Preparing incase of an emergency

[Eve]

Hi everyone!

I have been preparing an Emergency Kit for my bunnies in case I am everfaced with a rabbit health problem. So far I have a folder of importantrabbit care articles I may need, and am stocking up on oral syringesand other items recomended in the Rabbit Health References in theforum.

My only concern is, I have been unable to find the canned pumpkinorthe Oxbow Critical Care Formulas whicharefrequentlymentioned. I have also looked for pumpkin babyfoods, but all of them have potato in them as well, which I have readrabbits cannot eat.

I was just wondering if anyone else living in Australia has been ableto get a hold of these items, or if thereare any alternativesto them?

Thanks for your help!

 

[naturestee]

You don't need either of these, they're justhelpful. Instead of Critical Care, you can make a slurry outof her pellets andwater or Pedialyte and a little of anythingelse the bun likes, like cilantro or banana. You can addNutrical for B vitamins, or add a tiny bit of a B Complex tablet madefor humans, if you want.

 

[Eve]

Thank youso much Naturestee!

I thought they were essentialsoI was abitworried. Thank youfor the tips, I willwrite them down.

 

[cheryl]

Hi Eve!

i cannot seem to find canned pumpkin either,so i keep a few jars ofpumpkin baby food,the one in the jar,i also have syringes on hand,thebunnies have their very own emergency kit in my cupboard,its alwaysgood to be prepared.



ohh and i thought i would just let you know that we now have oxbowcritical care in australia,there are a few vets that stock it,i knowthere are a few vets in melbourne,dont know exactly where though,butmaybe you could ask your vet.

There was a bit of a debate on it on an aussie rabbit list and somepeople said that they would try it,and then other people said thatintroducing something new at a critical time can actually do more harmthan good.



cheryl

 

[naturestee]

cheryl13 wrote:

ohh and i thought i would just let you know that we now haveoxbow critical care in australia,there are a few vets that stock it,iknow there are a few vets in melbourne,dont know exactly wherethough,but maybe you could ask your vet.

There was a bit of a debate on it on an aussie rabbit list and somepeople said that they would try it,and then other people said thatintroducing something new at a critical time can actually do more harmthan good.

The same arguements are being said here on Etherbun, too. Iagree with them. But some (not all) rabbits really like thetaste of Critical Care and they take it willingly. In theircases, it is helpful.

I know what my rabbits like, and that includes their pellets, so if Ineed to I can mash up their pellets with their favorite yummies likepumpkin, apple, or parsley.

 

[Eve]

Thank you for your help Cheryl! I will ringaround and hopefully find a vet that has Critical Care, that's greatthey have it in Australia now. And I'll be on the look out for plainpumpkin baby food too.

cheryl13 wrote:

There was a bit of a debate on it on an aussie rabbit list andsome people said that they would try it,and then other people said thatintroducing something new at a critical time can actually do more harmthan good.

If I am able to get some Critical Care formula, would it be ok to trygivinga bitto my rabbits to get them used to it?

 

[cheryl]

Eve..i have a link you can check out and maybeyou could send them an email to see which vets stock the criticalcare...http://www.oxbowaustralia.com/

i also found these three vets that actually stock critical care in Victoria but im not sure if they are near you or not..



Hallam Veterinary Clinic

55 Belgrave-Hallam Road

Hallam Vic

phone-97031776



Torquay Animal House Vet Clinic

120 Geelong road

Torquay,Vic,3228

phone-03 52616486



Warranwood Veterinary Centre

Veterinary care of unusal & Exotic pets

1 Coleman Road

Warranwood Vic 3134

phone-03 98766938



naturestee wrote...I know what my rabbits like, and that includes theirpellets, so if I need to I can mash up their pellets with theirfavorite yummies like pumpkin, apple, or parsley.


is this what you use instead of critical care?i was just wondering,it sounds to be more natural for a bunny



cheryl

 

[Eve]

Thanks so much for the links Cheryl! One ofthevet clinicslisted (Hallam) is about an hoursdrive from my house, which isn't too bad. I have read on some otherrabbit sites that there is really good rabbit vet in Hallam, so Iamthinking thatmight bethe same clinic Ihave heard about.

I might drive there with Layla for her vaccinations and to find outabout the Critical Care. I don't think my current vet is all that goodwith rabbits and Ireally want to find someonegoodfor when little Layla gets spayed in the future.

