the bunny starts feeling bad again, it's the gas coming back.

But one also has to look at the source of the gas -- a temp diet thing, a hairball/molt issue (stasis will lead to gas and/or gas to stasis), a pain response, a tumour. . . all sorts of possibilities.

I think she just had an off day and is still suffering the effects, but I'm sure you'll be keeping an eye on her. You're a great care-giver. She should be fine. She's in good hands.

sas :bunnydance:

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

Well!! She just woke up from the afternoon nap and started eating pellets. She quickly checked to see if the greens dish had magically appeared while she slept but then went back to eating pellets again. Unfortunately the new Less Active pellets haven't arrived home yet so she's eating the old stuff pure and unmixed but she chose toeat nonetheless.
:yes:

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

She had a few pellets and I gave her two carrot top fronds after a particularly long nose rubbing session. I think I got as much licking as she got head rubs.She followed that up by exploring the house for a whilebut now she's stretched out behind a chair. That chair isone of her favourite spots to hunker down when the house gets a little too noisy for her taste. I'm concerned now that perhaps all of this was caused by hairballs. Three times over the last couple of hours she's opened her mouth as if to yawn and gave a hacking sound as if she was trying to clear her throat and then she just laid her head down again seemingly unconcerned. She started to eat some hay again (fed piece by piece of course as she doesn't seem to have any interest in the numerous little piles that we've placed around) but hasn't been to the litter box or had a drink in quite some time. I tried giving her some heavily watered down pear nectar in a dish andwasgivena look like I had two heads.

 

[Maureen Las]

A rabbit doesn't get hairballs so the coughs are a mystery.:expressionless

personally I am concerned with the amount and vaieities of fruits,veggies juices that have been the mainstay of her diet. Some rabbits can handle this well but others (I have a few) cannot handle a lot of veggies.

The best thing that you can do is give her hay, also should have a probiotic like benebac or probios to help establish the microorganisms in her gut.

ovol (simethicone) also for gas.

A rabbit with periodic diarrhea could be getting too many veggies causing a GI. disturbance or it could be a parasite which I doubt

If it was my rabbit it would be sub q fluids, and/or an electrolyte drinks like pedialyte, simethicone for gas, gently tummy rubs and exercise, a probioitic and warmth /
I would cut this rabbits diet down to hay and water

 

[tonyshuman]

It sounds like she's improving, although it may be slow. I think continuing to add back normal food is a good idea. More hydration cannot hurt as well.

 

[Amy27]

Kevin, you've gotten some great advice already and it sounds like you are doing a great job taking care of Cleo.

I don't know that much about the health of rabbits so I can't offer much advice there. But reading through your thread I noticed you mentioned you don't see Cleo drink. If you don't think she is drinking enough water one thing you can do is when you feed her veggies, soak them in water for atleast an hour. They will absorb more water then if you just rinse them off. I have a bunny that doesn't drink water and this works well for her.

Godo luck. I hope Cleo starts feeling better soon.

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

It's tough to decide. Some people are saying hay and pellets only, others are saying upwards of a cup of greens per day in addition to hay and pellets. My vet who, granted stands in question at the moment, tells me to hold off on veggies for the next few days while giving her apparently harsh drugs. I'm not implying thatanyone iswrong only that I don't know who is more right. She's been on a very consistent diet of greens for 3 years and only now is she in any kind of distress. She doesn't get a lot of fruit apart from a little piece of banana as a treat each morning, the rest is dark leafy greens just as all the books and magazines indicate she should. She's been actively searching around the house for "dinner" all day, chewing on furniture, eating cardboard, even managing to tear up a small piece of linoleum from the floor. She has to be pretty hungry by now but shows only little interest in hay or pellets. The hay she pretty much ignores unless we keepshoving it ather, the pellets she's picking at and has eaten maybe 10 pellets in total all day. She hasn't visited the litterbox since this morning but that's no surprise as she hasn't really eaten anything. As soon as one of us heads out to the kitchen she races across the room to leap in her cage and sit where her dish usually goes. I believe she's feeling much better and is just hungry. I've visited countless websites over the last 3 years and virtually all of them say that rabbits require a steady diet of greens now I'm a little confused about how to continue. I feel terrible not feeding her when all she wants is something that won't really do her any harm.

Sorry to spill all this out at once but it seems that dietary requirements can and do vary from rabbit to rabbit. While my experience is minimal, it leads me to believe that she should continue to have greens given her desire for them and the fact that she has been very healthy for 3 years making her own choices between supplied greens, hay and pellets. Before I got her she didn't even get pellets or hay. Most of the folks here have a significant number of rabbits and even at that I'm hearing that some rabbits are fine on hay/pellets while others do well primarily on veggies. Angieluv, even your post states clearly that some rabbits do well this way and others don't. As Cleo has been doing well all this time, why would the immediate recommendation be to assume that she wouldn't do well with this and change it? I don't mean this to sound confrontational at all but I'm genuinely interested in how her current diet can be wrong, if it is actually right for some buns.