Please read someone/ Our Smokey is acting weird

[SmokeysMomMom]

I was ready to leave for workthis morning and my rabbit was laying in her litter box all stretched out and panting. She wouldn't move and was acting weird. Then I took out her apple treats and she didn't move which is odd. She wouldn't eat it either. Then I finally got her to eat it and she got off the litter box. But she shakes and her eyes were closing. Now she is eating and drinking but isn't attempting to come out of the cage like she usually does. I have an appt. at a vet in one hour. My husband is all over me about calling work and missing work over a rabbit and doesn't want me to get in trouble. She is like family. When I saw her acting like this, I cried and was so worried. I had another vet appt. for after work at 6:20, BUT...I was worried if I went to work and something did happen, I would never forgive myself. My husband is upsetting me and saying, she looks fine now, I don't think there is anything wrong with her. Am I crazy? Wouldn't you take her to the vet?

 

[pumpkinandwhiskersmom]

I would absolutely take her to the vet asap. Imho, it's best for her, and will help put your mind at ease. We had to rush Whiskers to the vet last week, and it turned out to be stasis. We're so glad we didn't wait for the "later appointment"...we got lucky...there was a cancellation, and we were able to take him right in. Good luck!

 

[Pipp]

Is she pooping? What do her poops look like?


sas :?

 

[SmokeysMomMom]

Her poops are round and brown colored. I guess that is normal. She is eating now. I am worried about work and my husband thinks I am nuts, but she is a part of the family and it is better to be safe then sorry. I am off to the vet. WIsh us luck.



Thanks everyone. She hates going in the car. Ikes....



T

 

[Pipp]

What breed is she? How old is she?

I usually start treating immediately at home with gas meds, warmth and warmish fluids and if there's no improvement in a few hours, take her in.

Rabbits can have gas and look very sick until it passes. It's the cause of the gas attack that must be determined, however. It can be a side-effect and a cause of stasis. Molting bunnies are prone to them. Some bunnies can react badly to a certain vegetable. It could be a dental issue. Or it could be a sign of a gut imbalance. Lots of possibilities.

With my guys if there is no other sign of illness and their poops have been normal, and if they're molting, I'll add tummy massage and exercise to the mix and give it eight to 12 hours.


sas :bunnydance:

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

Having just recently lost my bun i would advise going to the vet to just make sure. Good luck and I pray that it is nothing.

 

[Pipp]

SmokeysMomMom wrote:

Thanks everyone. She hates going in the car. Ikes....

Moot point if she's already snapped out of it, but this is a good/bad scenario. If it's gut slowdown and gas, on one hand the care ride can stress her out and cause an acceleration, but on the other hand, one of the recommended treatments for gas is... a car ride! The vibrations can do wonders when it comes to breaking up the gas bubble. So can tummy massages, putting her on a vibrating dryer or rubbing an electric toothbrush on her tummy.

They do snap out of gas attacks quite suddenly.

I'm not saying she shouldn't be seen by a vet, but I am saying that if she has snapped out of it, it's no longer an emergency.

My mini-rex would look horrible - shaking, wetting himself... and poof! -- pop out of them and start eating hay like nothing happened. It turned out to be a sensitivity to cilantro. But had he gone in for an xray -- I thought he was younger than he was so I didn't think to double check - they would have discovered the tumor growing in his stomach. He eventually died of cancer.


sas :cry2

 

[dquesnel]

SmokeysMomMom, how did it go? I imagine your rabbit has seen the vet by now. Hopefully you are back with some news soon.

I would really suggest having an x-ray done for sure. Bouts of gas are common in rabbits, but it isn't common for there to be really obvious shaking and panting. That makes me wonder about something else going on, but I really do hope it was just some gas that was bothering her and that things are fine now.

 

[tonyshuman]

We're all 100% behind you on missing work for taking him to the vet. I hope you've gotten some help at the vet by now, please let us know the result.

 

[SmokeysMomMom]

I apologize for not getting back sooner. The vet felt her all over and checked her temp, her ears, butt, legs, etc. He feels she might have strained or pulled something. He gave her a shot of an anti-imflammatory and b-12. She seems to be doing much better. Eating a lot more, drinking and jumping up on the door wanting me to let her out. No more jumping on top of the photo albums to get to the back of the couch. She jumps down on a hard wood floor. Ouch... I mean she could have pulled something. I was so worried about her. I missed three hours of work but don't regret it. My one boss wasn't that happy with it, but Smokey is family. There was no way I was going to go to work and let her be home and go to the vet after dinner. I would have been worried. They didn't do an x-ray. I guess he didn't feel any need. He had me call today to see how she was and told me to call if I needed to. Which was good. They also shaved her up some on her butt and her foot had excess fur. Thanks for all of your help and concern.



Smokeysmommom

xx

 

[Maureen Las]

I'm glad tht Smokey is better

I wouldn't have guessed an injury ..

 

[tonyshuman]

That's interesting. The treatment sounds like your vet may think she had a spinal cord/neurological injury. Reading back to the initial post, it sounds like she could have had a seizure or stroke. I guess it could also be treatment for a muscle strain or sprain too, but that treatment seems to be right out of the book on how to treat acute spinal injury. I hope it does the trick! Please keep us updated on adorable Smokey's treatment (and I'm so sorry I mis-gendered her in my earlier post).

 

[SmokeysMomMom]

OMG!!! I hope it wasn't a seizure or a stroke. I worry about her constantly. She is over four years old and she was just a little bunny in October 2004. She is like family. I always say bye to her before I go to work in the morning. Thank God I did, cuz I would have never known she was sick. I mean this happened an hour after I fed her and cleaned her cage which I do the same time every morning.

 

[Maureen Las]

The symptoms that you initally posted (panting, lying in box, shaking, closing eyes_ could also be a pain response. I wouldn't worry about this if she seems OK now but if it should occur again then the vet should do x-rays.