Thanks again

 

[Mr. Stee]

If your pumpkin search is fruitless by fall,what you can do is buy fresh pumpkins and scoop out the good flesh, putit in a blender until pureed, steam it until the mash gets close to thewater temp (you can do this the same way you melt chocolate, put a bowlover a pot that is at a roiling boil) or cook it on the stove directlyat a very low temp until it just gets unbearably warm ((this is just astep to pastuerize the pumpkin. This step really isunnessessary. You can just leave the pumpkin fresh andpureed, but many people worry if the pumpkin isn't exactly like thecanned stuff, hench the canning process pastuerization step.Fresh is just as good and won't harn them in the least)).Then you can bag and freeze it in serving size portions. Itwill stay good frozen until well after next years pumpkin crop ( Iwould suggest throwing the old out and making a new batch every year).

If you do this, you will have your very own private stock of homemadecanned pumpkin on ice. Just think of the love your bunny canget from the homemade stuff. Also, you can pull a bag outoccasionally and give it to them as a treat, they just go wild forit. Just give it in moderate doses if they aren't used tofresh veggies yet.

 

[Eve]

Thank you for the advice Mr. Stee!Ihad never considered making my own, that soundsexcellent.It's reallygreat that it stays good forsuch a long time when frozen too. I'll have to make sometomorrow,hopefully my fussy bun Rodney will approve of it .

 

[cheryl]

Eve wrote:

Thanks so much for the links Cheryl! One of thevetclinicslisted (Hallam) is about an hours drive from my house,which isn't too bad. I have read on some other rabbit sites that thereis really good rabbit vet in Hallam, so I amthinkingthatmight bethe same clinic I have heard about.

I might drive there with Layla for her vaccinations and to find outabout the Critical Care. I don't think my current vet is all that goodwith rabbits and Ireally want to find someonegoodfor when little Layla gets spayed in the future.

Thanks again

if you change vets,you might just want to keep your original vet as anemergency one,incaseone of your bunsgetssick and you need to quickly take them to the vet.



here is a link to a few bunny vets in Victoria,again i dont know ifthey are close toyou...http://members.shaw.ca/cocoasun/AustralianRabbitVets.htm,justscroll down until you come to victoria

these are bunny savvy and maybe one is closer to you,maybe they alsohave the critical care,just thought it might be some info for you



cheryl

 

[Spring]

Add simthecone to the emergency kit. . Itworked for my little Pepsi and I've read gas is very common. I got theoval kind in the pink box, but anything with the ingredient simtheconein it will do. After the simthecone, a little tummy rub and a kiss onthe head my bunny started eating a bit!

In my rabbit book, it said to have these things in your emergency kit:

Have a heating pad or hot water bottle for shock or hypothermia,stypticpowder,gauze bandages, sterile cotton pads for bleeding wounds,scissors to cut guaze, eubbing alcohol to cool an overheated rabbit anda towel to wrap around the rabbit.

I don't know if all those are good, so you may want to check with othermembers but that's what I said in my rabbit book I got forchristmas last year .

Good idea making an emergency kit. In my kit I have a small syringe anda large syringe, now simthecone, metacam (for pain I got from my vetbut it's fairly expensive), a few dishes, and a towel. I have themstashed in a shoe box in the bottem drawr of my rabbit cart !

 

[Eve]

Thanks for the link Cheryl, that's fantastic,two of those arefairly close tome. I'll ring themup to see if they have the Critical Care too. Thank you!

cheryl13 wrote:

if you change vets,you might just want to keep your original vet asan emergency one,incaseone of yourbunsgets sick and you need to quickly take them tothe vet.

That's the thing- I'm a bit worried that if there ever is an emergency(depending on the problem of course), if my vet isn't very rabbit savyand my bun needs urgent help, I wouldwant to take them to avet whospecializes in rabbits. I was thinking of keeping myoriginal vet for all the small simple things, like vaccinations andnail trimming, but wanted to find someone really good for when my bunis in serious trouble. The link you gave me was great, so maybe I couldchange to one of those vets instead as they aren't very far.


Thank you so much for the advice Spring! That sounds like avery handy list of items to have, I'll have to getsomesimthecone and some other bits and pieces I am missing.

 

[JimD]

Hi Eve !

I keep a supply of most of the things I need in an emergency. You beingin Austrailia makes a difference in the availability of some productsor different product name for the same thing.

The canned pumpkin is used for the fiber content, so you can really useany canned or fresh fruit/veg that has high fiber. Baby food is a greatsubstitute and I keep a couple on jars on hand. I have a tendency to goalong with the pellet slurry, because the bun is used to the contentand it won't avert from their regular diet

I'll bump the thread that covers the items that my friend Buck kept on hand in his "Bunnie Box".

~Jim

 

[Eve]

Thank you for the advice JimD!

And thanks heaps for finding that thread for me, it was really handy.