My sick bun

[Thumperina]

right now our focus is on improving condition of his right eye. He also has area under his chin where fur is missing (its really in the fold of skin), the vet took a sample from this area and found an infection. I got AB ointment for his eye and medicated wet wipes for the area under the chin. The problem is that he is trying to lick under the chin as soon as I wipe. I hope the medicated stuff on wipes is at least safe to ingest...

 

[Popsicles]

That’s so nice of the vet to do! I hope that has restored your faith in Vets that they do care and it’s not about the money!
Good news that he didnt find anything wrong! I agree I can’t see anything glaringly obvious on the X-rays - his lungs aren’t as dark as I’d want them, but I wonder if that’s because of all the far obscuring the image. You can see from the image that he is severely overweight, which will definitely be causing problems. Do you have a diet plan?
What is the vet doing for his eye?
The skin fold infection will also be helped by losing some weight, what are the wipes. If you can, distract him with veg or something until the wipe dries to prevent him licking.
I’m so glad to hear some good news from you anyway!

 

[Thumperina]

yes it restored my faith, absolutely! thank you Popsicles!

speaking of the lungs, what could it be if we think of possible pathology?

another thing why the vet didn't think about tumors when he even saw him back this May. He said, with any growth, they usually lose some weight which isn't the case here.

 

[Thumperina]

speaking of the diet plan , I guess to feed less veggies, little treats (can't leave him with no treats at all yet) and more hay? can't think of anything else...i don't serve any pellets at all. For the past week, he was flipping the bowl over anyway.

 

[Thumperina]

the vet even offered that I can bring Paul for 24 hrs to keep at the clinic at no charge so that he could observe his appetite and so on. I said that Paul would freak out and eat nothing, in my understanding . the vet said - I am just trying to give you a break, you said you were tired taking care
I stopped buprenex for now. Giving metacam

 

[Thumperina]

wipes for under the chin area
http://www.allivet.com/p-5805-miconahex-triz.aspx?sku=49883-5
Wipes: 2% Miconazole Nitrate, 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate, TrizEDTA (Tromethamine USP, Disodium EDTA Dihydrate), Ceramide Complex, Lactic Acid, Sodium Lactate, Cetrimonium Chloride, Aloe Leaf Juice, Lavender Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Polyacrylate-1 Crosspolymer.

ointment for the eye is Gentamicin sulfate ophthalmic (gentax) and I got it in a human pharmacy with written prescription.
He is just refusing critical care feedings from me. he gently bites me, not even bites but touches with his teeth, it doesn't hurt

 

[Popsicles]

Re the lungs, I don’t know if I’m seeing something where there is nothing, but I see faint white branches in the thorax - this could be fluid, or mucus - it could be nothing And I’m just being picky haha.
The diet sounds good - lots and lots of hay, minimal treats.. is he eating hay? Just wondering why you are offering critical care, if he is eating? (And also overweight)
I agree with you that being at home he will be much happier than staying with the vet, though that was a kind offer. He will do better in a familiar environment.
The eye drops sound good. As do the wipes. I suggest keep up with giving him something yummy right after wiping to stop him licking it up - once it dries a bit it should be okay

 

[Thumperina]

I can't tell anything about branches in the thorax. No idea. Anybody else seeing anything that shouldn't be there? if it's fluids or mucus, what does it mean for him? (I know if someone overdoses lactated ringers, the complication could be fluids in lungs, do you think it could be the case?)
Regarding critical care. I will explain. The main thing that I was observing that he was eating in the past were vegetables. the second - pellets. He was eating no hay, drinking no water. maybe some grass in the yard.
Now he ignores vegetables mostly (eats very little), I am not serving any pellets since he kept flipping it over indoors. He gets fluids via sub-q injections. It APPEARS to me that he eats absolutely nothing or next to nothing, which leads to stasis, right? I see him sitting IN boxes with hay in position like he is struggles to poop (they are huge boxes like litter boxes and I put some stuff under them to prevent leakage if he pees). {The reason why I use huge cardboard boxes with no top filled with hay is because they started ignoring regular plastic litter with wooden shavings some time ago. I was seeing them sitting in cardboard boxes with hay to pee and poo, and I left it this way} . I do find some poop in these boxes but since I am not changing hay there every day, it's hard to say how new this poop is. Also, there is not much poop that I find... and I think I find poop at all because I feed critical care. I don't know if he eats hay there or not. I think he does, at least a little bit.

 

[Thumperina]

my bun reacts like he has a reaction on this wipes. He tries to escape every time I use them and I see some new irritation in that area.
Wipes: 2% Miconazole Nitrate, 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate, TrizEDTA (Tromethamine USP, Disodium EDTA Dihydrate), Ceramide Complex, Lactic Acid, Sodium Lactate, Cetrimonium Chloride, Aloe Leaf Juice, Lavender Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Polyacrylate-1 Crosspolymer.

 

[Popsicles]

If your vet doesn’t see anything it’s probably me being an over cautious Student, so don’t worry too much especially if he isn’t showing signs of respiratory distress.
Can you try changing the hay daily, or at least adding a fresh layer, so you can check if he is pooping or not? This is very important to know. How often do you replenish the hay?
How much critical care are you managing to get into him?
Could you send a photo of the skin? If it looks more irritated stop with the wipes and tell your vet.

 

[Thumperina]

I will try to take a picture. for now, I picked up triple AB ointment (no pain relief component) to use instead of wipes
I stopped feeding critical care. I want him to eat on his own if he is not that sick (hopefully)

 

[Thumperina]

now one of my birds is acting sick...
and my rash isn't getting any better. it's actually getting worse

 

[Popsicles]

Yeah it would be interesting to see if he will eat more hay if not fed critical care. How is that going?
Oh no I hope your bird is okay. Could your rash be stress related? You have been through a lot, and I get rashes if I am stressed. Could try some sort of steroid cream, hydrocortisone?

 

[Thumperina]

thank you, Popsicles
my eczema is for sure stress related but I am sort of cautious of using cortisone, or steroids in general . By the way, i have read that cortisone is very toxic for rabbits, and since my rashes are on arms and hands, and I am handling my pets often, this is another reason why I don't want to use it. But I am slowly getting better.
I now use triple AB creme on Paul's neck under the chin, and he tolerates it just fine. I really think that he had a reaction for the wipes I was using before

 

[Popsicles]

Topical steroids have way fewer side effects than systemic, maybe you could speak to your pharmacist for some advice? If it stress related it won’t help. Antihistamines might help too. You would be okay using cream and just letting it soak in before handling rabbits just to be safe, though it wouldn’t do much especially with their fur.
That’s good to hear then!