Sick baby! Please help.

[IzzyBug]

My mini rex, Izzy, is almost a year old. She is a house bunny, normally happy and energetic. She eats parsley 2x/day and Timothy based pellets. She will not eat hay, despite several different kinds being tried.

She was fine last night when I put her to bed, and this morning when I let her out she ran for her litter box like she normally does first thing in the AM. I filled her food, and waited for her to run to eat, but when I looked for her she had sprawled out in her litter box and fallen asleep. I took her to her food but she refused to eat. I let her outside to play a little while later and immediately she hid and laid down. I brought her in and gave her some space to see if she was just upset, keeping a close eye on her. A short while later I offered her a treat to see if she would eat but no luck.. I started giving her some simethicone and gave her a dropper full of baby food, slightly watered down and a dropper full of water. She has been fairly lethargic most of the day, she will wander around but no hopping or running like normal. She is moving just fine and grooming herself. Her ears were cold first thing this morning but have warmed to regular temp. She isn't grinding her teeth like she normally does if she is agitated. I am continuing to give her gas drops and dropper-fuls of water. I checked her all over for anything... Flies, cuts, mites, ANYTHING, but she is pretty social and well cared for. She let me massage her tummy for about 10 minutes and seems to be improving a little but very slowly,and her lethargy is making me nervous. Any advice?

 

[LakeCondo]

I hope she's doing better & will continue to improve.

When she is, please start feeding her some grass from your yard, if untreated, & also start growing some wheat grass. They may help replace hay, which is needed to keep the food going through the system. Then you could let the grass dry out a bit before feeding it, so it's closer to hay.

Right before giving hay you can mist it a bit with some fruit juice to make it more appetizing.

And perhaps I misunderstood what you wrote, but doesn't she have access to a litter box at night?

 

[missyscove]

Is she pooping at all? The symptoms you're describing do sound typical of GI stasis.

The simethicone was a great choice. Usual dosing is one ml (or cc) per hour for the first 3 hours and another 1 ml 3 hours later. Simethicone may not help, but it basically cannot hurt. I will usually treat them with low dose, (or "baby") aspirin as well, unless you have metacam on hand.

This is from a different topic on GI stasis, "I checked the Exotic Animal Formulary which lists three possible dosages for aspirin in rabbits each of which cites a different source:
10-100 mg/kg PO (by mouth) every 8-12 hours
100 mg/kg PO every 8-24 hours
100 mg/kg PO every 48 hours
(mg/kg is milligrams of aspirin per kilogram of rabbit; 1 kg is roughly 2.2 lbs)
Talk to your vet and ask what dosage they would suggest for your rabbit or, if you're going off my dosages, do play it safe as an aspirin overdose is a possibility.
The baby aspirin I have is 81 mg per tablet. I usually soak it in a tiny bit of water to break it up and then give it via syringe (sometimes I do the simethicone and the aspirin all in one). I find syringing is a lot easier than pilling a rabbit and the extra hydration is helpful."

Do you have any critical care? If not, you can grind up some of her pellets and water (or pedialyte if you have it) to make your own pellet slurry that you can syringe feed her.

Sometimes a heat source also makes them feel better. Try filling a sock with some rice or grains and microwaving it.

Hydration is definitely important. If you usually use a bottle, try offering a bowl too or a second water source with a little juice mixed in to make it extra tasty.

 

[IzzyBug]

I'll try grass as soon as she gets better. She does get outside everyday though and grazes in the yard. She does have a litter box at night in her pen, but prefers to use the other one most of the time.

She hasn't pooped since this morning. I figured GI stasis, so I'm doing everything I can for her. I may try aspirin. I also was thinking of either some sugar free pumpkin or pedialyte and sugar free apple juice. I have given her a paste of baby food and pellets and water. She took a coupe nibbles, and has started drinking a little water. Still not ons of activity, but more than this morning.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[missyscove]

Canned pumpkin can be great for stasis if she'll eat it. It's got moisture and fiber.

 

[Imbrium]

my bunns are kinda picky and I tried canned pumpkin with them yesterday (they're in good health, I just wanted to get them used to it in case they ever need it)... Nala took a little while to give it a try, but they were both willing to eat it. it's definitely a great thing to feed for GI stasis since it's yummy and high in fiber.

btw, a little off-topic, but I wouldn't feed parsley twice a day... http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html has it on the list of veggies that have to be fed in moderation due to their high OA content

I hope Izzy feels better soon!